Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 356 Perfect Artwork
“The collaboration between the two great directors produced a nearly perfect film, with excellent story, performance and pictures. This is the most outstanding treasure of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.”

——French "Cahiers du Cinema"

"The Sunset slowly unfolds the life of an elderly couple from multiple dimensions, presenting the true face of life to the audience.

Our longing for love often comes from its shining side, but the daily necessities of life, birth, aging, sickness and death are its norm.

"Sunset" is restrained but profound in its expression of love, making people completely immersed in it when watching it. It is a classic."

——Sight and Sound, UK

"Chen's story, coupled with Zhang Yimou's camera and images, the collaboration between these two people complements and elevates the film. Sunset deserves a Palme d'Or."

——Italy's La Repubblica

"..."

As the film festival draws to a close, reviews for "Sunset" are still rising.

Especially professionals and film critics, they are generous with their praise for the film.

To say that it was praise was an understatement. Some of the statements in the reports sometimes even made Chen Linfeng wonder if these people were possessed by evil spirits.

The blowing made him blush a little.

This is something Chen Linfeng didn't understand. He had been following the film from rough cut to post-production and was completely desensitized to movies. He could no longer recognize how high their quality was.

This is the same for all creators.

If it were someone else's work, it would be easy to tell the good from the bad.

But it is easy to make mistakes when you create your own works, sometimes even low-level mistakes.

Although the work "Sunset" was not originally created by Chen Linfeng.

But he studied the film too thoroughly when he was writing and analyzing the script.

So there will be some distorted evaluations.

Just like if you write a word too many times, it will gradually become unrecognizable.

You have to know that the foundation of "Sunset" itself is the previous Palme d'Or work "Love", which is of very high quality.

With the help of the national master's lens and images, it is equivalent to a 10-meter champion who runs under seconds, and he has improved a little bit.

Don't underestimate this.

This little extra means a qualitative improvement.

It has been elevated from a classic masterpiece to film art.

In the words of the media, it is "a perfect work."

Of course, such an evaluation is definitely a bit exaggerated.

But it clearly shows the excitement these critics and professionals felt after watching the movie.

Therefore, as time went on, the film's reputation increased with constant discussion and analysis.

Some people even said, "If 'Sunset' doesn't win the Palme d'Or, it's due to shady dealings."

Chen Linfeng and Pete were indeed secretly fanning the flames.

But the above words have absolutely nothing to do with them.

All I can say is that the momentum has really spread, and there are great scholars debating on the subject.

It is in this context that the judges of the Cannes Film Festival gathered together to make the final vote.

This last-minute vote requires all judges to block out any outside information.

Then watch all the films in the main competition unit again and vote together.

In fact, most of the judges on the scene have already seen these movies.

But the purpose of watching it again is to spark discussion among the crowd and allow the judges to fully exchange ideas.

Then when it comes time to vote, there won’t be too much confusion.

However, this process is very beneficial to judges who are eloquent and tough, especially when a judge is extremely fond of a favorite work, it is easy to win the argument.

Shu Qi glanced at Isabelle Huppert, a woman known for her toughness.

We had occasionally communicated with each other before, and his words and actions fully confirmed the rumors.

But for some reason, Isabel seemed a little silent tonight.

She barely spoke when the movie "The White Ribbon" was playing.

Shu Qi thought of the recent news reports about Isabelle and director Haneke.

A look of realization appeared on her face.

I see, this is to...avoid suspicion?
The other judges also noticed this unusual situation, and some even whispered about it.

"Will Isabelle Huppert back down?"

"Yeah, I thought she wouldn't care about the news at all."

"..."

Isabel gritted her teeth but remained silent.

She almost hated those media who talked nonsense and threw mud at her out of nowhere.

But due to the official requirements of the film festival, she had to be more reserved.

Voting, yes.

But if I want to use my advantage as the chairman of the jury to canvass votes for my mentor, it won’t work.

In this situation, she could only remain silent.

Fortunately, the media ratings of "The White Ribbon" are not low, and the comments of the judges are actually not bad.

Three judges still expressed their approval.

What about the rest?

Where is your artistic aesthetic?

Can't you see the excellence of this movie?
Isabel was extremely anxious, but she couldn't say anything. She could only curse in her heart. She felt so frustrated.

It is the turn of another film, "The Prophet", which has a program score of over 3. It is similar to "White Belt" and both belong to the second tier below "Sunset".

During the discussion, four judges expressed their approval.

Isabel lifted the seal, snorted twice, and then refuted the opinions of the other judges one by one.

The meaning is just one - not as good as "The White Ribbon".

Since we can't promote it openly, let's just bring other movies down.

Italian judge Aisha Argento was dissatisfied and argued with her.

In the end, there was no quarrel and I was severely suppressed.

Everyone had a preliminary understanding of Isabelle Huppert's verbal skills and tough attitude.

Others had no intention of arguing. After all, the time for voting would be when the truth would be revealed.

Then I watched "Inglourious Basterds", "Bat", "Fish Tank" and other works one by one. The judges have their own support for the shortlisted films.

Except for a few outstanding ones, after most of the movies were shown, some judges even expressed their lack of interest.

For example, regarding Li An's movie this time, apart from Shu Qi's symbolic praise, everyone else just shook their heads.

Shu Qi knew that Director Li An would probably get nothing this time.

Then, it was the turn of "Sunset" and the film was over.

Everyone was excited, this was the real favorite this time.

It’s not a question of whether you can win an award, but what award you win.

As expected, Lee Chang-dong from South Korea and Hanif from Pakistan were the first to praise the quality of the film.

They focused on the plot, shots, pictures and other contents and praised them highly.

One thought that the performances of the two leading actors were superb and sophisticated.

Even Asia Argento, who had been frustrated for a while because the fight had not been resolved, praised the movie as perfect.

Shu Qi also praised him a few words. Although she could speak English, she was not fluent after all.

At least when it comes to quarrels, I'm at a disadvantage.

So she is very self-aware and only fights when the wind is in her favor, and for the rest she just votes according to her own wishes.

It's a bit far-fetched to ask her to convince others.

When she saw the situation on the field, she secretly decided how to cast her vote.

After that, American director James Gray and Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan both expressed their approval of the film.

This is the most united judges so far.

What surprised everyone was that Isabelle Huppert didn't say anything this time.

She has found fault with many movies before.

Of course, Isabel did this not because Chen and she had a good chat.

Even if Chen is really to her taste.

He is handsome and his ideas are very caring towards women.

But does anyone really care about this kind of casual flirting at a cocktail party?

She even suspected that Chen or Zhang was behind the recent reports.

After all, if "White Ribbon" loses support, it will be a big boon to "Sunset".

But the same reasoning applies to other works.

Moreover, when the report appeared, "Sunset" had not yet been released.

It's not possible that they knew their movie would be popular before it was released.

This is impossible, and everyone who makes movies knows it.

Creators cannot objectively evaluate their own works.

Therefore, Isabel gradually gave up trying to find out who did the reported thing.

The reason why she didn't speak now was because she realized that there was something wrong with her strategy.

In fact, everyone on the jury has their own goals to support.

Although "Sunset" is of good quality, it is not so recognized.

However, because she was in the front, she had given negative reviews to movies supported by several judges, such as Asia Argento, and even had an argument with him.

Others are not fools, so they naturally saw what Isabelle was thinking.

I still want to promote "The White Ribbon", so just think about it.

As a result, the disgusted judges unanimously supported the biggest opponent of "White Ribbon".

"The Prophet" is actually not bad, but it is not as good as "Sunset".

At least I won't feel guilty choosing this one.

By the time Isabel realized that her actions had had the opposite effect, it was too late.

It was all because of that damn person behind the scenes who made her lose her mind.

She is confident that if she guides people in a positive direction, there will be no backlash.

But now, hey~
After the main competition films were finished, it was time for voting.

According to the process, each judge first recommends a movie they appreciate, and then votes.

The voting session was not peaceful either, or rather, it was even more noisy than before.

You still have to practice your foreign language well.

Shu Qi watched the Korean and German judges arguing in English, and the argument was so intense.

If she were to do it, she definitely wouldn't be so skilled.

As time went on, the situation became clearer.

There are only seven or eight works left that have a chance of winning the award.

Then, it’s time to vote for the Screenwriter Award, Actor Award, Director Award, and Jury Grand Prix.

And, finally, the Palme d'Or.

……

On the afternoon of May 5, there was only one day left until the closing ceremony.

The main creators of "Sunset" sat together, waiting for notification from the organizing committee.

Chen Linfeng observed the status of other people in the room.

Zhang Yimou, the great director, rarely looked calm.

It's understandable, after all, it involves his Grand Slam ambition.

Mr. You and Teacher Lu were quieter, after all, they were older and had more experience.

People like Cao Yu and Liu Qingshan are now much better than when they were in Venice, and have shown some of the demeanor of great generals.

The only one who was not quiet was Liu Qianqian.

Since she came in the afternoon, she has been walking back and forth, looking outside the door or on the phone from time to time, and she rarely stops.

Chen Linfeng couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so nervous this time? You also participated in Whiplash last time, and you weren't like this?"

Liu Qianqian rolled her eyes. "How can it be the same? When I was in Whiplash, I was just a pure vase."

So you knew it too, so it’s almost the same this time.

Chen Linfeng moved his mouth, but ultimately did not speak.

(End of this chapter)