Generation Z Artists

Chapter 298 is missing something.

After various speeches and remarks, the ball officially announced the opening of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

"So, the opening film of this year's festival..."

Qiu Hua looked at Fang Xinghe and dragged out a long, drawn-out sound.

"The highly anticipated, captivating film written, directed, and starring Star River..."

Better Days!

One by one, the lights in the hall went out, and the opening film, "Better Days," officially began screening.

Its English name is "Better Days". The version shown in Cannes was the Mandarin version with English and French subtitles at the same time.

This is the fundamental reason why Cannes values ​​cinematic language.

Because reading subtitles is too tiring, visuals are the most important form of language.

This is something that many Chinese people cannot understand—when watching foreign films in their original language, as long as there are Chinese subtitles, one can simultaneously enjoy both the visuals and the dialogue. It is clearly a very simple thing, so why do foreigners rarely watch films in a language other than their native language?
Fang Xinghe initially couldn't understand it either, but after he personally directed "Hero" and it was released overseas, he completely understood.

Because Chinese is so damn advanced.

A long line of dialogue in an international film, expressed in Chinese subtitles, is enough—just a dozen or twenty words.

If translated more elegantly, two or three idioms or short words might suffice.

Even if a sentence is still very long when translated, because Chinese is an ideographic language, Chinese speakers can extract the whole meaning by just glancing at the whole sentence and catching a few key words.

This speed and convenience of reading allows Chinese viewers to focus their attention on the visuals and only need to glance at the subtitles when they have a spare moment.

Therefore, those Hollywood blockbusters in their original language not only have no viewing barriers in China, but are even very popular, offering a better viewing experience than the Mandarin versions.

But this is not the case with foreign languages.

For example, in the movie "Better Days," the lines and monologues translated into English and French resulted in a long list of subtitles.

If the audience's literacy level is even slightly poor, they will easily fall behind.

Even if you have a high level of literacy, you still need to pay close attention to the subtitles in order to understand the deeper meaning of the lines.

Therefore, for art-house films like "Les Young" to be screened at international film festivals like Cannes, the most important element is the language of the camera.

If the information conveyed by the visuals is not clear and intuitive enough, then viewers and even judges can easily miss the key logic.

The judges themselves come from all over the world, and their English reading level is not necessarily very high. When making judgments, the most important basis is always the language of the camera.

Fang Xinghe, on the other hand, demonstrated a textbook-perfect skill in this regard.

Fang Xinghe's opening scene differed from the original, featuring a fixed camera position set up high in the air, choosing a partially overcast day to shoot from above the school gate.

Thousands of students swarmed into the campus like ants, their hurried steps and mechanical order, along with the fixed objective perspective, the gloomy environment, and the monotonous blue and white school uniforms, all contributed to a strong sense of oppression and anxiety.

In the lower right corner of the camera, boarding students rush past as they do their morning exercises.

The voice-over is filled with the mechanical, numb slogans of teenagers: "Over 600 points, get into a prestigious university, dreams illuminate life, the future will be different from now on..."

The camera slowly pulls down until it's perpendicular to the top of the teaching building, then suddenly surges forward, passing through the floorboards and illuminating the interior of the classroom.

The video shows students busy at work, memorizing vocabulary, doing homework, copying classical Chinese texts, and scratching their heads while working on math problems.

The camera then pans in an arc from above, finally focusing on the slogan on the blackboard behind: "100 days until the college entrance exam."

In just half a minute, the film's story background and emotional context are clearly outlined.

With the college entrance examination just around the corner, students are giving it their all for the most crucial step in their lives.

The atmosphere was tense and oppressive, heavy and restrictive, weighing on everyone.

"A beautiful start."

Stephen Hunter, a leading figure in Washington filmmaking, who made a special trip to the city, wrote furiously.

He paused, then added another sentence—

"Decisive and beautiful."

Unlike the dull and lengthy art films of Europe, "Less You" has a unique swiftness characteristic of Fang Xinghe.

It's not that the editing pace is fast, but rather that the story unfolds quickly.

The moment the camera focused on Chen Nian, played by Liu Yifei, before the audience could even get to know the character, she was already being pointed at and gossiped about by her classmates.

"Did her father run away?"

"No, he's dead."

"Yes, I heard it was suicide out of fear of punishment!"

"really?"

"It's true, the corrupt official jumped off the building with a bang!"

"Then what is she still so proud of?"

"So what? She's a princess."

"Pfft, a pheasant princess, isn't she?"

……

Chen Nian pursed her lips tightly, raised her chin slightly, and stubbornly walked through the crowd.

But her flickering and uneasy eyes revealed her inner turmoil.

……

Many viewers exclaimed, "Wow, so beautiful!"

One film critic wrote: "Good eyes. Although the character of the princess in distress is cliché, the character is very fitting and makes people look forward to the story that follows."

At this time, Liu Yifei still had obvious baby fat on her cheeks. Although she was very young, she already showed a beauty that could shine in both the East and the West.

Therefore, although the plot moves very fast and lacks sufficient foreshadowing, she can still gain the audience's sympathy and attention with her natural appearance and temperament.

Chairman Triss noticed this very keenly and immediately wrote down his opinion in his notebook.

"A very strong auteur style, cleverly using the actors' talents rather than a slow and solid narrative to immerse the audience; intelligent, bold, and fierce."

The 12-minute setup in the original movie was condensed by Fang Xinghe into 2 minutes, which is the source of the "fierce" evaluation.

In the modern era, art films, especially European art films, usually focus more on subtle expression—conservative, lengthy, and full of detailed descriptions.

Fang Xinghe's "Young You" uses an almost tragic and straightforward approach to expose the predicament that Chen Nian is now facing to the audience.

Back at Grandma's house, in the narrow, dilapidated little bedroom, there were crystal ornaments that seemed out of place with the surroundings, and in the wardrobe, there was a snow-white princess dress that she couldn't bear to throw away.

In the calm and objective composition, the corner of the princess dress, the crystal ornament, and Chen Nian's back view sitting at the desk form a triangle.

The figure is positioned in the lower right corner of the image, with light shining from the empty left side, creating a somber silhouette.

The argument between the mother and grandmother in the voiceover seems to break the stagnant and oppressive atmosphere, but in reality, it brings about a deeper level of irritability.

The unfolding of the predicament was extremely effective; within just 10 minutes, the audience began to hold their breath, worrying about Chen Nian's fate.

As the film continues to play, Chen Nian begins to be bullied.

Under Fang Xinghe's guidance, the motives of Wei Lai and her two companions became very clear.

As a princess who was once someone they couldn't afford to offend but is now in trouble, it's only natural for them to be jealous of Chen Nian; it doesn't need much explanation.

This most primal emotion can be understood without any obstacles by people of any country, culture, or ethnicity.

The bullying behavior of Wei Lai and her two companions is presented by Director Fang in a very distinctive way, creating an increasingly clear multifaceted dilemma.

Because the core of their jealousy was completely different, their methods of bullying were also completely different. Wei Lai was jealous of Chen Nian's past family background and prestige, so she liked to order her around and force her to do things that she would never have been able to do before, thus humiliating her self-esteem.

The fat girl was jealous of Chen Nian's beauty, so she maliciously spread rumors, cursed her as a slut, or made her dirty and disheveled, or even directly damaged her still beautiful appearance.

Glasses was jealous of Chen Nian's intelligence and grades, and wanted to reduce her competitors in the college entrance examination, so he deliberately tried to ruin her mindset or destroy her homework and practice books.

These three types of jealousy, stemming from different core motives, bring an increasingly heavy sense of oppression that is heartbreaking.

The symbolic metaphors contained within also moved the true experts.

"Beauty, ability, soul."

Stephen Hunter quickly jotted down three words, and soon after wrote down more extended interpretations below—

"The external foundation that guarantees a minimum standard of living, the motivation to continue climbing upwards, and the protection of the dignity of all things."

Through the layered destruction of these three elements, the author is destroying a life that was originally so beautiful, pure, and sacred. This naked evil, seemingly insignificant and not even worthy of adults' attention, radiates the most extreme darkness in the world from hidden corners…

Many female viewers instinctively covered their mouths, unable to bear watching those heart-wrenching scenes.

At this most desperate moment, Zhang Xiaobei, played by Fang Xinghe, finally made his appearance.

When the camera panned to the scene and viewers saw Fang Xinghe being brutally beaten by thugs in an alley, a burst of loud laughter suddenly erupted.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh, and they all knew what the other was laughing at.

Not to mention the Crown Prince Yu who could single-handedly defeat an army of thousands, Fang Xinghe in reality alone could easily beat up a group of NBA beasts.

Seeing him get beaten up in a movie now is just hilarious.

This is actually not a good thing, as it means that the audience was briefly pulled out of the story, which is a very poor performance.

However, everyone can understand this flaw.

After all, Fang Xinghe's previous role was so successful, and Fang Xinghe's real-life image is so deeply ingrained, it's normal that people can't switch their mindset right away.

Just like when Huang Bo and Shen Teng were at their peak and acted in serious movies, audiences would want to laugh the moment they appeared on screen—that's a deeply ingrained, fixed impression.

It greatly affects an actor's career path and the filming effect, but truly top-notch actors can always adjust to the right angles, allowing the audience to immerse themselves and distinguish between different roles.

Fang Xinghe did a particularly good job.

He successfully portrayed a remarkably authentic Zhang Xiaobei.

Especially the initial amazement, panic, and awkwardness when viewers first saw Chen Nian's face made it easy for them to distinguish him from Prince Yu and Fang Xinghe.

These are characteristics that only innocent young people possess.

Crown Prince Yu regarded women as inanimate objects—whether it was the radiant Empress Zhao or the graceful Feixue, the way he looked at them seemed to be only considering where to shoot them the fastest.

Fang Xinghe himself is indifferent and aloof towards beautiful women—he looks down on them and doesn't want them to come near him.

Anne Hathaway's team had been hyping up the relationship for so long, but it all came to a head at the Oscars. Fang Ge completely ignored her and didn't cooperate, not even bothering to glance at her.

But Zhang Xiaobei is a teenager who fits that age perfectly.

He was wild, unruly, and closed off, using indifference to mask his true inner self.

But the audience wasn't stupid; they could clearly see Zhang Xiaobei's forced toughness and the underlying embarrassment beneath it.

The two brushed past each other. Chen Nian looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, looking pitiful and revealing her true anxiety, unease deep inside.

Zhang Xiaobei, however, kept his eyes straight ahead, his mouth slightly crooked, his muscles trembling with pain, and his gaze filled with a particularly stubbornness.

Coupled with his limping but taut back, a sense of inexplicable loneliness arises spontaneously.

After creating a distance of about 5 meters, Zhang Xiaobei suddenly raised his hand, wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, then shook it forcefully and spat out a mouthful of blood.

That childish arrogance, that sudden dissatisfaction, contained a subtle hint of annoyance.

What is the boy regretting?
He himself didn't understand, but as viewers who had been through it all, they were very empathetic.

"He's so cute."

"There's hope for Nian! Isn't that right?"

Wow, what a wonderful encounter!

This part of the storyline has generated extremely high expectations.

Meg Ryan wrote in her notes: "An unconventional Harry and Sally, yet with a shared emotional core. The first encounter between a young boy and girl is the most beautiful thing in the world, and SR handles it realistically and vividly, providing endless possibilities for what follows."

She did not show any overly strong inclination.

However, she subconsciously brought up the film that made her famous—"When Harry Met Sally," a classic in the genre of teenage romance films.

Jiang Wen's comment on this segment was only one sentence.

"This is the fucking perfect touch of youthful innocence!"

He didn't see the later parts and didn't know if Zhang Xiaobei had to be naive, but he sincerely felt that Zhang Xiaobei's naivety was a hundred times more moving than Fang Xinghe's actual image.

What is Fang Xinghe's personal image like?

Aloof and distant, like a god or a saint.

Therefore, Jiang Wen scoffed at this guy.

You may be awesome, but you're too fake. I'm not going to play with you!
In fact, apart from his early friends, everyone in the domestic entertainment, media, and cultural circles felt that Fang Xinghe was insincere, impersonal, and not like a normal person.

Because Fang Xinghe deliberately presented a divine side to the outside world, rather than a human side, in order to maximize his idol status.

Therefore, he is only suitable for worship, but not for making people feel close to him.

But Zhang Xiaobei in the movie is different; he's a boy you'd like and feel sorry for at first glance.

Aishwarya Rai wanted to comment on Fang Xinghe's acting skills, but after hesitating for a while, she realized she didn't have much to write about.

"This is a very age-appropriate performance; shouldn't teenagers act like this?"

She didn't understand the real Fang Xinghe, so she muttered something and filled in "natural" in the acting category.

Putting aside the acting, the story is becoming increasingly intense.

Unable to get help from Zhang Xiaobei during their first encounter, Chen Nian's situation on campus became increasingly difficult.

But while the audience was on tenterhooks, they also began to have high expectations.

Steven Soderbergh, however, greatly admired the plot structure dominated by Fang Xinghe.

"Director Fang is extremely clever. He did not rush to let the male lead he played appear as soon as possible. Instead, he placed the oppressive and dark scenes of bullying before the first meeting between the male and female leads, creating a more desperate environment for the female lead, so as to bring out a more precious hope of redemption."

The moment they met, the pent-up emotions in the audience erupted, casting a ray of light into the film's dark and cruel tone, giving them a moment to breathe..."

After filling the entire page, he thought for a moment and wrote a few words in the upper right corner of the page: "Commercialized, extremely mature."

Then I circled it with a pen.

For a director of his caliber, judging the intentions of his peers by their handling of the situation is an easy task.

Like him, the judges who recognized this as a mature "commercial art film" included the chairman, Claude Carrière, Jiang Wen, and Ergui.

But their reactions were quite different—

Some people were excited, while others frowned.

So far, this is an excellent film, but it falls short of winning the highest awards in the arts.

What exactly is missing?
While engrossed in watching the film, Nenxian vaguely realized that Chen Nian in the movie was brewing an extremely moving power.

(End of this chapter)