Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 199, Section 197: The Bombing of Tokyo

Friday, November 20, 1998.

Japan, Tokyo.

The chill of late autumn did not dampen the enthusiasm of moviegoers, especially in the core business districts of Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ginza, where large posters for "Postmen in the Mountains" (Japanese title: "山、人、犬、そして") were particularly eye-catching in front of cinemas displaying the "Shochiku" logo.

The poster design is full of Eastern Zen: distant mountains are like dark eyebrows, shrouded in clouds and mist. On a mountain path, the backs of a father and son walk slowly, with a loyal Chinese rural dog following closely behind.

Below the eye-catching title are two lines of bold, gold-embossed Japanese text: "11th Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Prix Award Winner!" and "Best Film Award Winner at the 11th Tokyo International Film Festival" and "Born in China, a supreme human hymn that touches the heart."

Unlike the original timeline, this film initially only had a low-key screening in a small number of art-house cinemas in Japan, and gradually became popular only after accumulating a good reputation over a long period of time.

Riding on the prestigious title of "Best Film at the Tokyo International Film Festival" and the expectations and pressure brought by the massive investment of US$11 million from Shochiku Pictures, the distributor adopted an extremely bold and aggressive strategy from the very beginning.

Massive release!
Shochiku utilized more than 150 screens in major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Fukuoka to schedule a large number of screenings on the opening day.

This is an extremely rare and extravagant investment by mainstream Japanese commercial cinemas, which have always been cautious about Chinese-language films, especially art films.

The screening rate in core cinemas has reached more than five screenings per day, with at least one screening guaranteed during prime time (6 pm to 9 pm).

The publicity campaign was overwhelming: in addition to regular newspaper and magazine ads, posters were hung in subway cars, and 30-second trailers featuring beautiful scenes from the film began to appear on television, with a calm and infectious voice emphasizing the words "the highest honor of the film festival" and "touching all of Japan".

Film critics also pitched in to promote the film.

Several well-known film critics who had seen the film at the film festival praised it highly in their newspaper columns and television interviews:
"This is a film that can instantly quiet down a noisy city." — Fumio Sato, senior film critic for the Yomiuri Shimbun.

"Silence between father and son speaks louder than words; the beauty of China's landscapes is heartbreaking." — Yukio Kimura, editor-in-chief of Kinema Junpo.

"In an era of materialism, 'Postmen in the Mountains' reminds us to return to the origins of emotions." — Renowned cultural critic Kasumi Kawamura.

……

On its opening day, despite being a weekday, many cinemas saw surprisingly high attendance rates for evening screenings.

Initially, what attracted audiences to the cinema was mostly the halo of "film festival awards" and the curiosity of media promotion.

However, when the lights dimmed and the screen revealed the beautiful landscape of western Hunan, seemingly forgotten by time, and when the taciturn but profound rural postman father (played by Xi Rujun) and his young son (played by Huang Xiaoming), who was about to take over his job, embarked on that three-day, two-night postal route, a strange tranquility and resonance began to permeate the screening room.

There are no intense dramatic conflicts, no dazzling special effects, only winding mountain roads, babbling streams, simple villages, and the unspoken dialogues between father and son, as well as the deep love hidden beneath their actions.

Director Huo Jianqi uses delicate and gentle lenses to vividly portray the unique subtlety, forbearance, and inheritance of Eastern culture.

Japanese audiences, especially those in their middle and older years, have shown an extraordinary level of acceptance of this delicate emotional expression and the theme of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

The film's themes of professional ethics ("the postal route is an order"), family responsibility (passing down the family business), and the impact of changing times on traditional lifestyles resonated deeply with them.

The box office figures for "Postmen in the Mountains" during its opening weekend brought a sigh of relief to the executives of Shochu Pictures, which quickly turned into ecstasy.

Queues to buy tickets were seen at many cinemas in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.

Over its opening weekend, the film grossed over 180 million yen on just over 150 screens, with an average attendance rate of over 70% and almost full screenings during prime time!

This achievement not only easily broke the opening weekend record for Chinese-language art films in Japan, but also surpassed many mid-budget Japanese domestic drama films.

Following the box office success came an even stronger wave of positive word-of-mouth.

"After watching the movie, I couldn't help but call my father back in my hometown." — A viewer's comment after watching the film.
"It reminded me of my late grandfather, a man of few words who expressed love through his actions." —A viewer's comment after watching the film. "The scenery in China is so beautiful; I want to travel there." —A common reaction from young female viewers.

"The dog in the movie acted so well! It was so human-like!" — This is the focus of dog lovers.

The power of word of mouth is immense.

Entering the second week, the movie-going craze not only did not subside, but spread from several major core cities to surrounding areas.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Shochiku Pictures quickly increased the number of screens in Sapporo, Sendai, Hiroshima, Kobe and other cities, bringing the total number of screens to over 250.

Newspapers began publishing discussions about the "Postmen in the Mountains" phenomenon in their social sections, analyzing why this Chinese film resonated so deeply with the Japanese. Television variety shows even borrowed the "father and son traveling together" concept from the film to create related interview segments.

Record companies also sensed a business opportunity and approached Sungchu, hoping to release the film's original soundtrack—the melodious and tranquil soundtrack, full of ethnic flavor, became one of the highlights that audiences talked about.

By the end of November, "Postmen in the Mountains" had become a minor cultural hotspot in Japanese society.

In the bookstore, the Japanese version of Wen Ruian's original novel was placed in a prominent position (although the movie and the novel are not closely related, the publisher has keenly grasped the hot topic).

Travel magazines have begun planning a special feature on "Finding China's Hidden Gems in Movies".

……

It was a little after 7 p.m. in late November 1998.

Beijing, the residential area of ​​Beijing Film Studio, the apartment building where Wang Sheng lives.

The living room was filled with the aroma of home-cooked dishes. Zhang Xiulan had just finished stir-frying the last vegetable when Wang Sheng had already set out the bowls and chopsticks.

The 21-inch color TV in the house was on, the volume was set to a moderate level, and it was playing a prime-time program on CCTV-1 at 7 pm.

This is Wang Baoguo's unwavering habit, a habit he has maintained for decades, showing concern for national affairs.

While helping to serve the rice, Wang Sheng listened to the news anchor on TV delivering the news in a clear and articulate voice.

The television faintly rang with phrases like "first visit to Japan," "Postmen in the Mountains is a hit in Japan," and "..."

The television screen was then given a brief clip of "Postmen in the Mountains" being shown in Japanese theaters: Japanese audiences queuing to enter, the theater entrance plastered with huge posters, and a quick montage of the Xiangxi landscape and a father and son traveling together.

"Oh..."

Wang Baoguo exclaimed in surprise, "I never thought that a film from our Beijing Film Studio could be connected to such a big event. Shengzi, do you think Director Han is going crazy with joy right now?"

Zhang Xiulan chimed in, "Definitely. Last month, '30 Days' won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Feature Film and Best Actress. Director Han was so happy that he had the finance department give out red envelopes to all the factory employees."

This month, first "Postmen in the Mountains" won a major award, then "30 Days" won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Directorial Debut, and Director Han had the finance department distribute red envelopes to all factory employees twice. Judging from today's news, Director Han will probably be distributing red envelopes again tomorrow.

"Sending red envelopes is great..."

Wang Baoguo looked delighted and then asked, "Hey, Shengzi, when is your new movie going to be released?"

"Released on Friday, December 4th."

The family chatted and ate dinner together.

(End of this chapter)