Chinese entertainment industry in disarray? Hollywood goddess welcomes strict father!

bang——

While inwardly criticizing the China Theatre for favoring Lu Lin, Old Martin had already entered the dark backstage area and bumped right into the back of a fat black man.

There's no way around it, Black people have an invisibility buff in the dark, even if he's wearing reading glasses he can't see clearly!

The obese Black man, dressed in a black security uniform—undoubtedly a theater security guard—turned to look at Old Martin and his two companions, his face dark with anger, and demanded, "Old men, how did you get in?"

Old Martin rubbed his chest and replied, "The back door wasn't closed, and nobody was watching... so we came in..."

The obese Black man paused for a moment, then recognized Old Martin and his two companions. He finally remembered his duty, slapped his forehead in frustration, and hurried toward the back door.

As the obese Black man who had been blocking their view left, the trio were able to see the backstage area clearly; it was packed with people.

Some were dressed in security uniforms, some in cleaning uniforms, and some in ceremonial uniforms; it was as if the entire theater staff was present.

No wonder the main entrance was eerily quiet, and there was no one guarding the back entrance; apparently, everyone was watching a free movie here.

Yes.

Watch free movies!

From the entrance and exit of the stage on both sides, you can see the naked-eye 3D stereoscopic light and shadow being projected.

Although it's not as convenient as sitting in the audience, it's a free movie to watch, what more could you ask for!

"Is it really that exciting?"

Seeing that all the staff were watching intently and no one was paying any attention to the three Hollywood giants, Old Martin couldn't help but ask in surprise.

De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't answer his question, so they simply moved closer to the entrance to watch the movie that was still playing.

Old Martin followed suit, walking over to the two men and looking at the stage.

At this point in the film, the protagonist, Xu Wenqiang, has gradually taken over family affairs, while the now fully retired Old Master Xu imparts several invaluable lessons to his son: "Never let anyone know what you're thinking..."

One must be careful in everything one does. The only thing I've learned in my life is to be careful. Women and children can be careless, but men cannot…

After watching just this short clip, Old Martin's eyebrows started trembling uncontrollably. He is a true world-class film master and is also very skilled at shooting gangster films.

Those who have won Oscars are really skilled!

Therefore, an expert's skill is immediately apparent. Martin Scorsese instinctively felt that if the entire film was of this caliber, it would undoubtedly be a male epic.

A male epic disguised as a gangster film!

While old Martin was lost in thought, the movie continued to play. Grandpa Xu died, suffering a sudden heart attack while playing with his grandson. He could be said to have enjoyed his old age in peace.

With the passing of the cautious old master Xu, no one could suppress Xu Wenqiang's vengeful rage. He wanted to avenge his tragically killed elder brother and his tragically killed wife. Even after returning to Shanghai and reuniting with his girlfriend, the foreign woman played by Ao Mei, and starting a new family, it could not quell his vengeful rage.

Furthermore, as the newly appointed leader, he needs to establish his authority through bloodshed, as he cannot suppress his arrogant and unruly troops simply by relying on his father's legacy!

Here's a very interesting point...

In the original Godfather film, the protagonist's revenge begins with him agreeing to be the godfather of his newborn nephew, as his sister had promised. The film uses parallel montage editing to show him baptizing his nephew in a church while simultaneously showing his powerful and ruthless troops attacking and slaughtering the leaders of rival families.

While Lu Lin changed the background of The Godfather to Shanghai during the Republican era and the old godfather to an old godfather, he didn't change this one part at all. After the birth of his nephew, the male lead agreed to be the godfather of his nephew and participate in the baptism, played by Li Lin's sister. Then, the scenes were cross-cut, showing the holiness of the church on one side and the massacre and cleansing by his subordinates on the other, adding a layer of metaphor and satire to the scene.

Martin Scorsese understood it immediately, exclaiming how brilliant and exciting it was. He also quietly said to his old friend De Niro, "This Chinese kid, even though he's come to Hollywood, he still looks down on us deep down... He's satirizing our civilization and religion, saying they're based on filth and ugliness..."

Old De Niro suddenly realized: "So, was his sarcasm correct?"

Old Martin nodded: "Absolutely right!"

Leonardo DiCaprio: "..."

How did they end up appreciating each other like this?

Are you worried about our movie?

I feel like the movie is going to be overshadowed and flop at the box office!

Martin Scorsese was already engrossed in the film and had no time to worry about how it turned out.

The final step in the protagonist's revenge and purge involves his brother-in-law, who has just become a father. After his nephew's baptism, the protagonist brings his brother-in-law home to discuss transferring the family business to Hong Kong. He intends to entrust his brother-in-law with important responsibilities, but only on the condition that his brother-in-law confess whether he has ever cooperated with a rival family.

In short, the man must be absolutely honest and loyal in order to entrust his brother-in-law with important responsibilities, and then the brother-in-law actually did honestly confess.

Old Martin had no idea what was going on, but seeing his brother-in-law's honest confession made him frown and mutter, "This guy's dead meat!"

Hearing his grumbling, Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't help but say, "But doesn't the male lead love his family a lot? He's so doting on his sister and nephew?"

As if to prove Leonardo DiCaprio's words, the male protagonist, faced with his brother-in-law's frankness, gladly accepted his brother-in-law's loyalty and let him take his men to Hong Kong to pave the way for the family.

The brother-in-law was thrilled to be entrusted with such an important task. He said a few more words to express his loyalty before leaving with his men.

Then, as soon as he stepped out of the mansion and got into the car, he was strangled to death by his subordinates inside the vehicle. The visual language was cold and chilling.

Young Leonardo DiCaprio felt a chill run down his spine, while Old Martin wore an "I knew it" expression and said quietly, "It's precisely because the protagonist loves his family so much that he must eliminate the scourge within the family. Only in this way can he protect his other family members. This is the responsibility of the head of the family, and also the responsibility of someone in power!"

The movie is now nearing its end, but there's still one crucial scene to come.

The news of her brother-in-law's death could not be kept secret in the end. The younger sister, played by Li Lin, became a widow and went to the male lead to confront him in grief. The male lead did not defend himself but just let his sister beat him. After his emotions had calmed down a bit, he asked his men to take her to see a doctor so that she would not be too shocked by the loss of her husband.

After the younger sister left, the foreign woman who had witnessed the whole thing couldn't help but ask the male protagonist in horror if he had killed her brother-in-law.

Faced with his wife's terrified questioning, the male protagonist finally broke down in anger and berated his foreign wife. However, after calming down, he sincerely lied and denied everything under his wife's questioning. His wife believed him, stopped crying and smiled, and left the male protagonist's study.

Behind his wife, the protagonist, who had established his authority through a bloody purge, formally accepted the allegiance of his proud and ruthless soldiers. As the study door closed, he officially became the new generation of Shanghai tycoon...

As the end credits rolled, the theme song "Shanghai Bund" began to play.

Ok.

This time it's really "Shanghai Bund".

The song "Shanghai Bund" is about the surging waves.

Sung by Jane Zhang, one of the top female singers in the Chinese music scene.

The lyrics and the theme of the movie fit together quite seamlessly. In fact, the narrative framework of Chow Yun-fat's "Shanghai Bund" was also derived from The Godfather, but it was changed in a very distinctive way, full of patriotism and love amidst the grudges and love affairs.

Lu Lin doesn't possess the talent of the older generation of Hong Kong filmmakers. He's essentially just a porter of nature, capable of simply altering the background settings to make them smooth and seamless. Then, relying on his superhuman memory, he replicates the film's aesthetics one-to-one, leaving the judgment of whether it's good or bad to the moviegoers...