China Entertainment 2000.

Chapter 202 "Monster" shines in Cannes

"The Host"

The English title of "Monster" dissipates like smoke, and what comes into view is a laboratory, a foreigner and a Korean.

"Why don't you throw this crap away?"

"That's formalin!"

"Methanol to be precise, expired methanol to be more precise, with a layer of dust on it, pour it into the wastewater pool."

auditorium.

"Hey Lavanya, I'm surprised to see you here."

"I am the editor-in-chief of a film magazine. It is shameful to miss the Cannes Film Festival. But Billy, why did you come? "The Host" was screened in the smallest hall in Cannes."

The bald Billy spread his hands: "Because I am a small film producer, how about the movie?"

"Studio" magazine editor-in-chief Lavanya shrugged: "It's a parody of Hollywood monster movies, where waste methanol flows into the Han River, causing fish or frogs to mutate, and then be eliminated by heroes. It's so cliche and nothing new."

"Let's see and then talk."

Seeing Lavanya say this, Billy was immediately disappointed.

He couldn't afford the distribution rights to Hollywood's Jaws-like monster movie.

I have never seen any Asian monster movies. There must be a technical gap. They are rough and have no connotation. He probably made a wasted trip.

Subtitles: February 2003.

Two fishermen on the Han River scooped up a frog-sized, extremely aggressive fish with plastic cups.

Subtitles: February 2004.

On the Han River Bridge, in the pouring rain, two policemen tried to persuade a man who looked slightly insane and looked like he was about to commit suicide by jumping into the river not to do anything stupid.

The man by the bridge stared at the dark, foaming water of the Han River and said to himself: "Don't you see it? The dark place in the water, don't you really see it? Our good life It’s over.”

In the eyes of the police, the crazy man jumped down.

The screen was completely dark with gray tones, raindrops as big as beans, and dull music.

【Jiang Liu's works】

After the four characters slowly appeared and disappeared, the screen became bright again, and the protagonist played by Jiang Wen fell into a deep sleep.

In the first six minutes, Billy twisted his body excitedly and said to the woman next to him: "Lavanya, let's make a bet. You must have guessed wrong. "Monster" will not be a simple Hollywood monster-like movie. Movie."

"No, I'm not a fool. Although the movie only opened for five minutes, I also saw a trace of the director's ambition. Monster in the Han River, South Korea's Miracle on the Han River? The 97 global financial crisis?"

While Lavanya was speculating on the meaning of the plot in the first five minutes of the movie, she scribbled down her doubts in her notebook to prepare for a full film review later.

"I don't know, but I think the movie is unusual. Let's talk about it after watching it."

The two fell silent after communicating in a low voice, but in just two or three minutes, they and the audience in the hall were surprised again.

Something like a Hollywood monster movie.

A parody of Hollywood monster movies.

None of this exists. The monster in "Monster" is not the shy monster in Hollywood that half-holds a pipa and half-covers its face and doesn't like to say hello to others. It appears openly in the Han River.

Not only does it accept feeding from tourists openly, but it also goes ashore to eat people.

Less than ten minutes into "Monster", European audiences saw a bright and bloody scene of monsters chasing and biting and killing humans.

There were shouts of exclamation and admiration one after another in the screening room.

Cannes film critic Lavanya quickly wrote in his notebook:

[Although it is a "monster" type of film, it completely breaks the audience's existing thinking patterns about Hollywood science fiction films. This alone is enough to excite European audiences who are new to such films for a while. ]     【The film director used this unconventional method to win applause from European audiences for the first time. 】

Lavanya is still struggling to write the film review of "Monster". The audience in the theater has assumed the perspective of the protagonist hiding under the car, holding their breath and observing the monster's bloody mouth at close range.

When Lavanya raised his head, the audience in the theater shouted again: "Oh, no"

After the hero's daughter was dragged into the Han River by the monster's tail, several languages ​​representing unwillingness and regret, including English, French, and Spanish, echoed in the theater.

"When will "Monster" be released in China?"

In the front row, Zhang Yimou asked Jiang Liu.

"House of Flying Daggers will premiere on July 7th, half a month earlier than you guys, on June 16th."

Zhang Yimou nodded. There is room for error between the two movies two weeks apart, so the box office hit won't be too big.

He is an old director, not to mention the deep connotations and metaphors of "Monster".

In terms of the smooth story rhythm alone, once "House of Flying Daggers" encounters it, I am afraid there will be no good fruits to eat, or it may be another tragic situation between "Heroes" and "Pirates".

The next plot of "Monster" continues to surprise the audience.

There are no heroes in the movie. Instead, there are grandfathers, fathers, uncles, aunts and a whole family of relatives who go to rescue the little girl.

During this process, Grandpa was bitten to death by a monster because the protagonist misremembered the number of bullets.

Before he died, the grandfather never complained that his son was lazy and looked like a waste as he usually did.

His expression is calm and his heroic spirit is moving.

The male protagonist's sister Nanzhu, with a long bow on her back, can be said to be heroic and heartwarming.

Finally, when she and the monster were facing each other on the bridge, the monster rushed towards her quickly.

Nanzhu held her breath and concentrated, bent her bow and arrow, and was about to kill the monster. Unfortunately, the monster ran too fast, and before the arrow could be fired, the monster threw her under the bridge and passed out.

The repeated setbacks she did not dare to face made the arrow she shot at the last moment completely sublime.

Nanri, the younger brother of the male protagonist, used homemade incendiary bombs to chase monsters. When he was about to annihilate the monsters in one fell swoop, he accidentally broke the last incendiary bomb.

The twists and turns of the plot reveal sadness in the humor, which makes people deeply admire the director's ability to mobilize the audience's emotions time and time again, while also throwing cold water on it like a joke every time.

However, at the end of the movie, the director once again gave the audience a heavy blow.

The death of the hero's daughter vividly demonstrates the cruelty of life.

At the end of the film, the scene where the male protagonist was awakened from his dream and looked at the dark Han River with a gun in hand and a hesitant look on his face made the audience in the screening room burst into tears.

Audiences who actively participate in the Cannes Film Festival generally enjoy good viewing of films.

"Monster" uses the shell of a commercial film to explore the current situation of society and the hidden aspects of human nature.

Therefore, the audience clearly captured what Jiang Liu really wanted to explore in the movie.

Therefore, when the title of the film appeared again on the big screen, the words "Jiang Liu's work", hundreds of viewers in the screening hall gave extremely warm applause to the film's director Jiang Liu and the creative team.

Looking at Jiang Wen who was surrounded by European movie fans, Lavanya said with regret: "'The Host' was the best movie released on the first day of Cannes, but it is a pity that it did not participate."

Billy laughed endlessly and said with excitement on his face: "God help me. Fortunately, I didn't participate in the competition. Otherwise, I won't be able to afford the Palme d'Or."

Lavanya stood up in dismay: "Asian filmmakers don't seem to know much about the three major European films. "The Host", which covers politics, environmental protection, family affection, and human nature, should go to the Berlin Film Festival."

"But whether in Cannes or Berlin, "The Host" will still be extremely dazzling!"

“There’s something great to watch at the 57th Cannes Film Festival!”

(End of this chapter)