Chapter 463 Awards in the Restaurant

The film "The Lover" made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival and left a deep impression on the French film industry.

Because the style of this film is so similar to the French New Wave films, Hong Kong film directors such as Ann Hui were deeply influenced by the French New Wave films.

But at the same time, the temperament of "The Lover" is different from that of general New Wave films and is full of strong oriental style.

In particular, the love between Guo Yudao and Jian in the movie, which is both forbearing and restrained, and passionate and ardent, has fascinated many French filmmakers.

If we make an analogy, "The Lover" is very similar to "Lust, Caution" directed by Ang Lee in later generations.

It may not necessarily suit the Chinese taste, but it touches the hearts of Western literary youths.

At the beginning of this year, the novel "The Lover" was published. Many French literary youths came to read it and became even more fascinated by the story.

Compared to movies, the world that novels can present often has more room for imagination.

Therefore, Gallimard Publishing House held a welcome dinner for Lin Weimin, the new winner of the Goncourt Prize and the original author of "The Lover", which immediately attracted this group of French literary youths.

The atmosphere of the dinner was quite lively. All those present were people from the French literary and art circles, and they were all chatting happily.

Lin Weimin was accompanied by an interpreter. If he met someone who couldn't speak English, he would ask the interpreter to do it. If he met someone who could speak English, he would go and chat with them himself. The atmosphere was full of joy.

Alain Resnais was very interested when he heard that many of Lin Weimin's works had been adapted into dramas.

Alain Resnais's works have always been known for their surrealism, but since 1980, his creative focus has shifted to the style of stage plays.

The use of minimalist theatrical sets, supplemented by carefully designed long shots, and dense and concise dialogues fully demonstrates the humanistic film form that Alain Resnais pursued.

Alain Resnais talked about his stage play movies, which reminded Lin Weimin of "Jiajing and Hai Rui" which was adapted into the stage of the People's Art Theatre. The styles of the two are almost identical.

After hearing Lin Weimin's description, Alain Resnais exclaimed that it was incredible, "I really couldn't imagine that there are people in a distant country who share the same ideas as me. Lin, I really hope to see the play you created with my own eyes."

"Alan, this drama is just adapted from my novel, and the script was written by a young man," Lin Weimin emphasized.

His attitude impressed Alain Resnais. For people engaged in artistic creation, respecting the creative achievements of others is a very important quality.

"It's not easy to watch this play. Either you go to China or invite the theater to perform in France," Lin Weimin joked.

"It's indeed a bit difficult." Alain Resnais smiled and changed the subject.

The dinner ended with laughter and joy.

After a night's rest in the hotel, Lin Weimin came to the Touon restaurant in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris the next morning. He was accompanied by Andre, the editor-in-chief of Gallimard Publishing House, Garyan, Zou Daishi, who was stationed in France, and the first-class secretary of the Daishi Institute.

The Goncourt Prize is awarded in a restaurant, which is a tradition since its inception.

Not only the Goncourt Prize, many award ceremonies in France are held in restaurants.

For example, the Renaudot Prize, one of the six major literary awards in France along with the Goncourt Prize, is awarded at the same venue: the Tuon Restaurant.

It was a little after ten in the morning and Tuang Restaurant had just opened. The restaurant was not accepting outside guests today.

Countless reporters from news media and literature lovers had already gathered in front of the door, waving the works of their favorite writers in their hands.

The arrival of Lin Weimin and others caused a commotion among the crowd in front of the door, and many readers were wondering who the candidate was.

Soon someone came to clear up the confusion for everyone. The leader was André, the editor-in-chief of Gallimard Publishing House, and there were two oriental faces. They must be the author of "The Lover".

Readers holding the novel "Lover" waved the books and shouted enthusiastically.

"What are they shouting?" Lin Weimin asked Zou Daishi.

Zou Daishi smiled, "They are shouting the name of the book 'Lover'. It seems like they are cheering you on!"

When people are abroad and are praised by so many foreign faces, they will naturally feel a sense of pride in their hearts. Not only Zou Daishi, but also Lin Weimin feels the same.

Before entering the restaurant, he waved to the crowd, earning even louder cheers.

At the Tuong restaurant, on the day of the Goncourt Prize, writers like Lin Weimin were like superstars.

The decoration style of Tuong Restaurant is full of French style. Today, in preparation for the Goncourt Prize ceremony, the restaurant has been spruced up to look brand new.

The jury of the Goncourt Prize is called the Academy, and the judges are called Academicians, with ten candidates in each session.

With Andre's introduction, Lin Weimin met with them one by one.

While everyone was greeting each other, other candidates arrived one after another.

Andre whispered in Lin Weimin's ear that the winner of the Goncourt Prize would be notified in advance every year, for fear that the winner would not come, resulting in an awkward situation.

Lin Weimin observed the expressions of several other candidates. Their eyes fell on Lin Weimin from time to time, and it seemed that they already had an expectation of the result.

Lin Weimin thought about the attitudes of those literary and art figures he had seen yesterday and realized that this was probably the unspoken rule of the French literary world.

At around 11 o'clock in the morning, the Goncourt Prize is about to begin.

Well, it was actually the academicians who ordered the food.

It is really difficult for most people to adapt to the French way of thinking.

According to the tradition of the Goncourt Prize, the winners are announced at 1 p.m. During this period, everyone seemed to be discussing literature, creation, and awards, but in fact they were waiting for food, giving the impression of sitting at a banquet in the countryside.

It was one o'clock in the afternoon and the energetic waiter rang the bell to serve the food.

At this time, Ms. Edmond Charles Roux, President of the Académie Goncourt, stood up. She is a well-known French journalist and writer.

Lin Weimin didn't understand French, but just by looking at Edmond Charles Roux's enthusiastic expression and her excited voice, he knew that she must be announcing the winner of this year's Goncourt Prize.

In a broad sense, the Goncourt Prize includes the Goncourt Prize and the Académie Goncourt Prize. The Académie Prize is awarded in September each year and includes the Poetry Prize, the First Novel Prize, the Novella Prize, and the Biography Prize.

In a narrow sense, the Goncourt Prize refers to the award ceremony held at the Tuong restaurant at the end of each year, which is equivalent to the best novel award.

After Edmond Charles Lu finished his last sentence, the translator beside Lin Weimin had no time to translate it, but Lin Weimin saw that Edmond Charles Lu had already stretched out his hand in Lin Weimin's direction, and everyone in the restaurant immediately gave a grand and warm applause.

At this time, the translator's voice came, "You won the prize!"

Lin Weimin stood up and waved to everyone, his face calm, steady and dignified, exuding the demeanor of a great man.

Then, in front of a crowd of people, Lin Weimin walked up and took the check for 50 francs from Edmond Charles Roux.

From the moment Lin Weimin was announced as the winner, the restaurant was lit up with flash lights. By the time he received the check, his eyes were almost blinded by the lights and he could only maintain a stiff smile on his face.

After the check was taken, Garyan immediately handed over the French version of "The Lover" and asked Lin Weimin to hold up the book with one hand. This is also part of the award ceremony of the Goncourt Prize. Each winning writer will take a photo with his or her work.

As soon as the cameras finished flashing, the restaurant started serving the food.

It is the tradition of the Goncourt Prize again. After the award ceremony, we have a meal. If you don’t know, you might think these academicians are here to work as day laborers.

Lin Weimin was a little uncomfortable with dining in such a solemn occasion as an award ceremony, but when he looked at the academicians, writers, guests and reporters around him, everyone seemed to have gotten used to it and were very casual. Lin Weimin followed the local customs and started eating without hesitation.

Well, the taste is average and it’s just for show.

During the meal, Andre sat next to Lin Weimin and kept whispering to him.

"Now that the results are in, the red belt will come in handy."

The "red belt" that Andre mentioned is actually the book's waistband. Before the annual Goncourt Prize is awarded, booksellers will prepare a batch of waistbands for their potential winning works.

Once a novel is confirmed to have won the award, it will immediately be given a "red belt" with only a few words "Goncourt Prize" written on it. It is concise and has a strong appeal.

Novels wearing this "red belt" will be placed in the most conspicuous position in all bookstores and will be given priority by readers entering the store. This is the influence that the Goncourt Prize has created for more than half a century.

The lunch at the award ceremony was very sumptuous, but it was not peaceful while eating. Everyone chatted a lot and took pictures from time to time, and we had to pay attention to our manners at all times.

After finishing his meal, Lin Weimin followed the academicians of the academy to the balcony on the second floor of the restaurant to meet with many reporters and readers.

Standing on the balcony and looking down, the street in front of Tuang Restaurant had already been blocked by the crowd, and reporters and readers were mixed together, indistinguishable from each other.

Reporters' flashlights were flashing, and readers were waving books in their hands, warmly welcoming Lin Weimin, the new winner of the Goncourt Prize.

The seemingly random Goncourt Prize has a unique status in the hearts of the French people, and the winner of each award becomes the focus of attention of all French people.

He waved to the crowd downstairs, and countless cheers and shouts responded to him. The feeling of being the center of attention was intoxicating.

At this time, Ms. Edmond Charles Roux, who was standing next to Lin Weimin, shouted loudly: "Today, we have witnessed the birth of another world-class writer!"

The cheers from downstairs seemed to echo her shout, and became louder again like a tsunami.

Standing in the corner of the restaurant, Zou Daishi looked at Lin Weimin standing on the balcony enjoying the attention of the crowd, and a strong sense of national pride surged in his heart.

Perhaps, from today on, China has truly produced a world-class writer.

(End of this chapter)