Chapter 308
So, which award should this film be given?
Due to schedule reasons, Ling Suisui only attended the premiere ceremony of "The Sister Who Can't Get Married" and the press conference. She didn't stay in Berlin for long before she flew to the United States.
When she was about to leave, Yan Siling was reluctant to let her go. If Ling Suisui wasn't here, how would she survive the next few days?
Suddenly losing his backbone, Yan Siling's social phobia broke out. And this happened abroad. Her English was average and she didn't understand German at all. She could only understand part of the industry exchange forums she attended, and was at a loss when it came to professional vocabulary.
This was the result after her intensive tutoring - Yan Siling regretted it very much. If she had known that she would have such a glorious day, she must have studied English seriously when she was a student.
Ling Suisui comforted her: "It's okay, English is very simple. When you encounter professional vocabulary, you can look it up in the dictionary on the spot. Many people do this. Uncommon words in English are difficult for most native speakers, let alone us."
"By the way, if you have any problems, just look for Gu Size. He is a very enthusiastic person and is willing to help you with anything."
Whether it is to maintain his image as a good guy or to make a splash at the Berlin Film Festival, Gu Sizhe will not refuse any request from Yan Siling.
trouble? Why would it be troublesome? These are the things he loves the most.
The leading actor was away due to some matters and the director was nervous and uncomfortable with the situation. For Gu Size, this was a godsend opportunity for him to shine.
As long as he doesn't think of himself as a father, Ling Suisui doesn't reject his "daddy-like" trait of taking on too much responsibility. At least he will really help when there is something going on.
When Ling Sui was flying across the Atlantic Ocean, the premiere reviews of "The Unmarriageable Sister" had already spread on the Internet.
Thanks to Ling Sui's extremely high traffic, this project received a lot of attention before filming began, and even caused a bit of controversy over the casting. Of course, compared to the expectations for the movie, that little thing is nothing.
"The Legend of Sword and Fairy" brought Ling Sui back a Cannes Best Actress trophy. This time she will bring her work to compete in the European Top 3 again. Will she continue her glory or return empty-handed?
Some film critics said that the audiences have very high expectations of Ling Suisui. In everyone's eyes, being nominated was no longer an achievement; it seemed like something she should do. You have to win an award to be congratulated.
This is the price of high trust. It represents the appeal of real money, but also represents higher expectations and requirements.
Of course, so far, Ling Suisui has never disappointed the audience.
The first wave of review feedback was very positive, and the film's title even made it onto the German Trending List. You should know that this was only the premiere in Berlin and has not been officially released. Although the number of people participating in the discussion is small, the number of readings of the topic is particularly high.
The relevant film reviews were quickly moved back to the Chinese Internet - the work was good, the actors' acting was great, and the audience applauded at the end of the film, and the atmosphere was warm. It is not deliberately sensational and does not contain any preachy lines, and the first audience was very willing to recommend the film to others.
Among more than a dozen popular film reviews, the overlap rate when mentioning impressive plots and shots is very low, which proves that the content of the movie is exciting enough and the angles are diverse, and countless Hamlets are about to be born.
As the protagonist of the film, Bai Wei, played by Ling Suisui, is the most discussed and mentioned name, and the first audiences seemed to have difficulty reaching a consensus on her evaluation.
Some say she is extremely insecure, some say she is cold-hearted and profit-oriented, and some say she is a willful child who is still competing for her parents' love and attention.
There is one description that is most special: Bai Wei is very perfect and can do everything, but she just doesn't know how to be a woman in a patriarchal society.
I also went to the movies in the summer. One of her works has been shortlisted for other categories of the Berlin Film Festival. This time she went to walk the red carpet and watch the premiere of "The Unmarriageable Sister".
Pei Xuehai and Ying Nian both asked her in the group what she thought of the movie. Xia Tian thought for a moment and then answered:
A process of uncovering the truth. It's a bit cruel, but I don't want to describe it as tragic. 】
Pei Xuehai seemed to be thinking about something, while Ying Nian asked many questions.
No, in his impression, this movie should not be a suspense movie. Why are you playing the role of a riddler here? !
The description of summer was so vague that Yingnian felt anxious and deeply regretful.
In fact, he really wanted to fly to the Berlin Film Festival to watch the premiere, but he didn't have a legitimate reason like summer, and he was afraid that someone would seize on this point and cause trouble.
"You don't have to think so much about it." Xia Tian said sincerely, "Even if you go to the red carpet with great fanfare and send out a hundred press releases, everyone will know that you are just trying to get you to pay for it, and it won't have any impact on Sui Sui."
Ying Nian: "...if you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb."
Ying Nian, who was broken, went back to study his movie script. Isn’t it just Ou San? He can also go there based on his own works. Let’s see what Xia Tian can say then.
...Anyway, there are so many film festival sections, and no one stipulates that you must vote for the main competition.
Since the number of audience members attending the premiere was small, they were generally more conscious and did not post content related to spoilers, so the specific plot of "The Sister Who Can't Get Married" is still shrouded in mystery in China.
We can only piece together a little synopsis through the trailer and fragments of words from the press conference: the heroine has a twin brother who was lost when he was young and then came back. Her family urged her to get married, but she had gone on many blind dates but had not found anyone she was satisfied with.
Putting these two things together, many people imagined the story of "disputes over wealthy family property, the heroine's resistance to marriage", but according to the film reviews and character introductions, the plot is completely different from what everyone imagined, which aroused the audience's curiosity.
Suisi’s mentality is very anxious. Fans of actors have tried to follow the drama in an embryonic way. In order to "deliver" new works, full publicity is a routine treatment. But for movies like this that premiere abroad, there's nothing we can do and we can only watch.
The feeling of waiting for the movie to be released and the awards ceremony is extremely anxious, but as long as I think about the fact that the haters are even more anxious, I feel much more relaxed.
Sure enough, happiness is created by comparison.
The Berlin Film Festival lasts a long time, and as the participating films are screened one after another, many media are speculating who will win the awards this year. Because "The Sister Who Can't Get Married" received good on-site response, there is a high chance that this work will win an award.
As to whether there is a prize and what the prize is, several judges of the film festival are engaged in a heated discussion.
If Yan Siling could hear their conversation, she would definitely be relieved. "The Sister Who Can't Get Married" will definitely win an award. The judging panel has reached a consensus on this. What they are discussing is just which award to give it.
One judge proposed the best actress award. Ling Suisui performed the role of Bai Wei very well. She supported the main line of the whole movie and guided the audience's thoughts at all times. No one could finish watching the movie without having surging thoughts about her performance.
The judge even said that if someone asked him again what is the perfect performance and what is the actor's life role, he would definitely recommend others to watch this movie. Bai Wei is a textbook-level demonstration.
"You're right, but shouldn't we discuss who will win the Golden Bear first?"
The Golden Bear Award is the highest award of the Berlin Film Festival, and this award means the best film in the main competition unit. Other jury awards, or individual awards for Best Director, Actor, etc., can only be counted as the Silver Bear Award.
If Ling Sui were asked to choose between the Golden Bear Award and the Best Actor Award, she would definitely choose the former without hesitation.
Before "The Unmarriageable Sister", the jury already had two films nominated for the Golden Bear Award. With the addition of this work, it became a choice between three.
There was no doubt that the judges quarreled over the films they supported.
Although the results of this award system are very subjective and many audiences boo every year, the judges do not completely rely on their personal aesthetics when discussing, but still have some general standards.
Being included in the nomination list means that this work has done well in terms of performance, narrative, picture, composition, camera movement, editing, etc., and some of them are very outstanding.
Compared with the other two candidate films, the advantage of "Sister Who Can't Get Married" does not lie in the director's showmanship, but in its plainness and truthfulness. It does not try to lead the audience to experience art, but instead takes a down-to-earth approach, making people feel that Bai Wei is living around them.
She could be a neighbor, a passerby you meet on the street, or it could be you.
Judging from the content of the movie, this plain shooting technique and Ling Suisui's meticulous acting skills complement each other. Some judges said that this did not reflect the director's level, which was refuted by others, saying that the work is not a show for the director, and any showing off must give way to the final effect of the film.
You could say that Yan Siling knew that she lacked experience and had limited abilities, so she chose a topic that would play to her strengths and avoid her weaknesses. But we are not discussing the best director now. Considering the effect of the entire movie, is this the best way to shoot it?
Moreover, not showing off one’s skills does not mean that the director’s skills are not good. The narrative rhythm of the whole film is very good, the storyboard design is also very reasonable, and the montage of memories is just right, which shows that Yan Siling's basic skills are quite solid.
Let’s talk about the content - "The Sister Who Can't Get Married" reflects the social reality that women face a "Mulan-style dilemma" and shows the entanglement of love and hate within the family. This style of work has always been a favorite of the Berlin Film Festival.
But if you want to win an award, this alone is not enough. As an art film, especially one with a modern background, it must have a certain avant-garde nature, exploring and pioneering different fields, rather than going around in circles within the well-known scope. What kind of unique artistic expression can it have then?
If the above works are classified as art films, it is purely because the commercial films have poor box office performance and they are finding an excuse to save face.
So, today when feminist works are becoming more and more well-known to the audience, what new content does "The Sister Who Can't Get Married" have?
One judge said: "Mulan's dilemma is not a new topic, but Bai Wei's attitude is. Usually when we talk about women and family, if we use the narrative of suffering, we often associate it with oppression and escape."
"In fact, if we expand the scope a little bit, we will find that when women face a lot of structural oppression, the mainstream attitude is to avoid it and express their opinions by taking actions of non-cooperation."
"If marriage cannot protect the interests of women, then they will not get married. If childbearing causes harm to the human body, then they will choose to be DINKs. The more examples of male crimes and premeditated crimes I hear, the more I will try to stay away from the men around me, hoping to live in an environment where there are only women around me."
"Do you think this is a bad approach?" someone interrupted.
"No, of course not. Everyone has the right to choose how to live their lives. I am just stating these phenomena."
"Let's talk about Bai Wei. Facing her brother who was found and the impact on her family status, Bai Wei did fight back. On the surface, her behavior seemed to be competing with her brother and vying for her parents' attention, but in fact it was a demonstration and competition."
"She has been demonstrating her power, whether it is wealth, social status, or how well she knows her parents, or what kind of material support she can provide to her family, all of them lead to one goal. She refuses to accept being marginalized in the family. She wants to be the head of the family. Everyone in the family, including her brother who just returned and his wife and children, should be centered around her and revolve around her. This is her ideal family model."
The judge paused and said, "Does it sound familiar? In fact, this is how every man treats his family."
Therefore, she and Bai Fei were destined to be at loggerheads with each other and be incompatible. Family disputes are secondary; the fight for dominance is urgent.
Bai Wei will not be soft-hearted and give in just because Bai Fei is lost, because it was not her fault and she does not feel that she owes him anything; Bai Fei will not be embarrassed to fight for power just because he has just returned to his family. How can a man ever feel that he is unworthy?
"Combined with the film's Mulan-like dilemma, this is a very ironic phenomenon. Bai Wei has been 'dressing as a man' since she was a child to fulfill her parents' expectations of their son. This is how she was raised. So when she faces such a problem, she will use a personality trait that is more often seen in men to deal with it."
"I won't retreat. Why should I retreat? Bai Wei has a very strong sense of entitlement. Like many men, she subconsciously feels that the family should be centered around her and serve her. Even if she doesn't need material support now, she will ask her family to provide her with emotional value. Even in feminist films, it is very rare to find a heroine who can confidently have such an attitude."
The judge added: "She has no cognitive impairment about her gender. She just has more so-called 'male traits' in the field of sociology when she was working hard to move up the social ladder in the first half of her life. These are acquired later in life. She is a very different woman."
One judge from East Asia strongly agreed with the above view. His description of the film's plot was that Bai Wei and Bai Fei both wanted to become the "master" of the family, a role that has great power in the family.
In the feudal period, the "master" decided the right to allocate resources, the right to make decisions on various matters, and even the power of life and death over family members. Although these powers have been reduced a lot in modern society, the "master" is still the highest and most inviolable figure in the entire family.
"Bai Wei wanted to become the 'master'. She had wealth, ability, and cared for every family member. This was the only way she could think of to compete, but she still failed. In the eyes of the world, Bai Fei was inferior to Bai Wei in every way. He could become the 'master' only because he was the real son, nothing more."
"The competition between Bai Wei and Bai Fei is, in a sense, a competition between two 'sons', but there is only one real son in the family. Bai Wei's success in her career is all acquired through hard work, but in her family, she lost to her innate biological gender."
Therefore, it is only normal for Bai Wei to be disappointed, collapse, and feel pain.
Who is Bai Fei? Not some faraway fellow who was born in Rome, he was her twin brother. They came from the same womb, have the same bloodline, and came into this world one after the other. Just because his physical structure is slightly different from hers, he is a natural "master" and the boss of the family.
It was as if his return had exposed the true nature of her fake "son". Her family’s attitude towards her is written in the title of the movie. The words “unmarriageable” implicitly contain complaints and disgust, as well as the determination to kick her out of the family.
The word "sister" is based on Bai Fei's kinship, and it is a word centered on him. This is Bai Wei’s situation in this family. The real-life issue that the whole movie wants to present starts from the title.
However, her family would not admit this, and even they themselves were not aware of it. If you ask them, they will just say that both sons and daughters are treasures and they love both of them, but it has been like this for thousands of years!
"In fact, I think that Bai Wei agreed to go out on a blind date because she wanted to ease the relationship with her parents. She probably felt that she had lost power in this family, so she formed a new family to meet her own goals. But it is obvious that it is difficult for her to achieve this wish."
"A daughter cannot be a 'master', and neither can a wife or a daughter-in-law. The whole movie is about her losing power, fighting for power, and constantly hitting a wall. This cycle repeats over and over again. She keeps fighting head-on, trying to find a way to gain power as a woman in a patriarchal society."
"I feel like we keep talking about the word power. Isn't it a bit heavy to use it in a family relationship? Bai Wei doesn't want material control, and the plot doesn't touch on this. How about replacing it with words like respect and recognition?"
"Then this level is too mild, and it can't reach the effect of becoming a 'master'."
"The words you said are too civilized. I think they are power - a power that allows me to dominate you, to put my will over yours easily, and to oppress your soul."
"That sounds barbaric."
"Oh, is Bai Wei some kind of innocent and kind angel? Don't forget, she has always been a 'man' before!"
"It's a closed loop again. This movie really shows the art of satire to its fullest."
The judges became more and more excited as they talked, and they couldn't stop talking about their understanding of the movie. A good movie can bring people multi-angle thinking and enlightenment. On this level, "The Unmarriageable Sister" does a great job.
"This movie deserves the Golden Bear! I think it's the best film of the year!"
"When I close my eyes now, I can only see Bai Wei, played by Ling Suisui. Many details of her facial expressions are engraved in my mind. The actor's performance adds so much color to this film."
"The director seems very young and a newcomer. Is this her first work to be released in theaters?"
"So what? You don't care whether Yan Siling has experience or not. Just look at whether the movie is good or not. We select works by horizontal comparison, not vertical comparison. We can neither raise the standards for the works of big directors nor relax the standards for small directors, and vice versa. We don't consider off-site factors, only the work itself."
“But by giving the Golden Bear to this film, doesn’t it mean that it encourages the repetition of narratives about women’s suffering? The Berlin Film Festival has the heaviest political implications among the three major European film festivals, so we should consider the impact in many aspects.”
"No, no, no, Bai Wei is not like that, and she doesn't want to appear as a victim. She has always been fighting for power, which is why I want to give the trophy to her. Her ideas and perspectives on women are very novel. She didn't run away from her family, but tried to control her family. Although she failed, she tried many times."
…
In the meeting room, the discussion became louder and louder. When the conversation got excited, some judges even forgot to speak English and various languages came out in a flurry. At one point, the scene was more chaotic than a vegetable market.
The chairman of the jury sighed. It seemed that this year's work would not be finished so quickly. This group of people would not give up until they had a huge quarrel.
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