Chapter 757 Everyone is praising
Originally, because "Dragon Inn" was shortlisted for the screening section, many people did not have high expectations for the film.
Psychological expectations differ.
Directed by Liu Bige, written by Lu Yanhe, and starring Shang Yongzhou and Chen Bige, even with such a cast, the fact that the film was not nominated for the main competition unit will lower everyone's expectations for it.
This is the influence of top film festivals.
Many people who came to the premiere were actually expecting to see a mediocre film with a star-studded cast.
After the incident involving Liu Bige and Huang Tai, what everyone wanted to know even more was how Liu Bige would publicly respond to the matter.
As a result, when the movie "Dragon Inn" started playing, everyone still habitually focused their attention on the big screen in front of them.
The film opens with a grand scene of galloping horses. Accompanied by an introductory narration, prisoners are released one by one, placed on horses, and then shot dead. As each prisoner roars before their death, the background of the story slowly unfolds.
The pace is extremely fast.
It's not the fast pace of commercial films that's the problem, but rather the extremely fast-paced introduction of the story's background, which doesn't feel like a movie at all.
Yet, the visuals are so cinematic.
This scene is actually the prelude and foreshadowing of the whole story, but this prelude and foreshadowing itself is a strong plot, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Then, as the prisoner Yang Yuxuan made his appearance, the young eunuch played by Yan Liang and the supervisor played by Zhou Yuning also made their appearances.
A gasp suddenly erupted from the crowd.
Lu Yanhe was taken aback.
Then he realized that everyone was stunned by the handsome looks of Zhou Yuning and Yan Liang in the close-up shots on the big screen.
Common name—
I was blown away.
Zhou Yuning and Yan Liang both have regular and heroic features. In this movie, they are made to wear eunuch makeup, which makes the effect even more visually striking.
In fact, Donnie Yen and Lawrence Ng in the original version were indeed unforgettable. They possessed a unique blend of ruthlessness and femininity.
Many actors who play eunuchs try to portray them in a "feminine" or "effeminate" way, but these two are different. Their effeminacy is more of a psychological characteristic than a physical one.
What they portrayed was a kind of effeminate softness with a masculine ruthlessness, rather than the gentle tenderness of a woman.
Zhou Yuning and Yan Liang are both actors who are down-to-earth and dedicated to their craft. Their solid acting skills made them unforgettable from the moment they appeared on screen.
What surprised Lu Yanhe the most was Yan Liang.
He has truly undergone a complete transformation.
Indeed, the best way for an actor to prove themselves is to completely change their acting style.
This look, this style, is something Yan Liang has never done before.
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For Lu Yanhe, "Dragon Inn" is a very special existence.
Of course, he was referring to "New Dragon Gate Inn".
However, since there is no "Dragon Inn" in this timeline, "New Dragon Inn" has become "Dragon Inn".
Lu Yanhe has his own standard for judging whether a martial arts film is good or bad—of course, it's just his own standard.
Does it answer the question of what martial arts is?
Wuxia is definitely not a narrow concept.
It can certainly be interpreted in various ways.
But every good martial arts story must have a touching answer to this.
Martial arts films are no exception.
What Lu Yanhe felt in "Dragon Inn" was the chivalrous spirit that was not afraid of power, and the mutual trust between strangers.
This is a very Chinese kind of romance.
Lu Yanhe has always believed that martial arts novels are an outstanding representative of Chinese romantic literature.
Of course, this is still just his opinion.
In the movie "Dragon Inn", various groups of people gather at this small inn in the desert. Danger lurks everywhere, each with their own thoughts and intentions, testing each other, and then, a great battle is about to break out.
There wasn't much time for them to think about it.
They had to make a choice in the blink of an eye, amidst the flashing lights and the clash of swords.
Of course, the protagonists in martial arts stories always choose to follow their hearts.
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In such stories, everything is tinged with bloodshed.
However, when Qiu Moyan, played by Chen Bige, fought with Jin Xiangyu, played by Liu Zi, and "dazzlingly" stripped the latter of her clothes, this scene caused a series of gasps in the theater.
Hearing the exclamations around him, Lu Yanhe smiled knowingly.
He was also amazed by this scene while watching a movie back then.
The two exchanged words, their exchanges striking each other across the small space, their movements creating fleeting shadows.
The music played on the pipa and guzheng changed in pace with the characters' movements and speech.
Liu Zi's shirt was ripped off by Chen Bige, and she landed on the rack with the momentum. She covered her chest with one hand. In the shot, only when she turned her back to the camera and looked back did the surprise and panic on her face appear. Under the yellow oil lamp, her skin was as smooth as cream, and her eyes were trembling with fear.
Chen Bige smiled.
Such movie scenes can be seen in many spy and special agent films, but very few are shot in such a hazy, poetic, and ambiguous way without being blatant.
The next second, Liu Zi's terrified expression vanished, and she immediately became fierce, adopting a "you think I'm really afraid of you?" attitude. She teased Chen Bige a few times and tried to run away, but Chen Bige quickly grabbed Liu Zi's skirt and tore it with a rip.
The rooftop was just as dawn was breaking.
Liu Zi's body curves formed a graceful silhouette.
But Liu Bige didn't linger on that shot for more than a second before the camera zoomed in on Liu Zi's neck and above.
She began to sing without any restraint in this exposed environment.
It's clearly a scene full of ambiguity and innuendo, yet it's filmed naturally and wildly, evoking fantasies without any impure thoughts.
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It has the narrative rhythm of a completely commercial film, yet possesses top-notch cinematic aesthetics.
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Upon seeing this, many people became serious and attentive.
This movie exceeded their expectations.
So far, the film has turned out to be nothing like what they initially envisioned.
Was the filming bad?
Mediocre?
After seeing this movie, they really couldn't say such things.
The plot becomes even more tense when Zhou Huai'an, played by Shang Yongzhou, and Zhou Yuning and Yan Liang, along with their group of Eastern Depot members, arrive at the Dragon Gate Inn one after another, further escalating the conflict.
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Although foreigners may not understand martial arts, it's not like they're encountering this genre for the first time.
Moreover, this martial arts film has a relatively realistic style; every action scene is not the kind of fantastical, unconventional movement.
Most importantly, this film features a strong plot and complex character relationships, making it easier for foreign audiences to understand.
Of course, there are many things that only Chinese people can understand.
This includes Wen Shengming.
Wen Shengming is a veteran actor.
He is the kind of actor who grew up listening to storytelling and crosstalk in teahouses, then watched sketches and plays as an adult, and only later gradually entered the film and television industry.
People, more or less, will remain in their era.
This applies to all artists, no matter how great they are.
Wen Shengming himself knew this.
However, during that hour and a half, he had the illusion that he was watching a movie from his own era.
That kind of traditional martial arts chivalry has been gone for a long time with the decline of martial arts films.
How did Liu Bige and Lu Yanhe, two young men, end up making such a film?
As the last few people crawled out of the desert, amidst swirling sand and wind, they rode off in the sunset, accompanied by desolate and majestic music.
A bitter feeling welled up in Wen Shengming's heart.
It's often said that art is sophisticated and has a high barrier to entry. In reality, in China, from very early times, art has come not only from the imperial court but also from the common people.
"Dragon Inn" is a martial arts story with a very traditional theme.
However, Lu Yanhe's script vividly portrays several characters with distinct personalities. Liu Bige's filming elevates this story beyond a simple narrative, truly achieving storytelling through the lens.
Despite its small size, the film captured a diverse and turbulent atmosphere.
In just an hour and a half, the film brings together the past of each character, creating a brilliant chapter that doesn't feel thin at all.
The ending of this movie wasn't sentimental enough to bring tears to your eyes, but the desolate feeling of "a lone plume of smoke rising straight in the vast desert" faded away with the dust kicked up by the horses' hooves at the end of the story, leaving you speechless for a long time.
When the movie ended, the lights in the theater came on.
The applause that erupted at the scene completely exceeded his expectations.
With so many foreigners here, did they all understand it?
Can they understand martial arts movies?
When Wen Shengming turned around and saw the excited and thrilled expressions on their faces after they stood up, he realized that his earlier thoughts had been too arrogant.
Art is never something that requires others to fully understand the creator's intentions.
Art is something that allows everyone to find their own understanding and empathy within it.
Wen Shengming also stood up and joined everyone in applauding the movie.
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"Film Life": "The moment the film ended and everyone stood up to applaud, I realized that we were all wrong. We all thought that this martial arts film, which was only shortlisted for the screening section, must have been too mediocre to be shortlisted for the main competition. In fact, after the slight disappointment brought by 'Even Faking Death Is Not an Option,' Liu Bige's third film, 'Dragon Inn,' is a work that is enough to further elevate his status in film history. I find it hard to believe that such a magnificent martial arts film was made by a director in his thirties, and the script came from a young man who was only twenty-five years old. Yes, we have said this many times, but even if Liu Bige is a genius director who won the Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival with his first film, and Lu Yanhe is an even more outstanding screenwriter, under these circumstances, we still find it hard to believe that 'Dragon Inn' came from their hands. 'Dragon Inn' is such a film."
This is one of China's top film magazines.
They issued a comment immediately.
Following this, entertainment critic Guan Suchen also commented: "Almost all my followers know that I'm a die-hard fan of Lu Yanhe. I just checked, and I've almost never given a bad review to any of his films, whether it's the lead actor or the screenwriter—the positive review rate is so high that I feel like I might be accused of taking money. But, honestly, I haven't taken a single penny. Getting back to the point, I'm bringing this up because I have to admit that, like many others, I thought 'Dragon Inn' wasn't very good, at least it was a somewhat controversial film. Otherwise, with such a cast, it shouldn't have been left out of the main competition. This is a film that embodies the spirit of chivalry and righteousness, and it's also a film that doesn't rely on fight scenes as a gimmick, but whose fight scenes are better than 99% of action films on the market. There are so many memorable scenes. I specifically looked up who the action director was for this film, and it turns out it was Mr. Qiu Likan. People who aren't familiar with him might not know that this old master was a grandmaster-level action director in Hong Kong films twenty years ago. He hadn't served as an action director for ten years, but I didn't expect 'Dragon Inn' to bring him back."
"Some time ago, the director of 'Project Cloud Dragon' said that stars are not important to movies. Whether stars are important or not has always been a topic of discussion. However, the movie 'Dragon Inn' is actually a very good answer. Some movies can't create such a dramatic atmosphere without a star-studded cast. Such a small inn, with so many characters, each so distinct, is not just a prop. Only real superstars can bring out the 'appearances' of the characters in this movie. In the end, they all come together, and after the undercurrents, danger lurks and survival is on the horizon. I can say directly that if this movie had a different cast, it would definitely not have the same atmosphere."
"From Shang Yongzhou, a calm and composed swordsman, to Chen Bige, a chivalrous woman with both courage and inner conflict, to Liu Zi, a charming and alluring proprietress, and Zhou Yuning, who changed his acting style and played a feminine yet domineering role that is unforgettable... Every actor has portrayed a completely different character from before. The fact that so many top stars can 'start over' in one movie is the very foundation of this film's atmosphere."
"I must praise Yan Liang again. He's a handsome young eunuch who manages his position exceptionally well, and he's also incredibly skilled in martial arts. Among so many big names, he doesn't hold back at all; his presence is so strong that you almost feel like he's the main character. I heard that Lu Yanhe specifically reserved this role for Yan Liang. Apparently, because of the character's personality, Yan Liang's agency wasn't initially keen on him taking the role. I can only say, 'Heh.' I dare say that after this movie is released, Yan Liang's acting career will definitely expand significantly. He's an actor who can handle such a wide range of roles; he's exceeded my expectations."
"So, coming to that point, why wasn't this film nominated for the main competition? It definitely deserved an award!"
About three hours later, more than a dozen domestic media outlets that had watched the film at the venue published their reviews.
Without exception, all of them were positive reviews.
Everyone was astonished.
As many people began translating and sharing reviews from overseas media, it became clear that not only domestic media, but also overseas media outlets were giving the film overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Such overwhelmingly positive reviews even surpassed those of all the films in the main competition.
Many media outlets have mentioned the same question: Why is "Dragon Inn" only shown in the exhibition section?
Meanwhile, Lu Yanhe, who was still in Jose, saw so many people asking this question and muttered softly, "Because if this movie is shown in the main competition, you might not have this attitude."
In the screening section, everyone's expectations were lowered, which allowed them to better appreciate the film's artistic value. If it were in the main competition, would those accustomed to art films be able to appreciate a film with such a fast pace and strong narrative?
Essentially, it's a story of swift justice and revenge.
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, this is a good result.
For "Dragon Inn" right now, winning awards isn't the best outcome; what's truly desirable is for everyone to be praising it.
(End of this chapter)
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