When Ms. Merritt Leslie in France received the copy of the CD, she had already seen several heavyweight works to be selected this time.

This includes a film from a Middle Eastern director, which tells the story of a protagonist who is imprisoned for debt and interacts with his autistic son and his girlfriend. There is also a film about a father who continues to commit crimes and struggles to find his missing son. There is also a film about a woman who takes a train for an extramarital affair and ends up spending a long time in the carriage with an Eastern European miner.

Most of these films focus on human nature, family, self, and crime, and have the style of art films.

Moreover, most of these films are produced by non-European and American directors, with works from underdeveloped countries such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America being the mainstream. In the lenses of these directors, their hometowns are shrouded in a layer of mystery, and films full of primitive wildness and exotic scenery dominate the mainstream.

Of course, the narrative of most films is relatively dull, usually involving one or two people speaking some seemingly confusing conversations in some very dim scenes, mixed with elements of violence and sex.

According to Ms. Merritt, this year's Palme d'Or should be awarded to one of these films.

As for "Spring Day Without a War"?

Sorry, I'm really not familiar with it.

She had wanted to fast forward to the end and pretend that she had watched the movie. In any case, in Ms. Merritt's expectation, this movie was nothing more than some personal heroism and male chauvinism, coupled with the gracefulness and tenderness of a beautiful girl, just like those superhero movies that would make Ms. Merritt vomit at the smell.

This kind of movie can't even get nominated, it's not worth wasting your time.

However, in the evening, her colleague, Professor Michael Weaver, who is also a film critic, sent her a special email.

"Dear Merritt, I think you must watch "Spring Day Without a War". This work is really perfect. If there is any work this year that can be called art, then I think it must be this one. I can't explain it to you more. This is a work that can touch people from the bottom of their hearts and heal them. You must watch the whole thing. My God, I have never felt such a shock. I can assure you that this is a work you will not regret after watching it, and you will recommend it to others!"

Professor Michael himself is not the typical extrovert and enthusiastic Frenchman, so Ms. Merritt was quite surprised to see him describe a work in this way.

He's not the kind of person who can use those words to praise a bad movie.

Could it be that... "Haruhi no Shinobi" is really that good?

Ms. Merritt came to the screening room of her house and put the CD into the computer suspiciously. She first poured herself a martini and then closed the door.

She had no children before her divorce, and has lived alone in a detached house in the suburbs since then. The humid air unique to the French countryside at this season invades the moss on the walls, and the vast farmland is filled with white fog. It is a perfect night for drinking.

After checking the view outside the window, Ms. Merritt closed the curtains and pressed the play button.

The film begins with darkness.

Something was moving in the darkness.

In the dim night, Ms. Merritt saw that it was a group of monsters.

These monsters were nothing she had ever seen before. Each one was distorted to the extreme, like a painting drawn by a drunk drug addict. Just one look at it was enough to shock the soul.

She felt a little dizzy for a moment.

"Michael, that bastard..."

Ms. Merritt couldn't help but curse. Could it be that the old man made her watch this movie just because of the horrific scene at the beginning?

Is he that boring!!!?

However, the monster scene at the beginning made Ms. Merritt even more certain that this movie was just another commercial movie, and a horror thriller that those of them who were engaged in art despised the most.

She picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and rubbed her temples to calm herself down.

Monsters are rampaging through the island villages, devouring humans.

Compared to the violence between humans in ordinary movies, this wild struggle between man and nature is more shocking. Even though Ms. Merritt is well-informed, she couldn't help but feel frightened and her fingers clenched the wine glass.

At this moment, a pale flame came from the sky, like an arrow, and fell into the monster.

The whole world lit up.

Those hideous and twisted monsters were burned by flames, connecting the grass, villages, and the earth.

Everything vanished in that pale flame.

Only a few villagers and children survived, and they boarded a small boat and drifted away.

One of the children turned his head and looked at the island where he was born. The island was burning, reflecting the child's profile.

At the same time as the scene transitioned, the subtitles also briefly introduced the background of the world.

Ms. Merritt had no previous knowledge of this work, but after reading this passage, she was able to roughly understand the background of the story.

"So, this child must have grown up and then embarked on the journey with the witch?"

Ms. Merritt has seen countless movies, so this development is easy to guess.

After the transition ended and the title appeared, the whole screen lit up.

Just like the spring scene in the trailer, with the cherry blossoms, Ms. Merritt took another sip of wine. As she felt slightly tipsy, the lovely warmth of spring burst out from the screen. People came and went on the streets, bustling with the breath of life.

The protagonist and several mercenaries with him walked on the street and saw the vendors setting up stalls, the children playing, the women holding umbrellas and walking under the falling cherry blossoms, the middle-aged laborers carrying goods, and the women coaxing their children to be quiet.

With just a few shots, the atmosphere of the entire town can be seen at a glance.

The protagonist and his companions arrived at the door of the most imposing building in the town. Under the guidance of the maid, they walked into the courtyard and passed through the corridors.

At this time, the protagonist seemed to have some feelings, he raised his head and looked towards a corner.

The camera moves along with his perspective, and in front of the windowsill of a building, a black-haired woman is looking at this place.

Ms. Merritt recognized it immediately; this was the heroine of the trailer.

However, the heroine at this moment gave her a feeling of coldness, indifference and alienation.

The protagonist only took a quick glance and quickly turned his eyes away.

At the same time, the big sister next to her explained that this was a genius priestess and the hope of the entire Hedao Island.

“Old-fashioned.”

Ms. Merritt couldn't help but whisper that she had seen too many stories like this. The template of road movies can be used for both commercial films and art films. It seems that Lu Ban is just an ordinary director, nothing special!