Chapter 422 Cannes Film Emperor

At the 40th Cannes International Film Festival, "Ladder of Love" secured a good premiere slot thanks to a strong public relations campaign.

It was a new night when people were full of wine and food, and the wind blowing in the face seemed to still carry a little bit of the warmth of the setting sun, making people unable to help but welcome a seemingly peaceful and warm art film in a leisurely atmosphere and mood while feeling a little tipsy and sleepy.

A literary romance film from the Far East adapted from a true story.

The mountains and rivers of China have many different faces. They can be majestic and grand or elegant and beautiful. It all depends on how the person taking the picture wants to present the side that she needs most.

Xu Anxia's filming technique is mostly a flat and direct narrative method. The rhythm is slow but it always presents a kind of plain and profound poetic beauty, just like a burning coal in a furnace, flashing moving sparks from time to time in the low-key.

In terms of taste, the style of this film is more suitable for the preferences of current mainland and Japanese people. However, because Su Yun spent a lot of time on public relations promotion in the early stage, and this film really put his whole heart into it, as time went by, those voices of doubt or confusion gradually slowed down.

A good story can always transcend the language barrier to communicate with the human brain. Even if the stunning images and the cultural barriers in the story are intertwined in the mind, as the plot progresses, the previous discomfort will gradually become clear.

This is a love story about a young man who falls in love with an older widow. During this period when they were unable to express their feelings, even though there was affection in their eyes, there was no intimacy at all.

This should be something that the French people, who tend to be free and unrestrained in their pursuit of love, would not like.

However, the hero and heroine in the play clearly did not express their love in words, but whether from their eyes or from their polite behaviors that could not touch the temperature of each other's skin, one could feel the love that was deep in their bones but forcibly restrained.

It is just like the distant East, beautiful, mysterious and powerful, but it is always like looking at flowers in the mist or the moon in the water. Although you know the true meaning, it is a pity that you can never see it clearly.

And these suppressed emotions, one day, finally burst out with unprecedented power, making the two no longer able to suppress their emotions and love, and no longer afraid of all the difficulties and dangers around them. Taking advantage of the night and the moonlight, they walked up the steep cliff hand in hand.

Such an explosive elopement naturally aroused a burst of cheers - compared with the madness of loving each other passionately, such an outburst under long-term restraint would make people feel extremely happy when waiting for this moment, and the feeling of comfort of getting what they wanted would soar to the sky.

This part of the plot is about the hero and heroine settling down in the mountains. After experiencing the intense climax of the previous "elopement" mixed with courage and fear, this part returns to the previous simple and leisurely flow of the stream, accompanied by green mountains, green waters and faint clouds and mist. Every frame is the pastoral life of seclusion in people's fantasy.

Later, the peaceful plot was once again intensified when the heroine fell and got injured while going down the mountain. Then, the "ladder of love" that was entirely built by hand finally emerged in the hero's mind, an image that was enough to let the audience immediately understand what he was thinking at the moment.

Then, day after day, year after year, the straight back and black hair of the young man were gradually stained with the frost of time, and this ladder built for love also cut through the green mountains and clouds, connecting the sky to the human world.

The protagonists' children have grown up gradually, from gray homespun cloth to bright new cloth and then to typical industrial clothing, as well as the change from ox carts to trucks in the gaps between the leaves at the intersection. In just a few minutes, the change of times is complete.

And this decades of silent and deep love was finally unearthed by a lost expedition team when they mistakenly entered the ladder to heaven. It was presented to the world, and everyone sang praises to this poignant and touching love story.

At the very end of the story, after seeing off another group of tourists who came to visit the ladder and the two protagonists of the story, the male and female protagonists, who have entered their twilight years, walked hand in hand on the ladder, and it was vaguely the same silhouettes of the two of them walking hand in hand when the ladder was first built.

The camera gradually zooms out, and the people and objects in the stories seem to be hidden in the vast night.

The melodious yet intense theme song sounded, and the lyrics "How can we be the best in the world without being sensational?", even though separated by language, can still move people's hearts through the subtitles and the music that seems to touch the soul.

Until the screen displayed text indicating that the story had been told, there was silence. I don't know who was the first to clap, and then there was enthusiastic applause like a tide.

Su Yun was sitting in the crowd. Although he continued to applaud, he also turned his eyes to Zhang Querong who was sitting next to him.

Unexpectedly, he was also looking at her at this moment. With such an eye contact, no words were needed. All the emotions of joy, surprise, exclamation, etc. were gathered in this eye contact of scattered light and shadow.

Until the moment Zhang Querong personally received the Palme d'Or trophy from the award-presenting guest, he seemed to still be immersed in the sight of that night.

But the trophy in his hand, which seemed to have some weight, told him that everything from that time until this moment was not just a fantasy.

Ten years after Su Yun was crowned the Queen in Cannes ten years ago, those purple eyes still brought the person she recognized to this stage and won honor and glory.

And he lived up to expectations and won the Palme d'Or, the first Chinese actor to win the award!

He was enveloped in supreme joy and happiness, making him feel lazy and as if he would disobey his orders at any moment. But on such a stage that was being watched by so many people, he would never back down!

After briefly giving the thank-you speech he had prepared long ago, Zhang Querong subconsciously turned his gaze towards the pair of purple eyes, and then, amid the applause, he slightly raised the trophy in his hand with a smile on his face.

Su Yun, who was sitting in her seat, gave him a knowing smile in response. Everything was just like that night, without words.

"Ladder of Love" won the Best Actor award at the 40th Cannes International Film Festival. Winning one of such a heavyweight award is undoubtedly far more exciting than any other award.

After the award ceremony, at the celebration and farewell banquet that had been scheduled long ago, Zhang Querong was so drunk that he kept ordering wine and food, and several people couldn't stop him.

"Forget it, since everyone is so happy today, let's have fun." Even the usually serious Zhao Liming couldn't help but smile at such a happy event...

Then, when he saw Su Yun and Zhang Querong whispering to each other, he instantly calmed down.

Considering that there were so many people around, the two of them couldn't possibly do anything, so they just got close and talked for a while, then sat further away and started the CD operation.

It's rare that they are so happy today that even Zhao Qiming doesn't care about them. They must make up for the restraint they have shown during this period!

Therefore, the next day when they came to see Zhao Qiming and other crew members off to board the plane back to Hong Kong, both of them were still slow and dull, as if they were full.

Of course, apart from Zhao Qiming, who tried his best to control himself and stay awake to report the good news, the others were not much better than Su Yun and the others...

Unable to bear to watch these guys who had so much fun last night, Zhao Liming gave a few instructions and then with a gloomy face pulled Su Yun, who was standing next to Zhang Querong, back to his side.

Looking at Su Yun's puzzled expression, Zhao Liming couldn't help but sigh deeply again.

If you ask him how his little sister is doing in terms of love life, he really doesn't know how to answer for the moment.

To say that she is loyal is definitely not true: such a concept of never settling down and only wanting to have fun without taking responsibility is completely contrary to the serious and traditional route of love and marriage.

But if we talk about her being unfaithful, compared to those who are truly unfaithful and promiscuous and who keep coming and going around her, she is just a "good friend" who she has only known for a long time and then started to have further contact with...

Especially in view of the latter "fact", Zhao Qiming, who knows how to protect his own shortcomings and help his relatives, naturally thinks that Su Yun has such a romantic affair, just because of those guys around her who have long had bad intentions towards her - Su Yun used to be such a career-loving person! Before she knew it, Mona had tried to control her with her beauty, but it was all in vain.

So in Zhao Liming's eyes, Su Yun's situation was actually like this: If it weren't for those male fox spirits and male spider spirits trying their best to seduce her, would his little sister be so unable to control herself?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, but he couldn't step in too forcefully to stop it - although Su Yun had been more mature than many people since childhood, he was still at an age where he was more prone to rebellion, and it was human nature for young people to be greedy for pleasure. Acting arbitrarily and dictatorially would only distance the two sides. The best way was to control the situation like controlling water, which was better to drain than to block.

So after thinking seriously for a while, Zhao Liming whispered to Su Yun: "You have been a child who knows your limits since you were young. Big brother was so strict with you before, but he was just anxious at the moment, and he didn't mean any other thing."

"I understand. I don't mind it." Zhao Liming was more than ten years older than her, and he was the eldest son. It was inevitable that he would have a fatherly attitude towards his younger brothers and sisters. Therefore, Su Yun could basically understand his feelings. She continued, "On the contrary, I need to apologize to you, big brother, for my excessive playfulness before."

"It's okay. Big brother won't bother with you about this." Seeing Su Yun apologizing to him obediently, Zhao Qiming touched Su Yun's head while speaking, and then said with a smile, "We are a family. How can there be any overnight grudges?"

"Of course." Su Yun nodded vigorously, and then chatted with Zhao Liming about the Shenzhen market and the brief content of the second volume of "Searching for Hometown Stories" that he was going to give to his second brother. Then, he hugged Zhao Liming reluctantly, "Brother, I wish you a safe journey."

"Airplanes fly against the wind, and tailwind is not suitable for me. Wish me a smooth journey. I can settle the matters in Shenzhen smoothly, and then I can have time to go back to Hong Kong to do things." Zhao Liming has been traveling between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in recent years. In addition to engaging in real estate development and some business related to companies in Hong Kong, he is also busy with the protection and maintenance of ancient buildings.

In this era when everyone is pursuing rapid economic development, many people see those old buildings full of historical traces as obstacles that hinder people's pursuit of trends and fashion, and they can't wait to remove them as soon as possible.

It is true that demolishing these old and ancient buildings can free up a lot of resources and opportunities, and provide a certain amount of development space for the busy and tense Shenzhen market. However, when the economy has returned to its peak along with the overall environment, people have begun to miss the old days when they lacked everything but had spiritual happiness.

This is a pain that many countries, regions or cities are experiencing in their pursuit of development, a pain that is hard to ignore but is always subconsciously ignored.

It was the same in Hong Kong in the early years. For the sake of economic development, buildings were demolished everywhere. Except for mountains, forests and green land, which were not affected much, those impetuous people in the outside world who were eager for quick success and instant benefits were all jealously watching the distribution of benefits after the demolition.

Hong Kong is controlled by the British and capitalists. Unless a new world changes, it will be difficult to convey new ideas into the minds of those who have already had old ideas deeply rooted within one or two generations.

Shenzhen is very similar to Hong Kong in terms of its urban appearance and development opportunities, and the two sides are close enough. Zhao Liming does not want Shenzhen to follow in the footsteps of Hong Kong. He also hopes that the two regions, which are neighbors but difficult to connect due to their different affiliations, can influence and observe each other, learn from each other's successes and failures, and then make up for their mistakes and embark on a new path of both gold and silver mountains and clear waters and green mountains.

Su Yun had seen and heard a lot of such situations in later generations, where people were indifferent at first but burst into tears later. But in the end, he could only sigh with regret because it was too late.

But now it is different: at this point in time, not only Shenzhen, but many cities in the mainland are also in this stage of "dismantling the old and welcoming the new".

As long as new sparks can be ignited for economic take-off, these inconspicuous and dilapidated old things and buildings will only be able to carry the few co-existence factions that still support protection and maintenance, hiding here and there, just like a little mouse that has never been full.

The only thing they don't know is that in the distant future, people who realize that history is priceless will inherit their coexisting factions and begin to protect the ancient buildings again.

Unfortunately, even if you have good intentions, there is no regret medicine in the world, and time never waits for anyone.

Rather than leaving regrets behind in the future, we should seize the moment and use our own abilities to change people's mindsets, making them realize that economic development can be a little slower, but once the gifts from history disappear, it will be too late to regret.

If such actions can be prevented or slowed down, then perhaps many of the regrets that could only be sighed at in the past through photos can be preserved through related operations such as popularization of knowledge and tourism cooperation development, thereby preserving more traces of the glorious past of ancient China.

The reason why the show "Searching for Hometown Stories", which has become popular for its search for traditional food, is going to continue with the second and third seasons is actually mainly to serve this action - even though the TV station's usual practice is that if the first season is good, then there is a high probability that they will follow this momentum and announce that they will continue to shoot the second, third, fourth, and so on...

"Don't worry, I will help you check Li Zhong's work regularly. You can take a few days' rest here. After you finish the work at hand, you can go back to Hong Kong to work." Thinking that Su Yun's silence meant that she was still thinking about the work content, Zhao Liming comforted her with some heartache.

"My second brother has been working very hard and diligently recently. I have great confidence in him, so there is no need to check too much." After teasing Zhao Liming and Zhao Lizhong, the second oldest, in a relaxed tone, Su Yun raised her hand and looked at the time, "It's almost time. I really have to say goodbye, big brother."

"Please say hello to my mother and Grandma Su for me. I will try my best to fly over to visit them when I am free." Zhao Qiming patted Su Yun's shoulder, thought for a while, and seemed to remember something. He moved closer to Su Yun and lowered his voice, "Be sure to... pay attention to safety."