Shang Yechu was not the only one who noticed this anomaly.
Sheng Wenzhi stopped writing, and director Gu Wenhua stopped filming. The group exchanged glances, all feeling that something was amiss.
The actor playing Yongfu was a seasoned veteran and didn't seem to have much feeling about this scene. However, after the cut, actor Qi Ming frowned, wiped his face, and muttered a few words.
Shang Yechu felt something was wrong because of her deep understanding of the character; Sheng Wenzhi felt something was wrong because of her artistic talent; Teacher Qi Ming felt something was wrong because of his many years of acting experience—as a veteran actor, if it is difficult for her to get into character during a scene, then there is probably something wrong with that scene.
As for director Gu Wenhua, his feeling that something was amiss was purely based on the intuition of a future commercial film director. Although he was still an unpolished gem at this point, Gu Wenhua seemed to have an innate sensitivity to the captivating nature of a plot that far surpassed that of others.
Gu Wenhua glanced at Teacher Qi Ming, whose eyes were red from crying, gritted his teeth, and waved his hand, saying, "Teachers, please take a break. This part... this part will be ready in a moment."
Shang Yechu walked over to Teacher Qi Ming and helped her put in her eye drops. Then she sat back down in her original seat.
Sheng Wenzhi was flipping through the script on her phone. As she flipped through it, she muttered to herself, "So that's how it is... so that's how it is."
"What's wrong?" Shang Yechu turned her head.
Sheng Wenzhi looked up at Shang Yechu and explained, "Literature is like a mountain, not a flat plain. It's the same with movies. I just noticed that the mute woman's performance in the scenes of Yongjuan's death and Pinghua's death seems to be somewhat repetitive."
The script was already deeply imprinted in Shang Yechu's mind. As soon as Sheng Wenzhi mentioned it, Shang Yechu remembered it.
The mute woman suffers from mental illness and has a terrible relationship with her son Yongfu and daughter-in-law Pinghua. However, Yongfu and Pinghua have cared for her for many years, so it's impossible that they have no feelings for her at all.
When Pinghua died, Yongfu, Xiaoyue, and the mute woman reacted differently. Yongfu, a man of steel, wept silently several times, never uttering a sound in front of others; Xiaoyue stood expressionless before her mother's coffin, tears streaming down her face like a stone pillar flowing with a clear spring, without making a sound; only the mute woman let out a loud wail, her wailing heart-wrenching. With death comes peace, and the years of resentment with her daughter-in-law vanished amidst the wailing.
Shang Yechu performed very well in that scene. Although Teacher Qi Ming cried sadly and movingly, Shang Yechu, who was silently shedding tears, was not just a background character. On the contrary, the contrast between Shang Yechu's silent tears and Teacher Qi Ming's stillness and movement added an indescribable sense of misery and grief to the scene.
That crying scene was one of the climaxes of the entire film, and it left a deep impression on everyone present.
Shang Yechu immediately understood the crux of the problem.
The reason something is called an climax is because it's like a mountain peak—lofty, prominent, and memorable. If the mute woman had already cried for Pinghua, and were to cry again with similar emotion, the uniqueness would be greatly diminished, and the climax would become nothing more than a sticky mess.
There's no need for the same plot to appear twice, so—
How can we make the mute woman's grief this time appear different from before?
The problem was easy to find; director Gu Wenhua had also discovered it. Shang Yechu saw him frowning and scribbling on the script, so she quietly leaned closer to take a look.
Gu Wenhua held a pen, lingered on the paper for a long time, and then decisively drew a big X on the entire scene of Yongjuan's death.
Gu Wenhua's solution was to delete the entire plot.
Shang Yechu: "..."
This is typical of commercial films. As we all know, commercial films are known for cutting and discarding content as needed.
Shang Yechu then walked over to Teacher Qi Ming and whispered something to him.
Qi Ming's method was very much in line with her acting style. Qi Ming believed that she could try a quieter way of crying, just like when Shang Yechu cried at Pinghua's funeral.
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