"'Amour' may be the most simple yet profound movie I've seen this year."
"It is full of human power from beginning to end. In a short two hours, it only focuses on telling a story calmly and restrainedly, but it is enough to bring the audience's emotions to the peak and stay there for a long time."
“Ageing, death, illness, loneliness, those things that we least want to experience in life, those hidden pains that we know very well but keep silent about, were put on the screen by Wu Yuan, and they became even more cruel.
"No one can escape aging and death. We will all face it head-on. Isn't life crueler than movies?"
——"Cannes Film Weekly"
"Life and death are like that dove, you can't catch it and you can't keep it. Only love that grows old together is eternal."
"It is extremely simple and restrained, with profound inner strength, many images, winning details, despair and depression, and also has a delicate touch that is difficult to repeat. The performance of the two veteran actors is so shocking."
"It's hard to believe that this is a movie brought by a director who is under 23 years old. Considering the director's age, I am willing to give this movie five stars!"
——"Film Critics Weekly Magazine"
"There is no sensationalism, and the emotions between two old people are calmly told. All the dialogues are very reasonable and the emotions are real. Coupled with the heart-wrenching ending, the performance of the actor and actress made me burst into tears on the spot. It was completely Unable to control."
"The minimalist style, the plot expansion in a confined space, and the excellent use of empty shots allow the audience time to digest the emotional impact of the plot."
"A director who is so calm and cold, the poster is very gentle, but the movie has more than a gentle side."
——"Cannes Film Review"
"Every shot reveals a cold and stern demeanor, but at the same time it is full of human softness and affection. This gentle cruelty, cruel tenderness is shocking to the heart!"
"Some people think that the shots in this movie are too plain. Wrong! How wrong!"
"The director seemed to have captured an infinite world in an indoor environment, with all kinds of stillness, tracking, and tracking. It was as steep and exciting as a mountain, with no room for error. The scene between the two of them in front of the dining table, that color! The beauty of the light almost makes I screamed!"
"You have to savor it carefully to feel the director's visuals and light aesthetics in this movie!"
——Film critic Thomas
Liu Yifei took various local magazines that had been delivered to the hotel early in the morning, specially dug out the film review reports about "Love", and read them to Wu Yuan one after another.
Although this is Cannes, France, most of the on-site program materials are available in English.
Every time Liu Yifei read a good review, she would raise her head proudly, as if these film critics were praising her, and she was very happy.
In comparison, Wu Yuan's face was much duller, even a little sad.
"Brother, so many film critics are praising our "Love", aren't you happy?" Liu Yifei held a stack of newspapers and came to Wu Yuan's side, pouting and asking.
Wu Yuan peeled off a white and tender hard-boiled egg and stuffed it into Liu Yifei's mouth, while explaining to her: "Cannes is different from the Berlin Film Festival."
“The more favorable the film is in the program, and the more praise it receives, the more likely it is that it will be ignored by the judges.”
"It's as if the jury is going against the critics."
"Last year, Sunglasses King's "2046" was released. All the Berlin screenings thought this movie could win the Palme d'Or, but in the end, it didn't even win a consolation prize, which almost made Sunglasses King angry to death."
"Ah?" Liu Yifei opened her mouth wide and chewed the hard-boiled egg into pieces and swallowed it. "Doesn't that mean that our "Love" might not win the grand prize?"
"It's very possible!" Wu Yuan said pretending to be serious, but Liu Yifei didn't see the teasing look in his eyes.
Liu Yifei's expression of excitement and excitement just now collapsed immediately.
On the other side, Liu Xiaoli, who was eating breakfast elegantly, sighed helplessly.
My precious daughter's whole heart is tied to Wu Yuan.
Now her mentality is completely messed up.
After Liu Xiaoli's observation of Wu Yuan in the past few years, Wu Yuan is actually quite good. In the turbulent entertainment circle, he has no bad habits and has never been involved in scandals.
She actually thought about it carefully, her daughter was in this circle, and sooner or later she would have someone she liked.
In this circle, Wu Yuan is definitely a 0.01% high-quality stock.
If they can really succeed, it will be a good result.
It is true that Liu Xiaoli loves her daughter, but she only wants to give her a better choice.
Obviously, Wu Yuan is already the better choice when it comes to choosing a spouse. What more can she ask for?
So as Liu Yifei's coming-of-age ceremony gets closer and closer, Liu Xiaoli becomes more and more lazy to care about her and Wu Yuan's affairs.
Even if the two of them were sticky in front of her, she pretended not to see them at all.
What's more, Wu Yuan didn't do anything sticky.
"Qianxi, sit down and eat honestly." Liu Xiaoli called out dissatisfied Liu Yifei, who didn't know how to be reserved, and almost threw her body on Wu Yuan.
"I got it." Liu Yifei pursed her lips, put the event catalog in her hand back on the table, and sat down to eat breakfast honestly.
In the next few days, in addition to attending several screenings from time to time with the cast and crew, Wu Yuan also took the time to accept an interview with the local media and the Sixth Princess.
Whether it is the local media in Cannes or the domestic movie channels, they are full of praise for Wu Yuan's "Love".
It is true that the way Ayaka died in the ending of this movie caused a lot of controversy among the audience during the screenings in the next few days.
Many viewers were unable to identify with the values shown in the film and thought it was a murder. Even if Lao Zhang committed suicide in the end, this would not be correct.
"Actually, when I watched "Love", when Lao Zhang picked up the pillow, he was surprised and confused at first, but then he felt sad and relieved."
A male reporter from CCTV Movie Channel asked with curiosity: "Director Wu, how did you come up with the idea of handling the ending like this?"
“I’ve had this ending in mind since I came up with the idea for this movie.”
Wu Yuan spread his hands: "Actually, the details in the movie have reminded the audience countless times that Caihua has long been heartbroken and has made up her mind to leave."
"When Lao Zhang came home and saw Caihua falling by the window, he knew that she had already decided to jump off the building and die."
"When Caihua opened the photo album, didn't she already say that life is too long for her?"
"When she shouted "pain" and "mom" all night long, couldn't she not bear it anymore?"
"When Lao Zhang fed her soup, didn't she also be unable to accept the last mercy?"
"That last slap hit Caihua on the face, but it also hit Lao Zhang hard on the heart."
"He understands that continuing to linger like this will only bring harm to both parties."
"That's what this movie wants to tell the audience."
"Instead of letting your lover die in pain, it is better to let her live happily in your heart."
"This is also a kind of love, a truer kind of love."
After the interview, both media outlets gave Wu Yuan and the movie "Love" high praise.
Daily narrative is the simplest and most basic narrative, so it is the most difficult.
But Wu Yuan, who is less than 23 years old, used a very everyday narrative method in the movie "Love" to bring the audience an unforgettable movie.
"It's hard to imagine that the director who made such a mature film full of moral and conscience choices and torture is only 23 years old this year!"
Amidst the praise and exclamations from the media and reporters, the time came to May 22nd, the closing ceremony of the film festival.
It was still early in the morning, and all the members of the "Love" crew, as well as the "Green Red" crew, plus the CCTV reporter team who stayed behind, and the China Film staff headed by Director Han, were anxiously walking back and forth between the two rooms.
"How's it going? Is there any news?"
"No, is there any letter from "Qinghong"?"
"Nothing either."
Everyone was nervously asking each other about the situation.
Suddenly, cheers rang out from the suite of the "Green and Red" crew.
You don’t need to listen to know that the crew of "Green and Red" obviously received a call to be invited to attend the closing ceremony.
As we all know, participating in the closing ceremonies of the three major European competitions means you can win prizes.
Before the celebration on the "Green and Red" side was over, Wu Yuan's phone also rang on the other side of the "Love" crew.
"bonjour"
"Well, okay, thank you."
It was a very brief two-sentence conversation, but Wu Yanshu, You Benchang and others all looked over nervously.
Hanging up the phone, Wu Yuan showed a relaxed smile.
"Let's go change clothes, we are going to attend the closing ceremony!"
At this time, the well-informed Director Han also rushed into the room and said to Wu Yuan: "It's OK, the crews of "Underworld" and "The Finest Time" are already packing their bags and heading back to China."
"Of the four Chinese-language films competing in Cannes this time, only our two mainland films were invited to attend the closing ceremony!"
At four o'clock in the afternoon, the red carpet of the closing ceremony of the 58th Cannes International Film Festival began.
It was similar to the red carpet session at the opening ceremony, except this time Wu Yuan’s female companion was replaced by Liu Yifei.
Liu Yifei, who was wearing a pair of sky-high shoes and a long white dress, stood next to Wu Yuan. She was a handsome man and a beautiful woman. The two of them matched each other very well.
"Sissi, you should be the first domestic actress born after 1985 to walk on the red carpet at Cannes, right?" Wu Yuan did not forget to tease Liu Yifei while walking on the red carpet.
Standing on the red carpet, Liu Yifei was already extremely nervous, and her hands subconsciously held Wu Yuan's arms tightly.
Now hearing him joking like this, Liu Yifei became even more nervous.
Counting the numbers, she is really the first Chinese actress born after 1985 to walk on the red carpet of Cannes. If the scope is narrowed down to the closing ceremony red carpet, no one born in the 1980s has walked on it.
The red carpet for the opening ceremony and the red carpet for the closing ceremony have different values.
Those who can walk on the red carpet of the closing ceremony will get prizes!
I'm nervous, but I still have to walk on the red carpet.
Wu Yuan pulled her and walked briskly towards the end of the red carpet.
On the way, it is inevitable to be stopped by reporters for interviews.
"Director Wu, what are your expectations for this closing ceremony?"
"Looking forward to it? Haha, of course I hope to win the prize."
Wu Yuan and the reporter looked at each other and smiled. They both knew what participating in the closing ceremony meant, but they didn't say anything.
Another reporter came up and asked: "Director Wu, what do you think of the movie "Blue Red"? Do you think this movie is realistic?"
As a mainland film selected into the main competition, Wu Yuan could not avoid the problems of "Green Red".
But to be honest, he really didn't want to talk about the movie.
But in front of reporters, he had no choice but to laugh and say: ""Blue Red" is a very good movie. I have worked with director Wang Xiaoshuai, and he is still my senior brother."
"Of course I hope "Blue and Red" can win an award today!"
After answering these two questions, Wu Yuan took Liu Yifei and walked quickly to the movie palace without looking back.
The rest of the "Love" crew also quickly walked down the red carpet and met Wu Yuan in the movie palace.
As I said before, the award ceremonies at the three major European film festivals are relatively traditional, and speaking in human terms, they are boring and straightforward.
Even though Cannes is the most commercial of the three major events in Europe, there is nothing light-hearted or humorous at the awards ceremony.
At the beginning of the closing ceremony, two hosts whom Wu Yuan did not recognize came on stage and introduced the crew, directors, and actors present in a serious manner.
The simple and straightforward introduction makes people feel sleepy after listening to it.
It was when Wu Yuan was introduced that cheers and cheers erupted from the scene.
After all, the 23-year-old Wu Yuan really stands out among this group of directors who are at least forty years old.
When the camera showed Wu Yuan, Wu Yuan showed a face-saving smile like a dragon, which caused another round of cheers and boos.
Next, we will introduce the jury of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, headed by jury president Emil Kusturica.
Among the eight jury members, the one Wu Yuan is most familiar with is John Woo.
But Wu Yuan knew that with Wu Baige's attitude and behavior of preferring to take advantage of Japan and South Korea rather than taking advantage of mainlanders, 90% of his judges' votes would not go to him.
He didn't even think about Wu Baige, and didn't even make eye contact.
When the judges all appeared one by one, today's closing award ceremony officially began.
There was no singing and dancing, and there were no bad jokes from talk show hosts. Instead, a bunch of awards for non-main competition units were awarded first.
Awards for non-competition units, Un Certain Regard units, Film Foundation units and other units were awarded one after another, but Wu Yuan didn't pay much attention.
Soon, the much-anticipated main competition unit began to award awards.
All the guests present were shocked.
The first awards were given in the short film category.
The award for Best Debut Short Film went to a short film called "Buy Now."
The special prize went to a short film called "Clara".
The most important short film Palme d'Or was given to a Ukrainian short film "The Traveler". This short film, which lasted only 10 minutes, defeated nearly a hundred competitors and won the short film Palme d'Or.
Seeing the Ukrainian director crying excitedly on the podium, Wu Yuan also felt a little envious.
After all, it’s the Palme d’Or!
However, the presentation of the next award immediately left him with no time to envy others.
The next award to be awarded is the Best Director Award!
The winner of this award was actually Wang Xiaoshuai's "Green Red"!
Seeing Wang Xiaoshuai jumping up excitedly, hugging Li Bin and Gao Yuanyuan and laughing, Wu Yuan also became excited in his heart.
Originally "Blue and Red" could win the Jury Prize, but now it only won the Best Director Award!
This shows that there was a movie that took the lead and pushed "Blue and Red" down!
So who is this top movie? Does Wu Yuan still need to doubt it?
(End of chapter)
