Global Film Emperor

Chapter 357 Film Review
Lu Hua's life returned to normal, and he became idle again. Meanwhile, in Britain, because of him, a film's reputation slowly spread through word of mouth in just three days...

As Clive Films gradually incurred losses, 50,000 film discs was considered the largest order in recent years. However, in the eyes of disc duplication companies, this order was only a small one, so it was normal for them to place it at the end of the order list.

Production capacity couldn't keep up, and with a large number of foreign buyers queuing up from late at night to purchase the game, only a small percentage of British people were able to buy the DVD of "The Effect".

However, this small group of people generated an extremely high response online after watching it, attracting the attention of many movie lovers. This is largely due to Mickey, who is a well-known European director. Almost everyone who knows a little about movies has heard of him.

Driven by curiosity, people went to the CD store, only to leave empty-handed. At that time, they did not know that the people who bought a large number of CDs were not British, but fans of someone in China.

They assumed that other netizens had heard the news faster than them and bought the DVDs before them, which made them even more eager to find out what the movie was about.

Thus, in this situation where demand exceeds supply, scalpers naturally emerged. These scalpers are none other than those who were preparing to send CDs to China but then changed their minds at the last minute, falsely claiming that they hadn't managed to snag any CDs.

Blu-ray discs that originally cost £23.90 are now being resold for £50. Even so, a large number of movie lovers still grit their teeth, stomp their feet, pay up, take the goods, and happily run home to call their friends and family to watch the movie.

Buying double the happiness for double the price—these suckers who could have bought the disc at the original price in two days but insisted on paying extra felt it was a great deal.

Of course, this joy began with getting the disc before others and ended at the beginning of the movie; it didn't last long.

……

The room was eerily quiet. The six people sitting on the sofa watched the letters slowly scrolling upwards on the TV screen with somewhat solemn expressions. Only after the entire movie had finished did they all take a deep breath. Some of them even kept rubbing their chests, as if they had just been drowning and couldn't breathe.

"Wow...it really is...it's really sharp."

The white man with the gold-rimmed glasses was somewhat speechless, unable to think of a better word to describe this silent film. In the end, he could only stammer out the word "sharp" to describe the content of the movie. The others were basically mute, just nodding in agreement with the man's words.

"It's getting late, I should go home, Raul. You guys continue playing, I'm leaving now."

"Then I'll go too. I need to pick up my child from school. Goodbye, Raul."

"Then I'll go with you. See you tomorrow."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses got up to see his friends off. He felt quite ashamed. He had invited them over to watch a movie and chat, but by the middle of the movie, he had completely lost his voice. After apologizing repeatedly, he closed the door and cleared away the popcorn and drinks on the table once his friends had all left.

The disc was ejected from the player. He picked it up and examined the front of the disc carefully, then fell silent for a moment before putting it back into the player. The television screen reappeared, and he sat on the sofa, stroking his stubble, and watched it again.

His name is Raul Smith. He is an editor for an entertainment magazine and also a freelance writer. He doesn't write gossip; his main job is to write film reviews for the most popular movies in Europe.

He called the magazine editor to ask if he could write a film review of "The Effect," but received a negative answer. The film reviews for this issue and the next issue had already been booked and paid for. They didn't have any space for a film that hadn't contacted them for promotion, unless Raul didn't mind that his review and an advertisement were on the same page.

This was exactly what Raul expected, so he didn't dwell on it and hung up the phone. Looking at Kyle, the protagonist on TV, he couldn't help but sigh.

People often say that turning your hobby into a job is a wonderful thing, but it depends on the type of job. Like Raul, once his hobby becomes tied to money and he makes a living from it, restricting him with rules and regulations, he will gradually lose interest in his hobby.

He has indeed lost most of his interest in writing film reviews. If he had realized this more than a decade ago, he would never have gone down this path.

He now has a profound understanding of how subversive it is to write film reviews for money. But even if he understands this now, it's too late. He is destined to continue to pick up his pen to support his family, bound by money, writing mostly praising film reviews for movies that a few like but most dislike.

As for the movies he truly loves but can't get featured in magazines, most of them can only be released online anonymously or under a nickname, not for money, but simply to keep that flame of passion burning.

Without friends around, he could carefully observe every detail in the movie and marvel at it. Was the movie without flaws? Actually, it was.

However, the director and editor skillfully and subtly concealed these flaws, allowing viewers to quickly forget their shortcomings and re-immerse themselves in the story. It is precisely because of this subtle handling of the plot that viewers experience a chilling sensation.

He wrote down every turning point, every shot detail, and every important line of dialogue in his notebook. By the time he watched the movie again, his notebook was filled with six pages of text.

This is the professional quality of a film critic. First, you need to understand the film's creative team, especially the director. You need to have a clear understanding of his style, personality, abilities, and strengths. Secondly, you need to know the actors well and be able to talk about them at length.

In addition, there are various details in the film, such as whether it borrows excellent scenes from other movies, whether the plot development is reasonable, how the actors perform, how the colors are used, whether the camera transitions are appropriate, the quality of the costume design, whether the music is pleasant and fitting, and whether the editing techniques are superb. All of these need to be considered.

Ultimately, considering all the pros and cons, a specific score is given. It can be said that every film critic is a master of rhetoric, just like a gourmet. They may not be able to cook, but they really know how to eat.

Before even watching "The Effect," he had already guessed that it was a tragedy. Based on his understanding of Mickey, Raul knew that he was a typical pessimist who always liked to play on melancholy to touch the hearts of moviegoers and achieve the goal of shocking the audience.

Undeniably, this man who started directing at the age of twenty-five is truly talented, but every one of his works reveals an intense and pervasive sense of world-weariness that leaves an indelible mark on the hearts of every viewer. Raoul sees this as a kind of black magic, making people's thoughts pessimistic and negative. Therefore, Raoul actually dislikes director Mickey because the meaning expressed in his works is not worth promoting.

But now Raul realizes he underestimated this genius. This time, his work is not just melancholy and pessimism, but utter despair, exposing the ugliness of human nature.

Raul was somewhat of an insider and had a vague understanding of the inside story of Mickey's imprisonment, but he didn't know the specifics of what Mickey had gone through. However, he could now conclude that Mickey's change in style was definitely related to his terrible life over the past year, which caused his style and thinking to evolve from pessimism to complete extremism.

The biting wind brought by this extreme style, however, made even this film critic, who wasn't particularly fond of Mickey Mouse, lose himself in the snowstorm, unable to resist the urge to write something about the film. This kind of magic… it was truly terrifying. He got up, went to the bathroom to wash his face, and calmed himself down. He returned to his study, turned on his computer, flipped to the first page of his notebook, placed it on his desk, poured himself a glass of water, took a sip, organized his thoughts, and began to cheer on the latest work from this director he disliked, a film released after nearly two years of seclusion.

"Long time no see, this is Sonic (pen name, after my favorite childhood cartoon, Sonic the Hedgehog). It's been about two months since I posted a new movie review, because the quality of the movies released in theaters these past two months... has been pretty bad, so this time I've turned my attention to the VHS market, which I haven't paid attention to for a long time."

"Many people may think that there are no noteworthy works or directors in the current videotape market. I actually think so too. After all, the gap in production investment between theatrical films and videotape films is widening. Videotape films have become synonymous with shoddy production. They are either garbage films like 'The Avengers' that confuse great works, or A-list films that satisfy people's fantasies. There is no need to have any expectations for the videotape market. We can just wait for time to replace this once glorious distribution method with the Internet."

"But today, I've unearthed a treasure, or rather, a Pandora's box, from a stinking swamp. This film is Mickey Taylor's new work, #TheEffect. Of course, don't get your hopes up for the video market because Mickey isn't really at the level of a video movie. He just left the film industry for over a year, and after last season, he played in his placement matches and dropped a rank. It has nothing to do with the rise of the video market; he's just a special individual."

"If you are a pessimist, then please don't watch this movie. The themes and ideas it expresses are absolutely not suitable for you. Believe me, I'm doing this for your own good. Similarly, kind-hearted viewers should also not watch it, so that the pure land in your hearts is not polluted. Otherwise, you might be so upset that you can't sleep for several days."

"Alright, enough of the nonsense, let's get back to the movie itself. Mickey Taylor, I don't need to say much. Apart from 'Birdman,' all his works are good. Of course, in my opinion, 'Birdman' is also a good film, but it's not suitable for most people. This genius was once embroiled in a drug scandal. You might think it's normal for an artist to use drugs, but what's interesting is that I heard his blood and urine tests were both negative, yet he was still sentenced to one year and six months in prison for driving under the influence of drugs. I don't know the inside story, but it definitely has something to do with his former employer. Screw capitalism, that's all I can say."

"Perhaps due to a certain experience, his style became darker, making me and my five friends feel severely uncomfortable after watching it. However, it was precisely because of the film's underlying message that I decided to write a review for it. Actually, I used to really dislike Mickey Mouse..."

"The Effect became a hit in the videotape market, as many people have heard. It was even resold by scalpers for double the price, which is really outrageous. However, as a film critic, I still bought it despite the pain in order to be the first to know about the hottest movies. By the way, if anyone wants to watch it but can't buy it, you can message me. You can take it for 45 pounds. You can pick it up yourself or pay on delivery."

"That concludes our discussion of Mickey. Now, let's talk about the Asian lead actor, Lu Ze. I rarely watch Asian films, so I did feel a little awkward or uncomfortable when I saw an Asian actor playing the lead role. But he quickly resolved my reservations with his superb acting skills. He was fucking amazing!"

"You may be like me, never having heard of this absolutely outstanding actor before, let alone knowing anything about him. So today I'll give you some background information. Actually, this actor is quite difficult to find on European search engines. You can only find that he was nominated for Best Actor at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, and other information is rather blank."

"But this doesn't mean that this Chinese actor has nothing to offer. On the contrary, he was a grand slam winner of the three major film festivals in China. Don't think that the honor is not high, because to date, no one else has won this honor. Four Best Actor awards are enough to prove his top-notch strength. The only difference between him and top actors in Europe and America is skin color."

"Since his first film appearance in 2016, he has played the male lead in six films, but has never played a supporting role. This shows that he has a very high status in his agency, and all the resources are allocated to him. However, judging from his performance, it is to be expected."

"China's entertainment industry has developed rapidly in recent years, especially the film market, with box office revenue repeatedly breaking records. However, the quality of the films is not as impressive as the box office. From 2010 to the present, only 21 Chinese films have received a score of over 8 points. Lu Ze alone has contributed to five of them, accounting for nearly 40% of the excellent Chinese films in the past twelve years. Performance is the sole criterion for judging whether an actor is excellent, and I don't need to say more about him, do I?"

"His performance in this film is worthy of everyone's praise. He created a likable and respectable teacher. In the subsequent public opinion and even violent attacks, the character's emotional control and personality transformation were just right. There is no flaw in his performance. That's enough about the science. Let's get into the plot."

"First, Mickey raised several thought-provoking topics: family, children, soul, religion, morality, good and evil, and the herd mentality. The content was so rich, yet it was contrasted and negated in various places, one link after another. Finally, through the fermentation of various psychological effects, it achieved a depressing effect."

"First, there's the family. Carl's family and Kyle's family are in stark contrast. The constant battleground of arguments and the warm haven of love make people's mental states completely different, which leads to the first effect. This is a very popular experiment: two potted flowers in the same environment and with the same care, one is praised every day and the other is insulted every day. In less than a month, the flower that was praised will flourish more, while the flower that was insulted will wither. This experiment is not currently named, and its authenticity has not been confirmed by me, but let's assume it is real. Then, people living in these two kinds of families will naturally have completely different mindsets. This leads to the next topic: children."

"Are children inherently good or evil? Philosophers all over the world have been pondering this question. Of course, it is closely related to a child's living environment. Because of this, I have reason to believe that Judy's thoughts are neither good nor truly evil. Due to her age, she still longs to be loved by a gentle person, so it is perfectly reasonable for her to 'love' Kyle. However, because of the evil that originated from her family, she destroyed Kyle."

"From the way her parents treated Judy, we can see that they loved this child, but with the adults' quarrels, this flower was withering away. In the end, when she returned to her hometown with her boyfriend and met Kyle, she lied to her boyfriend. As for forgetting Kyle, it was absolutely impossible for her to forget him unless she lost her memory. So this is the answer Mickey gave. Judy has crossed the age of ignorance and become a real villain. Isn't that terrifying?"

"This is indeed something we should reflect on regarding family and children's education. Don't assume that just because you love your child, they will become a kind and excellent person. Sometimes, a careless word from you can change a child's life. So when you want to start a family, you should prepare for future friction and resolve conflicts rationally. When you are preparing to have children, you should also pay attention to the details of your own life to avoid affecting the child's mental health."

"The topic of spiritual freedom can be divided into three types of people: Kyle, Carl, and the villagers. First, there's Kyle, who is kind-hearted, unwilling to do evil, and believes that dirty money is not worth earning. Rather than saying that he left the real estate and finance industry on his own, it's more accurate to say that the exclusion by his peers forced him to leave. But because of this, he truly had two years of spiritual freedom. However, subsequently, the slander from others, the power of public opinion, made it impossible for him to prove his innocence. He took the slander seriously and couldn't appear nonchalant. In fact, at that moment, he had already lost his free soul. This is why, on Christmas Day, when Judy asked him again whether studying could lead to a free soul, he gave a completely different answer than the first time in class."

"Karls, this character can be summed up in two words: cowardly. He wants to escape the shadow of his parents, but due to his education and limited perspective, he can only be trapped in the village, marrying and having children like other farmers. He wants to change, but he has never taken any real action. Of course, his wife's control is also a reason for his current situation. The sentence 'You are already the father of three children' was indeed too damaging to him. Just like all of us, we will all face the same dilemma as Karls. If you don't make changes when you are young, then when you get married and have children, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky."

"But his mistake was accepting his fate when he shouldn't have, and then clinging to wishful thinking after accepting it, leading to a huge gap between his dreams and reality. This caused him to become depressed, drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day, trying to find himself in his dreams, yet he was also interested in the free spirit that Kyle proposed. In the end, even though he knew Kyle was innocent, he was tormented but remained silent because he was afraid of tearing off the fig leaf of the collective and causing his whole family to be isolated. Perhaps only at such times would he remember that he was already a father of three, and only then would he not drink heavily or argue with his wife, but choose silence. This character is tragic because of his cowardice, which prevented him from ever obtaining the spiritual freedom he longed for, and he is also hateful."

"Finally, there are the villagers. First of all, everyone has a victim mentality and wants to find an excuse for their unsatisfactory lives. This is just like those who claim to be talented but not appreciated. Truly talented people live well and would not openly say shameful things like 'I just need an opportunity.' So these villagers have actually lost their sense of shame. They have become beasts, only wanting to vent their anger caused by the oppression of life, regardless of whether the person being vented on is innocent or who they are. It is actually similar to school violence. Perhaps this is the inherent weakness of human nature, where venting becomes an instinct, just to make themselves more comfortable."

"The contradiction of humanity may lie in the fact that we can be very humble about our own sense of shame, but we cannot accept others touching it, otherwise we will immediately explode. So in the end, even knowing that Kyle is innocent, they do not agree to Kyle touching their sense of shame. On the contrary, for the sake of their own cheap sense of shame, they continue to commit violence against Kyle. This leads to the concept of victory and defeat. The concept of good and evil has been explained very thoroughly in the movie. The victor is justice. However, we must add another point. They are naturally the victors compared to Kyle because they are numerous. Kyle alone cannot refute them. This is the reason for their victory. So victory equals justice, and quantity equals victory. Then does quantity equal justice?"

"What's even more tragic is that they can brainwash themselves, pretending to be on the side of justice while doing evil. They can do whatever they want, wantonly bullying Kyle and even Catherine, venting their dissatisfaction and inexplicable anger. So, they are the ones who have truly gained freedom of the soul... That's why I hate Mickey. It's all so disturbing. Kyle has no freedom, Karls has no freedom, but in the end, these villagers have obtained the freedom of the soul that the two of them dreamed of? This kind of morality... is simply insane."

"As for religion, the film doesn't actually attack religion in any specific way. It just uses religion to personify a phenomenon and satirize the so-called 'the law does not punish the masses.' The crime was committed by everyone, so everyone should bear the responsibility together, not just a few, or even no one should bear it. As for the herd mentality, there's no need to elaborate. The film makes it very clear, especially for innocent children. At this age, it's particularly easy for them to leave a false impression on themselves, taking on the 'harm' suffered by others to gain the attention of adults, but they cannot take responsibility for their words and actions. This is what the Chinese call 'human nature is inherently evil.'"

"As for the scene that impressed me the most, it wasn't Christmas Eve, but the scene when Catherine was about to leave. I believe that Kyle didn't really want an apology from them. Based on his understanding of human nature, he naturally knew that he would never get an apology. The purpose of his words can be understood from the electronic lock on his foot."

"Even if everyone understands that he is innocent, they still put him in an electronic ankle bracelet and continue to torture him in this village on trumped-up charges. He can't run away, or rather, he can't escape. The reason he didn't tell Catherine that he was wearing ankle bracelets was because he knew that no matter how much he struggled, it would be futile. The police wouldn't take action, but the villagers would. Even if the outside world found out, the police could use the excuse that they were investigating. He couldn't escape, and he couldn't break free of the ankle bracelets. He could only send his lover away from here. This deep despair brought me a chill in both body and soul."

"As for why he didn't leave the village, perhaps it was to leave a thorn in the villagers' hearts. In the end, I think it's a rather open ending. He's a man who can still dig holes, so naturally he won't die so quickly. But why did he dig? Perhaps it's because Judy is already an adult, and for a man who doesn't want to hurt a child, perhaps the time for revenge has come."

"Of course, this is just my wild guess. Based on the instinctive idea of ​​fighting violence with violence, Kyle's actions are probably beyond the understanding of anyone except Mickey."

"Overall, the initially calm scenes became increasingly oppressive as the plot deepened, eventually becoming distorted. The filming techniques deserve praise, the editing is also very good, the plot is very much to my liking, and the actors have made me a fan. If I were to give this movie a score, I think it would be around nine points or even higher in my opinion."

"That concludes our discussion on The Effect. You'll have to watch it for a deeper experience to truly appreciate it. I'm Sonic, and we... we don't know when we'll see each other again."

"..."

(End of this chapter)