New Age Artists

Chapter 355 Cultural Phenomenon, Media Carnival (23)

11 month 4 day.

Tianjin.

Shen Santong visited the crew of "Nanjing! Nanjing!"

Helping Gao Yuanyuan to act out a scene, she was in a bad mood before joining the crew.

The crew takes a break.

Shen Santong asked someone to push the milk tea cart and distribute it to the staff: "Thank you for your hard work. I brought some milk tea."

In this era, visiting the set of a studio was not as extravagant as in later generations, where people would not book the entire theater.

For someone like Shen Santong, ordering milk tea and coffee for the entire crew specifically from the Mozhiguang branch in Tianjin was already a big deal.

The crew cheered, saying it was so nice to have a hot drink in autumn.

Afterwards, everyone received their milk tea and coffee while gossiping excitedly and curiously.

I was surprised that Shen Santong came to visit the crew.

Shen Santong is recognized for his low-key character, a low-keyness that is inconsistent with his experience of becoming famous at a young age.

Not only at the public level, but also for people in the industry, it is very low-key.

Apart from movies, he rarely makes public appearances.

Shen Santong's position has become increasingly stable in the past two years.

A legend in domestic films and a big shot who determines the direction of the industry.

Lu Chuan looked at Shen Santong with a little caution: "Welcome Director Shen to come and observe our filming."

The word "observe" is emphasized.

You can only "watch", which means you can't try it out.

Shen Santong is recognized as the tyrant of the crew and a more brutal director than Jiang Wen.

He is very careful when people like this come to his crew.

Shen Santong took the initiative to greet Fan Wei: "Hello, Teacher Fan."

Liu Ye ordered a cup of coffee and greeted, "Hello, Director Shen."

Qin Lan held a cup of hot milk tea. It was her first cup of milk tea this autumn, and it was warm.

With a little curiosity, he asked Gao Yuanyuan: "Who is your partner?"

Gao Yuanyuan was in a rather low mood, mainly because she was too immersed in the play: ".Friends."

Qin Lan didn't quite believe it.

Jiang Yiyan, who also had a role in Nanjing, leaned over and asked, "Old classmate, why are you here?"

Shen Santong: "I came here specially to see you."

Jiang Yiyan knew it was a lie, but she was still very happy: "I took it seriously."

Shen Santong greeted everyone and took the initiative to ask Colonel Lu Chuan: "Is there any role you want me to play? I can even help out behind the scenes. A movie like this must be done well."

Colonel Lu Chuan suddenly became nervous, his face stiffened: "No, our crew is fine, thank you Director Shen for your concern."

Shen Santong distributed milk tea to everyone and did not leave.

He brought a small stool and stared at the monitor with Lu Chuan.

Lu Chuan felt awkward. Seeing that Shen Santong was just sitting there and not making any comments, she didn't know what to say.

The crew, whether behind the scenes or the actors, couldn't help but work hard.

It’s Shen Santong!
Once she caught his eye, her status in the industry skyrocketed.

Shen Santong said nothing and watched Colonel Lu Chuan work.

Oh shit!

There is too much shit in this era.

That’s all Shen Santong could say.

He watched almost the entire release of Lust, Caution. He also read the report on the brief appearance of the main creators, including Li An, Tang Wei and Wang Lihong.

After reading it, one fact can be confirmed.

Both Li An and Tang Wei knew what they were doing.

The drama "Lust, Caution" grossed around 4000 million in three days over the weekend.

Next Monday, the box office may break the 100 million yuan mark.

If you are not in this era, you will not understand what kind of chaos it is.

Some media highly praised Lust, Caution.

The media that promoted "Lust, Caution" were all mainstream media.

"Xinjing News", "Nanfang Metropolis Daily", "Sanlian Life Weekly", and even Xinhuanet.

These media outlets conducted extensive reviews and discussions on "Lust, Caution", covering many aspects including the film's artistic value, actors' performances, and social impact.

It has generally received high praise and attention.

In particular, when discussing the cast of "Lust, Caution", "The Shocking News" mentioned the outstanding performance of the film emperor Liang Chaowei, and the newcomer Tang Wei became the most watched actor.

This reflects the mainstream media's recognition and praise of Lust, Caution

A group of people on the Internet were also making a fuss.

The producer deliberately sets the pace.

There are also forces trying to take advantage of the situation.

Some netizens have no idea what this drama means.

"As expected of a great director, he understands the audience! I would go watch this movie just for a few leaked scenes, even if it's a bad movie!" "I don't know much about art, but these scenes can directly increase the topic and the audience's curiosity!"

"I want to know if it's real or fake!"

Then, he cursed the General Administration and deleted three sex scenes.

Because of the previous publicity, everyone said that this drama was very bold, and even the mainstream media reported it.

"Lust, Caution" passionate scenes lasted half an hour, the scale was beyond imagination

The General Administration cannot be blamed for this.

"Lust, Caution" was edited by Li An himself.

Li An personally admitted that the leaders of the Film Bureau told him that there was no rating system in the mainland, so they let him edit the film himself.

Respect brought us "Lust, Caution".

The industry’s point of view is very similar to the “I like it” that King of Sunglasses said in his later film “The Ferryman”.

Industry reviews: Lust, Caution is awesome!
Zhang Ziyi praised: "Movies are never perfect, but Lust, Caution is close to perfection."

Zhou Runfa also praised: "I give this movie 99.9 points, it's a bit suffocating!"

Hong Kong veteran filmmaker Wen Jun said: "Lust, Caution has the courage to explore human nature in extreme situations, looking directly at the true face of sex, violence and death in life without fear of embarrassment. It is a perfect movie!"

What made Shen Santong feel good was that there were so many people who opposed it.

First of all.

After the release of "Lust, Caution", Mr. Wang broke up with Tang Wei.

From then on, Tang Wei couldn't find a good partner in the country.

In the final analysis, from this point we can understand what "Lust, Caution" is like, and also understand the background of Dongda University people.

If "Lust, Caution" were art, and if Dongda people had no dignity, Tang Wei would not have to marry a Korean.

Some netizens were also furious online.

He said that he understood what Jiang Wen said and knew why "Lust, Caution" won the award.

Criticizing Li An for glorifying traitors and disrespecting revolutionary predecessors.

"I'm speechless. Lust, Caution is very autobiographical in nature. From an artistic point of view, this personal perspective is exactly where the value of this film lies. Under the grand narrative propaganda of the times, a small hole hidden in it reveals some filth. These 'free men' and 'wise men' in the cultural world are indeed unable to shoulder historical responsibilities and are unreliable!"

There are also many voices that strongly criticize "Lust, Caution".

"Giving plastic surgery to traitors."

“It is a wake-up call for the mainstream culture that maintains the national spirit.”

"It used flesh color to confuse the major issues of modern China, and used flesh color to present a small tribute favored by Western masters."

He even directly scolded Li An: "They say he is well versed in both Chinese and Western learning, but I think he is kneeling to the West!"

A number of scholars and film experts also spoke out, criticizing the sex scenes, pornography, content and scale in "Lust, Caution", and refuting the glorification of traitors and Wang Jiazhi.

Even some art film lovers find it hard to accept it.

"Although Director Li An explained that he didn't want to glorify traitors, what he wanted to express was the helplessness, pain and struggle of human nature in that social background of the era."

“But what did the public see when they watched this movie?”

"The traitors have firm eyes and are very romantic. The anti-Japanese heroines are conquered by the traitors with their bodies and diamonds. The patriots are all like idiots, and they are selfish and obscene."

“Maybe Li An’s focus is not really on this aspect, but he has conveyed this symbol strongly.”

Some people also questioned the significance of the sex scene?

Without that part, many people would still watch the movie obediently.

Because of that scene, most people don't care about the plot at all and only watch that part. The sex scene ruined the show.

It’s okay if you don’t object.

The more opposition there is, the more excited some media become.

List Li Min's achievements, Oscar-winning director, and Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award.

If people outside approve of it, do ordinary people have the right to criticize it?

"Sanlian Life Weekly" immediately refuted: "Lust, Caution" is great!
This film subverts the Chinese society's historical discourse on the War of Resistance against Japan and goes beyond the framework of the original novel by Eileen Chang, making it dazzling.

The lingering "small narrative" reveals the "grand narrative" in which the fate of the country and the fate of the times are intertwined.

"Lust, Caution" adds a ray of humanistic light, illuminating the blind spots of history and the subtle corners of human nature, becoming a force of enlightenment.

What an enlightenment!
Fortunately, the so-called thirty years of enlightenment of this group of people failed.

Chen Chong responded: "Lust, Caution does not intend to explain Mr. Yi's political views and the process of his ideal death, but only wants him to meet Wang Jiazhi in this special situation. Human nature is very complicated. In the mirror of Lust, Caution, we see that we have flaws and dark sides. The idealized emotions we place our hopes on are actually stained!"

Chen Chong is the Chen Chong who said “you guys” during the Spring Festival Gala.

Li Min explained: "I filmed Lust, Caution to save a period of history that might be gradually forgotten by people, and to restore the face of modern Chinese history that the original author Zhang Ai Ling personally experienced, with broken mountains and rivers, lost territory, poverty and weakness, and frequent wars. If my generation doesn't film it, the next generation will have no chance to film it."

Shen Santong could only say that what he said was better than what he sang.

It's even worse than "The Woman Who Married the Mountain". The girl was abducted and ended up falling in love with the kidnapper.

If we were to cut out this clip, we could say it was true, but it would be both conscienceless and immoral.

There is no humanity in "Lust, Caution".

What made Shen Santong speechless the most was that some media jumped around and started special topics.

"Lust, Caution" has become a cultural event like "The Promise" and "Mantou" in the past.

The media went wild and turned it into a cultural phenomenon.

Who would believe that this kind of movie has been turned into a cultural event?
But it's the fact.

All the information about Lust, Caution comes from reports without any processing or distortion.

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(End of this chapter)