Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 360 Film Critics' Praise
Time passed quickly, and the 98-minute movie soon came to an end.

As the prologue ended, "Painting Heart," composed by Fujiwara Ikuro and with lyrics by Wu Zhuo, began to play.

This song can be considered as the theme song created jointly by Chinese and Japanese musicians for the movie "Painted Skin".

The original song is "Asian Road," a purely instrumental piece released by Ikuro Fujiwara in 2003.

The song's melody is melancholic, poignant, and moving, expressing the emotional world of the protagonist in the movie "Painted Skin." At the same time, it is highly consistent with the movie's visuals, which are full of mysterious oriental atmosphere, achieving a perfect harmony between sound and image.

This piece was also used as accompaniment in the middle of the movie...

However, Wu Zhuo did not sing the song himself; he instead gave it to Jane Zhang to perform.

The melody of this song is melancholic and not suitable for Wu Zhuo to sing; it is more suitable for a female voice.

Therefore, Wu Zhuo ultimately gave up performing.

Amidst the mournful singing, Wu Zhuo and the entire creative team took to the stage, met with thunderous applause from the audience.

"Thank you, thank you everyone!"

Wu Zhuo and the others bowed deeply in gratitude.

The applause lasted for more than two minutes and continued for a long time.

Hearing the thunderous applause, the people on stage exchanged glances, their previously anxious hearts immediately relaxing, and excitement appearing between their brows.

Even during internal screenings, several investment firm professionals gave it positive reviews.

But until it gains the audience's approval, all of this is undoubtedly meaningless.

And now, from the audience's prolonged applause, everyone can clearly feel their recognition of this film.

"Thank you so much for your recognition of our film. From the moment I took on the role of director, I have been committed to creating a satisfying story for all audiences."

From the applause just now, I could hear everyone's approval of this film.

Chen Jiashang's voice trembled slightly.

Speaking of who was under the most pressure in the crew, it would definitely be Gordon Chan.

With an investment of nearly 100 million, such a large project would suffer an unparalleled blow to Chen Jiashang's career if it failed.

Fortunately, the possibility of failure has now become smaller, so Gordon Chan was very excited.

After saying a few words, Chen Jiashang handed the microphone to Wu Zhuo, who thanked him and then passed it on to others.

One by one, the members of the crew gave their speeches.

Then free access time begins.

Reporters and audience members present were welcome to ask the filmmakers a question related to the movie.

"This is the best movie I've seen this year. I want to give special praise to Zhou Xun and Wu Zhuo."

In my opinion, Zhou Xun's performance in this film is absolutely phenomenal, a true award-winning performance. Judging solely by her acting in this film, Zhou Xun is undoubtedly the best actress in China.

Then came Wu Zhuo.

At this point, renowned film critic Hu Jianli, who had stood up, paused for a moment.

"My understanding of Wu Zhuo is still that of a singer; many young people around me listen to his songs."

His achievements in the music scene over the past two years are absolutely remarkable.

He gave a thumbs up and continued, "But I didn't have high expectations for him in movies, even though he did a great job in 'Connected'."

I also maintain that he might be a good singer, but not necessarily a good actor.

But after watching "Painted Skin" today, his performance in the film really surprised me.

I saw in him the spirituality of Tony Leung, the gentleness of Leslie Cheung, and the ruggedness of Hu Jun.

To be honest, I don't think there are many people in the Chinese film industry who have so many elements combined in one person.

Without a doubt, Wu Zhuo's performance in this drama has won me over. I believe that among the younger generation of actors in China, Wu Zhuo is definitely at the forefront.

I hope to see more of your work in cinemas in the future. Of course, I know you are an excellent singer, but you could learn from Andy Lau and develop your career in both film and music.

I believe that if you continue to work deeply in film, you will definitely achieve great success.

Finally, regarding the film itself, I think "Painted Skin" has set a good precedent for Chinese cinema.

Previously, our films were either rural-themed, Hong Kong crime films, or even Feng Xiaogang's urban comedies.

Now, we have a new genre: fantasy films.

"Really, this is a very good movie, and I believe it will achieve great success at the box office."

Originally, Hu Jianli only intended to praise the film, but in the end, he habitually began to criticize its shortcomings.

"In my opinion, this drama still has many shortcomings. Zhao Wei is actually quite deserving of criticism. In my opinion, your performance should have been better than your performance in this drama."

You were actually overshadowed by Wu Zhuo, a newcomer actor, in this drama.

As soon as Hu Jianli finished speaking, Wu Zhuo saw that Zhao Wei's expression had become visibly unpleasant.

But she couldn't argue back, so she could only lower her head slightly.

She really couldn't refute him. Hu Jianli was no small figure. He had long worked for the Beijing Times and the entertainment department of People's Daily Online, and was a long-time guest on CCTV-6's "China Movie Report," as well as a judge for the Huading Awards.

Its commentary combines a media perspective with industry depth, and is particularly authoritative in the field of market analysis.

In short, Hu Jianli is of high seniority and has a powerful background.

Even Zhao Wei was unwilling to offend him.

And to be fair, Zhao Wei's performance in this film was actually just average.

While "Painted Skin" was being filmed, "Red Cliff" was also still being filmed.

It's obvious that Zhao Wei probably thinks "Red Cliff" is more worth looking forward to.

That film had an even bigger cast, and the director, John Woo, was an internationally renowned director.

It's perfectly normal for her to focus on that film.

This also led to her being distracted and not performing perfectly when filming Painted Skin.

After Hu Jianli finished speaking, several more film critics stood up to express their opinions.

Most reviews of "Painted Skin" are very positive.

Especially for Wu Zhuo and Zhou Xun.

The two almost unanimously agreed.

Surprisingly, Wu Jing was also highly praised by several film critics.

The reason is that Wu Jing's performance in this film is somewhat subversive of his previous work.

This is mainly a matter of appearance.

Wu Jing used to always dress like a pretty boy.

During the makeup trial, Wu Zhuo suggested to Wu Jing that he look a bit scruffy and grow a beard.

Suddenly, Wu Jing, with his baby face, became rugged in this outfit, a completely different person from before.

And the facts proved that Wu Zhuo's suggestion was good, even the usually picky film critics praised Wu Jing's performance.

I'll treat you to dinner when I have time!

Wu Jing appeared very excited after receiving praise from film critics.

He rarely received praise from film critics before; most of the time, they only discussed his kung fu.

Although he only played a supporting role in the Painted Skin movie, it opened up a new perspective for him.

He felt he could try to embody more of a tough guy image in the future, so he couldn't help but nudge Wu Zhuo and offer to treat him to dinner.

(End of this chapter)