I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 363 The most glorious moment!
On January 23, 2012, "The Flowers of War" was officially released in the country.

As of yesterday morning, the total pre-sale box office reached 3.19 million yuan, officially entering the 3 million+ pre-sale club, and becoming the only domestic film to exceed 3 million yuan in pre-sales.

Thus far, all films that have achieved pre-sales exceeding 2 million and 3 million yuan are products of the film science production.

The pre-sale box office on the first day of release, Chinese New Year, exceeded 1 million yuan.

Early in the morning, cinemas across the country, especially those in the city centers of first- and second-tier cities, welcomed their first wave of moviegoers.

The film's secret key did not set a midnight screening, but instead started at 8 a.m.

Even so, they still secured 1.32 million yuan in pre-sales.

This fully demonstrates the consumption potential of the current Spring Festival season in China.

The release date was not decided by Chen Jin. Of course, he wanted it to be released as soon as possible, and it would have been even better if it had been released on New Year's Eve, giving them an extra day off.

It's possible that the box office could be 1 million more.

However, this was the regulation of the Film Bureau, and Chen Jin had no choice but to comply.

One reason is that there has never been a Spring Festival film season before, and based on the idea that audiences probably wouldn't go to the cinema on New Year's Eve, they didn't give it to them.

Secondly, making staff work overtime on New Year's Eve for the Spring Festival Gala is also an unethical thing.

All these reasons led to the fact that "Jinling" did not officially start until 8 a.m. on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The probability of a film being released during the Spring Festival was finally broken in 2012, a year earlier than the original timeline, making it a first.

Wow, there are so many people!

Film critic Mu Ran's girlfriend looked at the audience coming and going in the cinema, queuing to collect their tickets, and exclaimed in surprise.

The two of them didn't go back to their hometown for the Chinese New Year this year, so they thought they'd go to the cinema to watch a movie.

Surprisingly, even though I arrived at the earliest event, there were still many people there.

"I saw that today's pre-sales on Didi have already exceeded 1 million yuan, it must be a lot!"

Mu Ran was standing in line.

As a senior film critic on Douban, he has always been a die-hard fan of Zhang Yimou.

He almost always goes to the cinema as soon as any of Zhang Yimou's works are released online, and this time "Jinling" is no exception.

"Didn't you say this movie is about the Holocaust? How come so many people are watching it?"

My girlfriend didn't quite understand. She felt that watching a movie like this on such a festive day was definitely not appropriate.

They were mentally prepared, but that doesn't mean everyone was.

"Because not everyone has studied film genres, they just know that Zhang Yimou's movie has been released!"

"The main purpose of the publicity campaign is to get people to go to the cinema during the Spring Festival, and many people are willing to participate in this kind of excitement!"

"And another reason is that Bale and Chen Jin are the leads!"

"Or maybe they're like us, just wanting to go out and see a movie during the Spring Festival, even if they know it's about the Holocaust, it doesn't matter..."

"That's really quite unique!"

His girlfriend, holding Mu Ran's hand, went to see a movie during the Spring Festival—a first for her.

It was indeed memorable and quite innovative, unlike previous years when people either visited relatives or stayed at home in Beijing, watching movies and TV series.

In comparison, watching a movie is definitely better.

After getting their tickets and buying popcorn, the two of them went straight through the ticket check and entered the venue.

This Wanda Plaza in Chaoyang District, Beijing, is usually packed with moviegoers, but today, Hall 1 was already full of 50 or 60 people. I just glanced at the schedule, and there were screenings every 20 minutes.

The screenings were all for "Jinling", which took up at least half of the total screenings.

Several new films are also being released in the same period today, such as "Perfect Two" starring Vic Chou and Yang Mi, "Just Kidding" starring Yu Qian and Jia Ling, and a children's drama.

However, the number of screenings was not very high because they were all low-budget films, which could not be compared with big productions like "Jinling".

"I didn't expect there to be so many people on the first day of the Lunar New Year!"

Mu Ran's girlfriend, munching on popcorn, was already looking forward to the movie, just like the rest of the audience.

Meanwhile, Mu Ran was holding a recording pen, preparing for his work as a film critic.

For some key plot points, he had to record them with a voice recorder so he could listen to them while writing his film reviews and recall the events.

"here we go!"

As the theater lights dimmed, the familiar dragon logo appeared.

Countless dazzling lights slowly converged to form a black-and-white clapperboard, with a line of English text appearing below.

Movie Science!

Film Science.

This is the company logo of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), which is quite different from many film and animation studios nowadays.

It's simple, futuristic, and has a high-end tech vibe.

Accompanied by slightly somber background music, the title "The Flowers of War" appears, along with the names of the producer, director, and lead actors. Finally, the characters appear on screen, speaking in thick, standard Nanjing dialect.

"After more than 20 days of bombing, Nanjing was finally captured by the Japanese soldiers!"

"That was December 13, 1937..."

Church student Meng Shujuan fled with a group of classmates through thick war smoke. Along with her were prostitutes from the Qinhuai River and civilians. The camera gave a panoramic view, showing the strings of a piano being slowly cut by barbed wire as they were blocked.

People in the theater who weren't familiar with film genres, upon seeing the scene of countless Nanjing residents fleeing for their lives, suddenly understood what kind of film they were watching.

The war... seems to be over?

Oh no!

Japanese devils appeared, chasing after the fleeing civilians. At this moment, a fake godfather played by Bale was also among the fleeing crowd.

But he was different from the people of Nanjing, who were terrified. He relied on his foreign identity and, seeing that he couldn't escape in the end, had no choice but to show himself.

The Japanese devils indeed released him.

He also saved Meng Shujuan and several others who were nearly killed by Japanese soldiers.

He asked Meng Shujuan to take him to the church.

……

There weren't any truly tragic scenes, but it was certainly very depressing to watch.

Every viewer knows this history, it's heartbreaking, and they hate the Japanese devils in the movie.

It wasn't until Instructor Li, played by Chen Jin, engaged in a life-or-death struggle with the Japanese devils.

The scenes of churches and war are interspersed throughout the film.

The scene where Ni Ni leads the Thirteen Beauties of Nanjing to the church was filmed beautifully by Zhang Yimou, seemingly easing the sadness in everyone's hearts and allowing a glimpse of hope amidst the oppression.

However, Instructor Li and his soldiers ultimately failed to defend Nanjing.

Although they were very brave and killed many Japanese devils, in the end, Instructor Li lay in the ruins and was shot off the city wall by a group of Japanese officers... His smile before he died was accompanied by the fuses that were pulled from his body.

boom--

One person detonated a building, which of course killed all the Japanese soldiers present, including the leader.

They died together, taking dozens of others down with them in their dying moments.

This close-up shot of a tragic and heroic sacrifice is the first tear-jerking moment in the film.

The previous parts were just dull, but here it was as if the tear ducts found an outlet, and many girls started crying, while the male audience members also had red eyes.

Chen Jin, who plays Instructor Li, delivers his most brilliant performance in the film. It's powerful and deeply moving.

This moment of glory surpassed even the greatness of Bear Grylls' previous act of saving the people of Nanjing.

These are Chinese soldiers, soldiers who defend their homeland.

They fought to the very last moment, until they were out of soldiers and supplies.

The character's arc was validated through his actions; and the previous scenes of his men fearlessly charging forward to block bullets and fight tanks were also foreshadowing of this moment.

The cruelty of war, the ferocity of the Japanese... the entire theater was silent.

In the end, of course, it was the Thirteen Beauties of Nanjing who sacrificed their lives to secure the freedom of many students in the church.

Bell led a group of students to safety.

While watching the movie, Mu Ran kept comparing "Jinling" with Lu Chuan's "Nanjing! Nanjing".

This is inevitable.

As a film critic, when I saw that "Nanjing" was about the Nanjing Massacre, I realized that almost everyone would make comparisons with it.

Is it the master's skill that's superior, or the newly crowned top director in China, Lu Chuan?

Although there is a lot of controversy online about the movie "Nanjing! Nanjing," Mu Ran dislikes it because it glorifies everyday life, but it is indeed the most famous film about the Nanjing Massacre.

But after watching "Jinling", Mu Ran understood very well.

These are two completely different films, and... their filming focuses are different.

The cinematography in "Nanjing! Nanjing!" is extremely violent. Even though it glorifies the Japanese soldiers, there are still many scenes of violence, including nudity and assault on women... It makes viewers very uncomfortable. It can be said that it is tragic for the sake of tragedy.

Even the black and white color scheme can be incredibly oppressive and suffocating, generating immense anger within.

I feel like I could kill a little person and offer them as a sacrifice right after watching it.

"Jinling" is about sorrow and helplessness!

It is a profound sense of powerlessness.

However, there is still hope for the future. The dignity and struggle of the people at the bottom in their desperate situation are even more convincing and show the brilliance of humanity.

Those students who escaped represent the future; Bell and the deceased Instructor Lee represent the greatness of humanity.

It easily resonates with the audience.

"It's much gentler than 'Nanjing,' without the constant tragedy. The scenes of Qin Huaijing and the final escape are both heart-warming moments!"

Although Mu Ran's eyes welled up with tears while watching, she didn't feel particularly sad afterward.

On the contrary, it is a way of remembering history.

What impressed him most was the death of Instructor Li, the poignant singing of the Thirteen Beauties of Qinhuai, the ritualistic scene of the prostitutes changing from their fine clothes to plain ones, and the tragic scene of the group's sacrifice.

This is one aspect of the sublimation of art.

"How's it going? Does it look good?"

As they walked out of the movie theater, Mu Ran asked his girlfriend beside him.

My girlfriend shook her head: "It doesn't look good!"

"Ha ha!"

Mu Ran could have foreseen this outcome: "Compared to 'Nanjing! Nanjing,' at least you saw the ending!"

To help his girlfriend get used to "Jinling" and prevent her from feeling uncomfortable, Mu Ran had her watch "Nanjing" beforehand, but she couldn't finish it.

That's horrible!
It can cause nightmares, especially for girls and children.

At least, audiences can actually get used to Zhang Yimou's film "Jinling".

"I know the outcome in Nanjing!"

"But I didn't know that Jinling would send those thirteen beauties to exchange for the students' lives!"

"And another concern is that in the end, the students might not be able to escape!"

This is the biggest difference between the two movies.

In fact, many netizens have also reported that many people are more and more afraid to watch "Nanjing" the more they watch it; on the contrary, once they start watching "Jinling", they can basically see the ending.

The fact that not a single audience member left the cinema during the screening speaks volumes about the film's quality.

"Yes, Zhang Yimou's film is more acceptable to people!"

"That's probably why they dared to release it during the Spring Festival!"

Mu Ran was talking to his girlfriend, but she was looking around curiously.

Wanda Plaza was bustling with people, many of whom seemed to have just finished watching a movie.

"The film's release during the Spring Festival has significantly boosted consumer spending in shopping malls..."

Would you like to take a look around?

Mu Ran definitely didn't have time; his mind was filled with the plot of "Jinling," especially the scene of Chen Jin's sacrifice, which was still echoing in his mind.

The impact is very strong. Besides Chen Jin's performance in the film being a plus, his role gives this scene its highlight.

What a great actor.

No wonder he dared to say those things at the Golden Horse Awards.

Compared to the character he plays, it's an absolute perfect match.

In fact, more rational fans, especially male fans, still have a very good impression of Chen Jin; although many netizens criticized and condemned her after the Golden Horse Awards, many netizens who hoped for her return actually supported Chen Jin's actions.

At that time, many people became fans. Although Mu Ran did not reach the point of idolizing Chen Jin, he at least recognized Chen Jin as an actress.

He's much better than most male actors in China.

Putting aside values, just looking at his acting skills, he's a Venice Film Festival Best Actor winner; and he has virtually no scandals or gossip, always diligently working on his films, which puts him ahead of 90% of actors in China.

Aside from movie releases, you almost never see any news about him; he's considered quite low-profile.

In contrast, many celebrities either spend their days on Weibo's trending topics for marketing purposes or buy fake followers, as if they want the whole world to know their daily activities.

Fans might appreciate this kind of daily engagement, but casual observers, like Mu Ran, tend to admire stars like Chen Jin who are talented yet unassuming.

This kind of approach actually makes audiences more willing to spend money to buy tickets for him at the cinema.

You can see a celebrity jumping around online almost every day, but the movies they star in actually feel very out of place, lacking any sense of novelty.

This is why actors need to maintain an air of mystery.

Private life must be kept separate from one's work.

A character is a character, and an actor is an actor; you can't let the audience feel that reality overlaps with the character, otherwise the work will be completely jarring to watch.

"Do you have time?"

Mu Ran's girlfriend certainly wanted to go shopping, but she also knew that her boyfriend had to work.

Film reviews are his source of income.

"It's okay, we can just listen to the recording again..."

"Then... 2 hours?"

"Shall we have another meal together?"

Mu Ran's girlfriend chuckled, and the two of them tried to dispel the heaviness they felt after watching "The Flowers of War."

(End of this chapter)