Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 951 In Cannes (13)

There have always been two Cannes Film Festivals:
Under the lights of the Lumière Hall, Cannes, as one of the world's most famous film festivals, is the dream of generations of filmmakers, representing the highest affirmation in the art world. With its adherence to artistic traditions and stubborn aesthetic standards, it has long been at the top of the film world's hierarchy of contempt.

On the other side of time, Cannes connects great names that have etched their names in film history, such as Bergman, Truffaut, Bresson, Buñuel, and Antonioni. In the truly brilliant era of cinema, these names almost defined the boundaries of film as an art form, providing unattainable glimmers of light for those who followed in the long night.

On the other hand, the 20-meter-long red carpet showcased the most exquisite bodies, the most naked schemes, and the most straightforward desires from various eras of the world.

Cannes is the most bustling stage, a place where fame and fortune are at stake.

Where the spotlight shines, a dazzling array of sights and sounds unfolds, from plump to slender beauties. This flowing spectacle is far more captivating than the soporific close-ups and long takes in the cinema.

It can be said that since its inception, the solemnity of the Lumière Hall and the glitz and glamour of the red carpet have maintained a delicate balance.

The Cannes Film Festival is a huge film market with a large flow of funds;
It's a trendy den of iniquity, with lavish parties every night, where beautiful women, wealthy men, champagne, and cruise ships enact whimsical dreams!

In the top luxury flagship stores along the seaside promenade, every service staff member is as polite as Haidilao.

It is the best stage for political and economic expression, and every year there are parades in Cannes that echo the Palais des Festivals.

There are big producers, stars, and directors everywhere. You might just stumble upon the opportunity you've been waiting for your whole life.

On the night of the opening ceremony, Shen Yan attended the official dinner and the PR party that Fox prepared for "Parasite," which, of course, had another name: Fox Night!
This is the advantage of working for a big company...

So rich!

Parasite bought a ton of film reviews, and the official recommended magazines included posters on movie theater walls and hotel advertising walls…

These all cost money!
By the way, as the opening film, Parasite received very good reviews.

—Publication review rating: 3.5 points…

Last year's highest-rated shows in the program were "No Love to Tell" and "You Were Never Here" with a score of 3.2.
Two years ago, the highest score in the program book was Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson," which received a score of 3.5.
In the last five years, the highest score in the festival's daily publication was 3.7 for Maren Adler's "Toni Erdmann" in 2016, which received the highest score in history, yet it didn't win any major awards...

In Cannes, a high rating in the festival publication does not guarantee the Palme d'Or.

Film critics are not a jury, after all.

Often, films that win top awards don't necessarily receive high ratings from critics...

The most typical examples are *The Square*, which received a score of 2.7, and *I, Blake*, which only received a score of 2.4 in its final program, including *Dheepan* in 2015, which only received a score of 2.5 in its program…

In fact, last year's main competition segment had a worryingly low rating – as many as 10 films received 3 stars or less, accounting for more than 50%, which was a disastrous experience.

Jury president Guillermo del Toro used the title "If I don't explode, I'll explode myself" to describe his viewing experience on the eighth day of his Cannes film diary last year...

The festival program is essentially a publication distributed within the film festival itself, existing only for the few days of the festival. Half of its content consists of introductions and reviews, serving the festival's needs; the other half is purely advertising. It's not anything fancy; its significance is similar to a "daily newspaper," referring to "a publication that appears at the festival every day."

The Cannes Film Festival program is produced by an old-school magazine called Screen Daily. It begins publishing one issue a day before the festival starts and is given away for free at the festival venue. An electronic version is also available for free on its website.

Because a new issue is published every day, the content of the festival program is quite varied. In addition to the festival schedule, news about the films being shown, and film reviews, it mainly contains various advertisements and promotional articles.

These advertisements have clearly marked prices; anyone who pays can get on board, so there are practically no barriers to entry.

The price isn't as high as I imagined—around 100,000 is enough.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Chinese-language films appear extensively in almost every issue of the program books of the three major film festivals over the years, sometimes even spanning multiple pages.

After all, it's a transparent and honest business transaction, so there's no need to take those boastful claims like "XXX Chinese film featured in the Cannes Film Festival program" seriously.

As an aside, these ads don't feature Hollywood blockbusters or top European art films; they're only for films that don't have much of a chance to "go international"—here, the film program serves as a more mainstream platform for films to showcase themselves, a form of promotion.

The fact that a Chinese-language film appears in a film program does not represent the quality of the film, but rather the amount of its publicity and distribution budget.

Therefore, Parasite has no chance of being featured in the program!
……

"Dizzying, brilliant, and utterly unclassifiable, *Parasite* is perfect in every way and a truly strong contender for the Palme d'Or." — *Variety*

Indiewire commented, "Although the film festival has only just begun, I can say that 'Parasite is the best film of the year, bar none.'"

Screen Magazine: "Parasite blends elements of thriller, dark humor, and family tragedy, delivering a 2-hour and 12-minute rollercoaster viewing experience. Director Shen Yan breaks the rules of genre films, integrating social realities into different themes to form a unique narrative style... truly amazing!"

Of course, there were also criticisms…

"Sight & Sound" review: The story of "Parasite" is based on rich and substantial details of real society and character design. The actors' accurate performances and director Shen Yan's skillful techniques make the film leave a very strong first impression on the audience.

However, upon closer examination, the film's weakness also lies in this extreme genre: the overly brilliant and perfect design causes the climax to arrive too early, failing to provide any further elevation in the middle and at the end, and the film's ending feels rather rushed...

Shen Yan didn't care much about these discussions.

In the following days, he didn't go out much. Apart from a few official events where he needed to appear in public, he spent most of his time on the hotel's open-air balcony, making a cup of coffee and enjoying the sea breeze...

Oh, this is part of the plan…

Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes!
He needs to sell films—"White Snake," "Project Gutenberg," "Underground Fire," and "Northeast Police Story"...

Selling films requires dealing with people!

(End of this chapter)