Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 413 A Blessing in Disguise? A Global Frenzy!
Due to the monopoly of the movie channel, other portal websites only provided text and image live broadcasts for this year's Oscars.

The photos and text provided during the live broadcast were mostly taken on-site by foreign reporters and reposted from major international media outlets. The actual Oscars live video would have to wait for a recording broadcast on the movie channel more than ten hours later.

The movie channel will edit out some content that is offensive to public opinion and undermines unity, so as not to allow harmful ideas to poison the minds of domestic audiences.

However, domestic film fans and Liu Yifei's fans who have been paying close attention to "The Sky of History" were already impatient. So after learning that "The Sky of History" had narrowly lost the Best Actress and Best Picture awards at this year's Oscars and received strong support from the audience, the noise from domestic and foreign media grew louder.

The information sent by Harvey and the domestic public opinion center fully demonstrates this point.

The rapid spread of the news in North America was clearly due to the former's efforts.

After being "trained" for several years, the Jewish An Lushan is now becoming more and more ethical in his business dealings.

The future film master and the future Stanislavski return to their Beverly Hills mansion and turn on their computer to read about the uproar in public opinion.

Many North American media outlets that conducted on-site interviews first issued brief reports.

Variety: The entire audience stood up to pay tribute! "Sky of History" narrowly missed out on Best Picture, and Hollywood used applause to protest cultural barriers. Oscar-winning actor Lewis led the support for Chinese directors.

The Hollywood Reporter: The "Golden City dilemma" at the Oscars has prevented a film comparable to Schindler's List from winning Best Director.

The New York Times Arts section: Lu Kuan's "The Sky of History" and the Oscars' "selective blindness".

Comparative analysis: Schindler's List swept 7 awards in 1993 vs. Nanjing-themed films encountered "technical blockade" in 2008.

The Guardian: Standing applause and seated prejudice; discussing why the Oscar-winning film once again avoids Asian narratives.

Turning to the domestic section, many professional media outlets have already published lengthy commentaries.

Film Art is a professional film magazine in China that belongs to the Film Festival Association under the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. It has interviewed the main creators of the film crew in Berlin and gave its opinion on its blog network immediately after the Oscars.

"The Oscars' 'Selective Blindness' and the Predicament of Chinese-Language Cinema"

At the 2008 Academy Awards, although "Sky of History" won Best Director, it missed out on Best Picture due to cultural barriers and political considerations. This result exposed the deep-seated bias in the Oscar voting system.

The collective stand-up by Hollywood left-wing filmmakers was precisely a silent protest against the Academy's "double standards."

The breakthrough of Chinese-language films in the Western discourse system has never been a gap in technology or art, but a contest of values.

Lu Kuan's use of the camera to restore the historical truth touched humanity but failed to shake the ideological wall. This is not only a regret of "The Sky of History" but also proof of the Oscars' self-limitation.

China Film News, a staunch supporter of Mr. Lu, immediately voiced its support. Mainstream media outlets know that it is necessary to promote a film before its domestic premiere.

Applause and Trophy: An Unfinished Justice

The thunderous applause at the Kodak Theatre is more memorable than the gilded Oscar statuette. The "failure" of "The Sky of History" was actually a compromise by the mainstream Western film industry with its own prejudices.

When giants like Lewis and Scorsese took action to show their support, the Oscar judging mechanism was already facing a crisis of trust.

Chinese-language films do not need to cater to the aesthetics of "others." Lu Kuan's works have shown the world that true art transcends awards, and the echoes of history will eventually penetrate prejudice.

Renowned Chinese film critic Dai Jinhua commented on this matter during a live broadcast on Sina Weibo.
This is the second Best Director award for a Chinese director, but the first Best Director award for a Chinese film.

The reason why Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" won the award is essentially because it conforms to the Western narrative preference for freedom and minority groups.

However, the narrow defeat of "History Sky" precisely exposes the Oscars' "selective empathy" for the historical traumas of non-Western countries.

Actually, Director Lu's failure—let's just call it a failure for now—is something I consider an extraordinary achievement, even though I think winning Best Director is already a remarkable accomplishment.

Director Lu's failure is essentially due to the fact that Chinese directors' cinematic language and core themes are too constrained by the Western value system.

78% of the Oscar judges are American and white, and their aesthetic framework is rooted in Western cultural traditions, with their definition of universal values ​​implying a strong Anglo-Saxon cultural background.

Collectivist narratives commonly found in Chinese-language films, such as family ethics, social networks, and historical contexts like Confucianism and revolutionary memories, often require cultural translation before they can be understood by the West.

Given the current geopolitical relations, the West is wary of the narrative content in Chinese-language films, which are easily distorted into ideological exports. This was already evident when director Lu Kuan's "Tangshan" was released in North America.

The film's portrayal of the PLA's excellent morale and combat discipline has left Westerners in disbelief, even demonizing it as a recruitment advertisement.

The absence of Chinese actors in the Oscar Best Picture category is essentially a cultural legacy of a century of global film industry colonialism.

The key to breaking through the predicament lies not only in gaining recognition from a certain award, but also in building the cultural identity of Chinese-language films.

When Chinese stories are understood through their own logic, rather than as "supplements to the Western value system," and when Eastern narratives like "Dream of the Red Chamber" can be discussed alongside Western classics like "Hamlet," breakthroughs in awards may simply be a natural outcome.

By 2008, Dai Jinhua was already a leading figure in Chinese film theory and criticism.

As a professor and doctoral supervisor at Yenching University, she has constructed a film analysis system that integrates Western left-wing theories such as the Frankfurt School and postcolonialism with Chinese local experience, using the critical perspective of the cultural studies school.

Compared to the old-fashioned and outdated Zhu Dake and others, they were nothing short of a breath of fresh air.

Aside from the support and interpretations from domestic film critics and media, emotional fans ignored all of that and vented their resentment and discontent on social media.

"Berlin Film Festival Best Actress loses to Marion Cotillard in 'La Vie en Rose'? Have the Oscar judges been blinded by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood musicals?"

"She brought Iris Chang to life at the age of 20, with her lines, eyes, and explosive performance all on point, yet she lost to someone who could sing, dance, and act? The Oscars should just be renamed the 'Musical Awards' from now on!"

"When the Coen brothers accepted their awards, they hugged a washing machine; Lewis led the standing ovation; Hollywood's left voted with their feet! The prejudice of some judges cannot obscure the greatness of the film itself!"

How could Zhu Dake be absent from such an occasion?
He crawled out of the sewer like a maggot, making a racket and attacking the road.

The core issue is that the young director, having failed to gain favor by groveling, turned to playing the sympathy card.

From "Surrendering to the Oscars" to "Playing the victim marketing" --

The director's team spent $6000 million on investment and marketing, using the "self-Orientalization" narrative of "History Sky" to please Western judges and white saviors. Isn't this exactly the "spectacle of suffering" that the Oscars love most?

Unfortunately, this time it backfired! Harvey's PR campaign and Liu Yifei's Best Actress award campaign were all Hollywood-style scheming.

Now, those who pretend to be victims after failing to win Best Picture are essentially just sour grapes, blaming the judges for "bias" after their attempt to kneel down failed!
A standing ovation? An awkward hug between the Coen brothers? These scripted tragedies are ridiculous!

Lu Kuan has long been colluding with the Hollywood left, using anti-war labels to package political opportunism. Now he is inciting domestic "cultural humiliation" sentiments, distorting artistic failures into "Western suppression," and inciting fans to cyberbully judges.

These aren't filmmakers; they're clearly populist opportunists!

Liu Yifei slammed her hand on the table with a "bang!"
The force was so great that even the expensive chandelier in the master bedroom of the Beverly Hills mansion seemed to tremble slightly.

Her almond-shaped eyes widened, her cheeks puffed out like a little pufferfish with its fur standing on end, a few cute fine lines appeared on the tip of her nose, and even the dimple on her right cheek trembled slightly with anger.

"Is that pig Da Ke ever going to die?! He always jumps out of nowhere like that."

Mr. Lu was startled by his girlfriend's sudden outburst of anger, and watched with amusement as she lashed out at the washing machine.

I was just about to offer some words of comfort when the other person suddenly changed the subject.

"He hit the nail on the head! What he said—using the Pan-Asian Film Academy to monopolize the domestic film industry, hyping up the Oscar loss to create buzz—he knows you too well!"

"Bad guys really understand bad guys!"

"Hahaha!" Xiao Liu stared blankly at the washing machine, laughing so hard he could barely breathe, as he watched the man feign anger as he approached, then raise his hands in surrender.
"Hey, hey, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was just kidding, don't be a sore loser!"

The washing machine, unusually assertive as husband, asks: "What did I do wrong?"

Xiao Liu pouted, her bright red lips still glossy from the hotpot meal: "I was afraid you'd be upset, so I teased you a little. Don't be angry~~~"

"I asked you what you did wrong?!"

"Um... I was speaking a little too loudly just now."

Liu Yifei looked at him with her big, pitiful eyes, her eyes slightly drooping, and her pink lips pouting as if she were being coquettish.

Her fingertips unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, creating tiny wrinkles in the silk fabric. She spoke with a slightly nasal tone, her voice rising softly at the end.

The washing machine was so captivated by her appearance that it lost all sense of reason.

Seeing Xiao Liu's obsequious and subservient demeanor today, he grew increasingly audacious, seemingly still harboring wicked intentions and eager to try something new:

"I'm very angry right now."

The two had brought up this topic when they were playing around in bed, but the girlfriend was absolutely against it.

Aside from the normal and ethical relationship between men and women, being led to use her hands while in Italy was already her limit!

Trying to test me with such a vulgar gimmick, do you want to see me, Mulan, get angry and bleed profusely?

Two small flames ignited in Liu Yifei's eyes, her fair cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and even the tips of her ears turned a light pink with anger: "Wishful thinking! You're used to being served by those sluts outside... those women, aren't you?"

"I want to eat shit!"

The washing machine, having failed in its attempt, looked completely innocent: "I said I was having hot pot today and it's making me feel hot. What are you thinking, Qianqian?"

Xiao Liu got angry when he heard this address. Does he not know how to call himself more intimate if he doesn't do something suggestive?
So he swung his fist and started hitting!

Anyway, she knew the size of the washing machine well; in bed, he was like an animal, and a few punches wouldn't kill him.

Crippled?

It's good that he's crippled; he can stay obediently by my side from now on.

As Mulan slapped him, she shouted and cursed, "I'll teach you to be so hot-tempered! I'll teach you to be so hot-tempered!"

"My mind is filled with nothing but these vulgar thoughts all day long!"

"I just ate spicy hot pot, do you believe I can burn you to death, you bastard?"

Boss Lu keenly spotted a key point, and his spirits instantly lifted from his all-out defense: "I don't believe it! I'm willing to risk my life! To die under the peony is to die a romantic death!"

Realizing he had misspoke, Xiao Liu chuckled at his own words: "Get lost!"

When she got tired of hammering, the washing machine took advantage of her momentum and became rampant. In no time, it stripped her girlfriend naked and carried her into the bathroom.

Before long, a faint, cloying meow could be heard, so sticky it made one's heart itch.

The splashing water and the indistinct humming created an atmosphere of growing affection.

The lights outside the Los Angeles window still shone brightly, but the wet, intertwined fingers in the bathroom at this moment proved, more fervently than any trophy, that the most enduring coronation was hidden in the corners untouched by the spotlight.

If the narrow defeat at the Oscars can be considered a hurdle in life, then this young couple, who have only been engaged for half a year, have accompanied each other through another difficult time and are now more truly appreciating the true meaning of life.
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The young couple's one-night stand has sparked further discussion both domestically and internationally.

Zhu Dake has a point that turned out to be a happy accident, namely that "History Sky lost to the Oscars and the entire audience stood up to support it" has indeed become big news.

Although it wasn't intentional, North American media reporters always have to find something to stir up and hype up in this year's lackluster Oscars.

With the writers' union strike still ongoing, the entire North American region is in complete chaos.

It was under these circumstances, and with the prestige of winning the Golden Bear and Best Actress awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, as well as the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Director, that "Sky" saw a surge in screenings in North America.

Film fans of different ages and ethnicities flocked to the cinemas to see just how good the film was that could garner such enthusiastic support from the entire Oscars audience.

The film premiered in North America on February 8th, but only grossed $5.5 million on its opening day and less than $23 million in its first week.
Winning the Best Picture at the Berlin Film Festival on February 16th boosted its popularity, and by the night of the Oscars on February 24th, its total box office had soared to 55 million in its second week.
Starting from February 25th, coupled with the Best Supporting Actor and Best Director awards, and most importantly, the hype generated by the media, the number of screenings for "Sky" surged.

Sai Weng lost his horse, how do you know it is not a blessing?
It's difficult to say whether the subjective malicious attacks led by News Corp. and the objective public relations competition with other films, if they hadn't worked to get "Sky of History" the Best Picture award, would have actually had a better or worse impact on box office performance.

By a series of mishaps, this meager Oscars has become the most successful "topic marketing" event of the year, and the storm continues.

Without stopping, at 7:30 pm on February 27, 2008, Beijing time, the entire crew of "The Sky of History" held its Asian premiere in Nanjing.

At the same time, the film's release and premiere were simultaneously organized by CJ Entertainment in South Korea, Toho Co., Ltd. in Japan, and Golden Harvest in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Tonight, all of Asia is focused on this long-awaited masterpiece.

For Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, many viewers are still captivated by the cultural hegemony of the United States.

What kind of movie is "The Sky of History," which has garnered support from Hollywood A-listers and been widely reported by newspapers across North America?
It can be said that today's premiere of "The Sky of History" in Nanjing is a ceremony far more important than the Berlin Film Festival or the Oscars.

Because it embodies the emotions of the entire nation, and also awakens and comforts the souls of those who perished on this land seventy years ago.

As dusk settles over Nanjing, a cold wind carries the whispers of history across the banks of the Yangtze River, while the area in front of the Nanjing People's Hall on Changjiang Road is bustling with traffic.

This assembly hall, which shares the same name as the capital city, was built in 1936 and was originally named the National Assembly Hall. It was one of the largest and most advanced assembly halls in the country during the Republic of China period.

The architectural style blends Chinese and Western elements, with the main body using reinforced concrete structure, the exterior facade decorated with artificial stone, and the gate tower inlaid with the gold lettering "Great Hall of the People".

The interior auditorium features an arched dome and is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for the time, such as air conditioning and automatic voting machines. The stage covers an area of ​​740 square meters and can accommodate nearly 2500 people.

Historically, this building was not only the venue for the Nationalist government to hold the "National Assembly for the Implementation of the Constitution," but also the political and cultural center of Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City, witnessing many important historical moments, such as the meeting of the People's Liberation Army after the Crossing the Yangtze River Campaign in 1949.

The premiere of "The Sky of History" was held in the Great Hall of the People, a place steeped in the passage of time, which deeply intertwined with the film's theme and enhanced the film's realistic impact from a temporal and spatial perspective.

Today, all the cinemas in Nanjing will be showing this historical epic that the citizens have been eagerly anticipating for so long, making it a sleepless night.

As you can see, the main creative team of "The Sky of History," including Lu Kuan, Andy Lau, and Hanks, are dressed in dark suits, while Moore, Liu Yifei, Iris Chang, and others are dressed in plain dresses, "welcoming guests" at the end of the red carpet.

The production team did not invite any glamorous stars to compete for attention; in fact, the titles of Berlin Golden Bear, Best Actress, and Oscar Best Director were already resounding.

With the star power of actors like Lu Kuan, Liu Yifei, and Hanks, there's no longer a need for the usual commercial film stars to lend their support or embellish the film.

Who are the guests invited to today's premiere?
Domestic and international journalists captured the breathtaking scene on camera—

President Zhou of the Jiangsu Provincial Anti-Japanese War History Society is talking with Koichi Morita, a representative of the Japanese "Peace Ship" organization.

Holding a banner in both Chinese and Japanese that read "History cannot be altered," Morita said solemnly to the camera: "We have brought a joint letter from 500 Japanese people, demanding that the Japanese government face up to the historical facts of atrocities revealed in the film and Zhang's book. We are sorry!"

He also brought a handwritten letter from Japanese anti-war veteran Sho Mitani, who paid the highest tribute to the film and writer Iris Chang.

Last year, 88-year-old Sho Mitani donated almost all of his family property and World War II photos, and knelt down to apologize in front of Jinling Institute of Technology.

Following this, more than ten veterans, dressed in old-style military uniforms and adorned with medals, walked slowly with the help of volunteers. The oldest was 94 years old, his hand trembling slightly as he leaned on his cane, but his back was as straight as a pine tree. Some citizens spontaneously presented flowers, and the veterans responded with military salutes, drawing thunderous applause from the crowd.

A reporter from the Jinling Evening News captured a moment when an old soldier was gazing at the lintel of the Great Hall of the People. During the interview, the old man choked up a little: "In 1937, I killed Japanese soldiers here..."

Survivor Xia Shuqin walked in the center of the red carpet with her granddaughter. Her hands trembled slightly, and her withered fingers tightly gripped the yellowed book "The Nanjing Massacre." The creases on the spine of the book looked like scars etched by time.

Her hunched back looked particularly thin under her dark blue cotton-padded coat, but her eyes were like torches, a flame that had not been extinguished even after the catastrophe.

Her granddaughter supported her, and could feel the weight of each step the old woman took, as if the ground beneath her feet was not a red carpet, but the blood and snow of Nanjing in the winter of 1937.

Iris Chang was the first to come out and give the surviving elderly woman she had interviewed ten years ago a tight hug.

Xia Shuqin burst into tears as soon as she saw her, tightly gripping the female writer's hand, but unable to utter a single word.

With tears welling in his eyes, CCTV reporter Wang Zhi faced the camera as he broadcast the premiere live on the news channel.

At the same time, Jiangsu Satellite TV, the Thirteen Taibao local channels, and Travel Channel broadcast the program:
"Dear viewers, this is CCTV News Channel. I am reporter Wang Zhi. At this moment, we are at the Jinling Grand Hall to witness the Asian premiere of a film destined to be recorded in history—'The Sky of History'."

The scene cuts to a close-up of Iris Chang and Xia Shuqin embracing.

Wang Zhi took a deep breath: "What you are seeing is the intersection of history and reality."

"Ten years ago, Chinese-American author Iris Chang interviewed survivor Xia Shuqin while writing her book 'The Nanjing Massacre.' Today, at the premiere of the film adapted from Chang's book, this 86-year-old woman, clutching the yellowed original copy, reunited with Chang on the red carpet."

"Xia Shuqin's silence at this moment speaks louder than a thousand words. In the winter of 1937, her entire family perished, and she herself survived by sheer luck, having been stabbed three times... The book she clutched tightly, page 137, records the ordeal of her entire family."

The camera panned across the audience, where veterans of the War of Resistance Against Japan stood up and saluted, and descendants of survivors held up photos of their deceased relatives.

Even before the movie started, very few people could keep their eyes dry.

No interviews or other commercial activities were scheduled before the film's premiere. As the guests took their seats, the film was about to officially begin.

Wang Zhi gave a summary to the camera before the premiere.

"There were no dazzling outfits under the flashing lights, only the historical creases between white hair and wrinkles."

"When Julianne Moore, who plays Minnie Vautrin, bent down to drape a scarf over Xia Shuqin, and when Tom Hanks knelt down to talk to the wheelchair-bound veteran at eye level, the premiere had already transcended the film itself."

"Thank you to director Lu Kuan and Ms. Iris Chang, and thank you to Liu Yifei, Hanks, Moore and everyone else who worked hard for the film, making it a notarized ceremony of memories spanning 70 years. Every tear captured by the camera carries more weight than any box office figure or Western award."

Suddenly all the lights went out, and the movie logo lit up on the screen.

Viewers who hadn't yet seen the premiere on television only had time to hear reporter Wang Zhi's last words.

"History has never faded away, and the truth will never be silenced. This is Nanjing, a coordinate of the Chinese people's memory."

Goodbye, viewers.

Unsurprisingly, the interplay of silence and awe during the viewing, along with the outpouring of emotions and tears, became the hallmarks of this film's legendary status.

Even after the film ended, the oldest survivor at the scene, 89-year-old Lee Soo-young, tearfully approached Moore, the actress who played Minnie Vautrin.

Because of blurred vision and advanced age, the elderly woman, her voice trembling and unclear, uttered, "Miss Hua, we survived..."

At that moment, everyone from the creative team of "The Sky of History" to the local leaders and cultural officials, film bureau leaders, and all the invited guests broke down in tears.

As the end credits of "The Sky of History" scrolled across the Nanjing Auditorium and the lights came on, the survivors and the audience looked up at the dome together—

At this moment, architecture, images, and crowds form a closed field of memory, like a "silent monument," using its brick and stone body to tell the story of Nanjing's trauma and dignity.

Here, the sky of history has never truly been gloomy, because there are always those who carry the torch.

Such scenes appeared on countless screens across China tonight.

The people's eyes are discerning, and the people's power is boundless.

From the release and promotion of the "As You Wish" music video in January to its participation in the Berlin and Oscars exhibitions in February, domestic audiences were mostly just "watching the show".

Only Liu Yifei's fans and Lu Kuan's moviegoers are sparing no effort in supporting and defending him.

But after the premiere, countless onlookers were deeply shaken and, after falling into a collective silence, erupted into an unprecedented wave of public opinion backlash!
On Weibo and Alispace, two of the top two microblogging websites in China, trending topics demanding apologies from Zhu Da Ke and the magazine "Nan" have emerged one after another.

Not only fans of the film crew and righteous citizens, but also bystanders who had been misled by him have come to their senses and have repented, with a large number of confession posts appearing on social media platforms.

Zhu Dake was overjoyed; he felt his chance had come.

Since the incident with Director Xie in the 80s, it has been a long time since a big name like Boss Lu has been able to boost his fame and value.

What's the difference between your fans criticizing me and you criticizing me yourself?
You have to take responsibility for the trouble caused by your fans!
He enthusiastically began arguing with various netizens, continuing to smear Boss Lu:
Some directors never face the most real problems, never respond directly to the criticisms from the arts and culture community, and instead choose to bury their heads in the sand, thinking that this is how they can deceive themselves.

Now, this opportunistic director has come up with a new tactic: condoning his online mobs to insult all objective commentators.

Under the guise of upholding historical justice, you are actually engaging in blatant cyber violence.

These groups, who claim to be fans of so-and-so, exhibit typical populist characteristics in their behavior.

The film's use of language violence, including labeling and hurling insults such as "traitor," has distorted the discussion into a struggle over identity politics, which runs counter to the film's advocacy of a rational historical perspective.

This cognitive polarization reduces complex historical narratives to a binary opposition of "black and white," completely ignoring the theoretical framework of "the multidimensionality of historical representation" that I proposed in the journal Film Art.

Collective behavior, including organized whistleblowing and comment control, is essentially a "tyranny of the majority" in the cultural field. It severely damages the public space for academic discussion and is utterly despicable!

I must point out that true respect for history should be based on rigorous historical research and rational dialogue, rather than this kind of emotional online trial.

It is recommended that these young film enthusiasts reread Habermas's "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere" to understand what constitutes healthy public discussion.

As it turns out, the old literary scoundrels who came from that era are indeed very powerful. Their high-sounding titles and mudslinging disguised as academic works are top-notch even among public intellectuals.

Ordinary netizens are no match for these highly educated and experienced media professionals and scholars. Frustrated and exasperated, they resort to vulgar language, turning the Weibo and blogs of these old dogs into a chaotic mess, yet they seem to enjoy it nonetheless.

It can increase your followers! Even haters are followers!

Zhu, Nan, and several other lead dogs barked at the village entrance, and the other dogs in the village joined in, even though they didn't know why.

But they knew the source of the remittances in their bank accounts.

There are Japanese devils, domestic figures, North Americans, and even Taiwan Province—it's truly a chaotic scene of demons dancing together.

The domestic hypothetical enemies are just the same few people. The huge industrial scale of the domestic and international companies is enviable, but the ones who understand you best are often your enemies.

Your film and television production competes with companies like Huayi, Chengtian, Fiber Optics, and Bona.

Your cinema chain is competing with Wanda;
Your Wenjie Mall competes with Taobao, and Wenjie Video competes with other video websites;
Your allies, Weibo and Blogcn, compete with Alibaba, Wendy's, and other portals;
Not to mention your vast overseas industries, which also face the covetousness of local North American companies and the policy threats from the authorities.

Wenjie Holdings may have been a large and powerful company, but its collapse was instantaneous, and the core issue and trigger was its cash flow problem.

According to internal sources, the rapidly growing film sector in mainland China and the film and DVD markets in North America are the main sources of revenue and relief from financial pressure.

But the enemy knew it too.

Unable to find other weaknesses, they relentlessly targeted every film, such as the unexpected complications in this year's Oscars.

However, the sudden change in the situation starting from the premiere left all observers and competitors stunned.

First, the Berlin Film Festival, the most pro-China of the three major European film festivals, spoke out on its official Twitter account, arguing that "the stubborn academic jury has ignored true masterpieces of art and is still indulging in its own aesthetic hegemony."

The whole world is affected by Hollywood dumping. The market share of its home countries such as France, Germany, Britain and Italy has long been eroded. The three major European countries have a love-hate relationship with Hollywood.

They hate its powerful cinematic dominance, yet they rely on Hollywood stars to embellish their film festivals, create hype, and attract attention.

Among them, the Berlin Film Festival, which is held only a week before the Oscars each year, was the most affected. This time, it gave the Golden Bear to "History of the Sky" and was naturally the first to criticize it.

Following this, Sight & Sound, one of the world's only two authoritative film magazines, publicly questioned the Oscars' double standards and artistic independence, arguing that it was Hollywood's own loss to let such a masterpiece fail to win Best Picture.

Seeing this growing global trend, Cannes and Venice decided to add fuel to the fire, joining Berlin in reiterating and expressing the core theme of "consolidating European cinematic discourse power."

Bustling and bustling, good things come and good things go.

Whether it's Lu Kuan himself, the Oscars, the three major European organizations, News Corporation, or domestic competitors like Huayi and Chengtian Ali, each has its own voices and methods of support and opposition, but in the end, they all come down to the word "interests."

Manipulating public opinion and marketing, including generating buzz, are superficial efforts; the real results are reflected in box office revenue and copyright sales.

For this historical biopic, which cost $60 million including marketing expenses, the investment needs to be gradually recouped from global box office revenue to achieve profitability, in addition to the revenue from the DVD release three months later.

First, the rights to European and South American films were bought out for $2000 million by MK2, a French company specializing in art films, directly recovering nearly one-third of the cost.
紧接着是从2月24号奥斯卡颁奖礼结束开始的一周，截止3月1号的单周票房高达3200万，较前一周增长200%。

In addition to the large-scale expansion of screenings in art-house cinemas across the United States, commercial cinemas also saw the business opportunity, proactively contacting them to reduce deposits and urgently expanding the number of screenings from 800 to 2200, with peak daily box office reaching $600 million.
As of now, after more than three weeks in the North American market, it has grossed $87 million. Based on the current trend, it is expected to surpass $110 million after its fourth week of release.

This figure will surpass Lu Kuan's own record of nearly $100 million at the North American box office two years ago with "Tangshan".

"Tangshan" was marketed in North America as a disaster film with world-class special effects, falling into the category of commercial films.

However, the subject matter of "The Sky of History" has inherent limitations, and without the hype of awards and "narrow defeats," it would be extremely difficult to achieve such success.

If we calculate based on the soaring box office figures worldwide, excluding the Asian market, and using the North American market's box office cost factor of 2.5-3 times, the original total investment of $6000 million has barely broken even.

Overall, professional film critics harshly criticized the Oscars for "cultural double standards," fans lashed out at the judges for being "blind," and the media hyped up the tragic hero story that garnered a standing ovation. Together, these three factors elevated "The Sky of History" to a pedestal.

As the industry insiders jubilantly turned their attention to China and Asia—

Settled in RMB, the film grossed 70 million RMB in its first week in the Chinese market (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), which is significantly higher than the 2007 Lunar New Year champion, "Assembly", which grossed 260 million RMB. It is only a matter of time before the film's last screening surpasses "Assembly".

The film faced both controversy and box office success in the Japanese film market, grossing 2.5 million yen in its opening week, less than 1500 million yuan. Some cinemas were protested by right-wing groups, but mainstream media such as NHK reported on the film's historical value in a relatively objective manner.

With the public support of left-wing scholars such as Kenzaburo Oe, who were contacted by Toho, some Japanese viewers spontaneously organized screenings to support "Asia's next Akira Kurosawa," who had gained fame in the four islands since "The Drummer."

Even setting aside the subject matter, Japanese audiences tend to prefer nuanced narratives, and the film's portrayal of Iris Chang's academic explorations and Minnie Vautrin's humanitarian spirit easily resonates with them.

The South Korean market played a crucial role, with box office revenue exceeding 2200 million RMB in its opening week, based on a shared sense of camaraderie. According to South Korea's box office statistics, which primarily counts moviegoers, the total number of viewers surpassed 100 million, once again breaking records in Chinese film history.

South Korean audiences, drawn by their own history as comfort women and the atrocities committed by the Japanese army, felt a strong emotional connection to the film, which received a 9.1 rating on Naver Movies. The online discussion surrounding "Shared Historical Memories between China and South Korea" sparked considerable discussion.

The entire staff of Wenjie Holdings was overjoyed, counting their money as they watched the box office numbers soar every day, seemingly ignoring the clamor surrounding "Nanfang" and Zhu Dake.

Or perhaps they never cared.

Even though the dogs at the village entrance had been barking wildly at the people upholding justice for a long time.

A welcome turning point came after the film's opening week in mainland China, when the People's Daily published a commentary titled "A Sharp Sword Piercing Historical Nihilism," signed by He Zhenhua.

All the reactionaries were horrified!

The signature of editorials in The People's Daily is quite particular.

For example, "Ren Zhongping" means "Important Commentary of People's Daily". It is a collective pen name created by the newspaper in 1993, representing the highest level of commentary, and is generally used to interpret national policies.
Articles signed "Guo Jiping" are generally international commentaries focusing on issues such as relations between major powers and global governance;
"Zhong Sheng" means the voice of China. It is a rapid response mechanism that was just launched this year. It will specifically refute and respond to the malicious speculations and rumors about the Olympics by foreign media mentioned earlier.
And what about this "He Zhenhua"?

It was a pen name launched at the beginning of this year, meaning "how to revitalize China". It was created against the backdrop of the rising wave of nationalism and patriotism in 2008, in order to guide positive energy and inspire patriotic enthusiasm.

Therefore, this article, to a certain extent, played a role in unifying thinking and clarifying the situation.

Mainstream media quickly followed suit, and various social groups and organizations also arranged for the film to be shown.

The article "The Sharp Sword" points out:
"The Sky of History" guides Western society to recognize that the Holocaust was not a "local tragedy in the Far East" but a disgrace to human civilization on par with Auschwitz through the perspectives of Western eyewitnesses such as John Rabe and Minnie Vautrin. It corrects the Western-dominated view of World War II.

When Tom Hanks' portrayal of John Rabe trembled as he recounted the brutality of the battle, Western audiences realized for the first time that in this catastrophe, we were not "silent lambs" waiting to be saved, but rather the subjects who wrote the epic of resistance with our own flesh and blood.

The unfriendly questions raised by Japanese right-wing journalist Naoki Hyakuta at the Berlin Film Festival precisely underscore the film's contemporary relevance.

What Lu Kuan, a renowned Chinese director, artist, and chief director of the Beijing Olympics, completed on film was a sequel to "The Tokyo Trial," a film that had been absent for half a century.

Not through legal provisions of international law, but by awakening the conscience inherent in all human nature, those who deny it will be nailed to the pillar of moral shame.

In my opinion, for the reasons mentioned above, this film was made for Western audiences, but even more so for Chinese audiences.

Because this is a time capsule that the Chinese nation is sending to the future.

When the tragedy of Ginling College in 1937 was reenacted on screen, the post-90s audience in the theater heard for the first time the long-buried cry from Minnie Vautrin's diary: "Ginling lives on!"

These four characters are still engraved on the tombstone of this international friend.

The film uses images to mend the national memory torn apart by political turmoil and cultural discontinuity, allowing young people to understand that remembering is not about wallowing in pain, but about refusing to become a "silent accomplice" again.

The film itself is a cultural action to reclaim the right to interpret history. When survivor Xia Shuqin held up the original book at the premiere, she was completing a belated "testimony handover ceremony".

We should be soberly aware that today's China has proudly stood among the nations of the world. Even though "The Sky of History" missed out on the Oscar for Best Picture due to cultural barriers, it ultimately triumphed on another battlefield!
In North America, with the strong support of 500 million Chinese Americans and the unity of overseas compatriots and overseas Chinese, Iris Chang's "The Nanjing Massacre" was reprinted and became a bestseller!

In Europe, the three film festival cities of Berlin, Venice, and Cannes have successively voiced their support, recognizing the film's storytelling and profoundness, and its extremely high artistic value!
In China, the film broke records for the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival film seasons in its opening week, moving countless Chinese people to tears and completing a memory transmission and patriotic education spanning seventy years!

In South Korea, in Japan, and throughout Asia...

At the end of the film, the debate between Iris Chang, played by young Chinese actress Liu Yifei, and Kunihiko Saito, though fruitless, allowed the audience to see:

True victory is not about forcing your opponent to submit, but about making the truth a consensus among humankind.

This spirit of transcending ethnic hatred and pursuing universal justice is precisely the cultural responsibility of China as a responsible major power.

We hope that such works can inspire more artists to treat history with reverence, explore the future with innovation, and let Chinese stories shine even brighter on the world stage.

I believe history will forever remember that in the spring of 2008, a young Chinese man used the power of film to compose an epic of national blood and tears and justice.

Thank you, Director Lu Kuan!

(End of this chapter)