Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 516: The talk of the town, a bestseller across the city!
As the end credits song of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" played, audiences across the country were still deeply immersed in the story, unable to shake off the emotions of the film.

Even guests like Han Shanping, who had previously organized screenings at the Wenjie Jiahe Guomao store, were moved by this simple yet timeless masterpiece.

After a long while, the credits rolled, but the silence continued to build.

Until the first beam of light tentatively lit up, the faint light seemed to unlock the emotions of the audience.

This belated light was not an awakening, but an explosion; the silent sea suddenly burst its banks, and thunderous applause erupted without warning!

It wasn't a reserved, polite applause, but a spontaneous, cathartic, overwhelming wave of sound, trembling with warmth, that swept through the entire IMAX space.

Zhang Yimou led the main cast onto the stage. When Boss Lu helped his wife onto the stage, the deafening shouts of "Third Brother" and "Jingqiu" made the two main cast members raise their hands to greet everyone every few steps.

Their image has become deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Zhang Yimou grinned, trying to speak several times but being interrupted by the enthusiasm of the audience. This lingering passion and emotional engagement after the film ended completely ignited the winter night in Beiping.

"Okay, thank you very much everyone." Zhang Yimou held up the microphone: "In the past, at film premieres, it always seemed like we would say something like, 'We went through so many difficulties to get to this point.'"

"But I really felt the dedication and joy of creating this film. There were no difficulties at all, and it just went smoothly all the way to where it is today."

"This is thanks to our entire team. Whether it's the strong support from the three production companies, China Film Group, Wenjie, and New Pictures, or all the actors, including Director Lu, Teacher Zhao, Teacher Xi Meijuan, Yi Fei, and Liya, they all made tremendous efforts during the filming process."

Zhang Yimou turned around and bowed to the main creators: "I want to thank you all first!"

Zhao Xiaoding, who was standing closest, quickly reached out and lifted his hand.

"Alright, that won't take up too much time." Zhang Yimou smiled and said, "Director Lu and Yi Fei couldn't participate in the film's roadshow due to special circumstances. I know you reporters have many questions to ask, so please proceed!"

This special circumstance naturally refers to Xiao Liu's pregnancy, and Lu Kuan only participated in roadshows in first-tier cities.

The promotional work for a movie has different focuses in the pre-release, mid-release, and late-release stages. Obviously, today's focus is on bringing out Liu Yifei, who has the highest topic of discussion, to continue to generate momentum, attract fans, and consolidate box office revenue.

In conjunction with this, the upcoming recording of the program "Art Life" will also feature the cast and crew of "Under the Hawthorn Tree," who will participate in the program as a whole, just like with previous productions such as "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "Infernal Affairs," to interact and promote the film.

However, because many issues involve spoilers for the film's content, they are usually addressed after the premiere, using television programs in conjunction with online word-of-mouth.

Staff from Wenjie Jiahe Cinema had already brought out sofas, and the main cast, including Lu Kuan, Zhang Yimou, Zhao Benshan, Liu Yifei, Tong Liya, and Xi Meijuan, sat on the stage to interact with reporters and audience members.

Ju Wenpei, a long-time friend of the Movie Channel, asked on behalf of "China Movie Report": "First of all, congratulations to Director Zhang and all the main creators. I wish the movie great success. I have a question that may be a bit presumptuous, but I would like to ask Yi Fei. If it is inconvenient, please ignore it."

Xiao Liu smiled and said, "Please go ahead."

Every time there's an interview, they get to enjoy the first course of the meal. The reporters from the movie channel wouldn't dare ask random questions; Ju Wenpei was just being polite.
“I’ve known Ivy since Venice in 02. We now know that Ivy is going to be a mom-to-be. I’m so happy for you.”

"Ms. Yi, you played a couple with your real-life husband in the drama. Did learning about your pregnancy affect your filming and your emotional connection with the characters? How did you deal with it?"

Liu Yifei raised the microphone: "To be honest, I found out I was pregnant after the start of filming for 'Under the Hawthorn Tree'. At the time, I didn't want to take up public resources, so I didn't respond to the rumors and speculations."

"After receiving advice and suggestions from professional doctors, we chose to continue making the film while ensuring safety."

"From the perspective of performance studies, the core task of an actor is to integrate personal emotions into the role while maintaining precise control over the rhythm of the plot."

"During the later stages of filming, hormonal changes caused significant emotional fluctuations, making it even more difficult to portray the reserved and stoic nature of the character Jingqiu, especially the scene where Lu Kuan is lying in bed—"

The actress paused, clearly still moved by the vivid scene: "That scene was particularly difficult to film. I am very grateful to Director Zhang and all my colleagues in the crew for their patience and encouragement. I am also grateful to Lu Kuan and my mother for staying by my side."

Applause erupted from the audience. Fans who had just finished watching the ending recalled the grief of Jingqiu, the girl in red, and felt deeply for her.

Today is Valentine's Day, and the atmosphere and words are incredibly infectious.

Ju Wenpei then turned to the director: "Director Zhang, could you talk to us about this scene and Yi Fei's performance in this special state?"

Zhang Yimou took the microphone to defuse the situation: "We say that a good actor can always resonate with the emotions and experiences of life and the role. The scene that Yi Fei mentioned took us a long time to film, and the final result was very well done. That's why."

He turned to the audience, his tone deepening: "Returning to the character of Jingqiu, in my mind, she is a drop of clear dew in the torrent of this era."

"The portrayal of this role requires two kinds of strength: the timidity of an oppressed era and the purity that transcends the era."

“Fear is easy to act, but innocence?” Zhang Yimou joked, “Nowadays, some people on the internet say that you are pretending to be innocent. Actually, to put it bluntly, some actors also have to ‘pretend to be innocent’ for certain roles, but Yi Fei’s performance shows very little trace of this.”

"On the one hand, I think it's a role that requires love, and only a person with love can play it well."

"On the other hand, the emotional fluctuations that came with Consort Yi's pregnancy tore away the disguise of her performance."

"When she saw her husband, who was dressed up, lying on the hospital bed, her trembling hand hovered over her third son's face but dared not touch him. In fact, at that moment, I believe she had forgotten that she was acting. This was the instinctive fear of a pregnant wife for the life of her beloved being lost."

The audience erupted in applause, especially the reporters from professional media outlets such as Film News and China Film Report, who knew that the reality on screen did not arise from nothing, but was the result of actors' life-affirming efforts.

Liu Yifei's moment that bridged the gap between performance and reality became the best testament to her professionalism.

Reporter from Contemporary Cinema: "Director Zhang, what are your plans and expectations for future film awards?"

“We don’t have the support of the main competition section at the three major European film festivals, otherwise we wouldn’t be releasing it at this time. But Cannes invited us to participate in the non-competitive section this year, so we should do some promotion and sell the rights to other regions.”

"In addition, I also communicated with Xiaolu before filming. The subject matter and background of our film are relatively special. If we were to shoot it in the style of the three major films, we would have to clarify many metaphorical viewpoints or shoot more intense confrontations."

"But that would deviate from the original intention. I always say that what we hope to bring to the audience and to this turbulent era is a simple and beautiful love. The era is just a footnote and should never be the focus."

In the public interview, Zhang Yimou didn't say things too clearly, but those in the know could understand the unspoken meaning: he didn't want to pander to Western judges on the film's positive and philosophical metaphors.

I know what you want to see, but the focus of this movie is not the biting satire and the characters' fates in "To Live," but simply the love story of a young couple in that era.

A female reporter from "Film Art," a magazine sponsored by the China Film Association, asked: "Director Lu Kuan, this is your second time playing the male lead in a film. Your character portrayal is still amazing. What were your considerations for taking on this role? What are the differences between being an actor and a director?"

"The difference between actors and directors is actually just the different perspectives they take on a story. Actors need to experience life, while directors need to do so even more, and they explore it from a broader perspective."

“We went to see those masters. When Akira Kurosawa was filming ‘Kagemusha,’ he camped out at the Sengoku period ruins with the actors. When Antonioni was filming ‘Lie’, he personally played a stockbroker. And as everyone knows, Hitchcock especially liked to film extras.”

“When I was in school, I especially liked a quote he made: ‘The anxiety off-camera is the best nourishment for murder mystery.’ If a director’s experience is not as profound as that of the actors, how can he guide and coordinate?”

"Because of my age, my understanding of this historical period is very shallow. This is the significance and reason for my participation. Through this role, I can broaden my experience and knowledge."

Lu Kuan paused for a moment: "As for the difference between actors and directors, let me give you an example—"

"In terms of providing warmth and energy to the film, actors are like self-burning torches, just like Liu Yifei, who devotes herself wholeheartedly to emotional expression."

"The director is like a nuclear reactor. He must calmly, steadily, and safely control the overall operation. In addition to artistic impulses, he must also have rational planning."

Reporters, especially film industry professionals, who are used to hearing self-promotional and boastful claims about box office expectations at various press conferences, quite enjoyed today's atmosphere.

Only actors and directors with genuine professional skills and dedication can achieve this kind of interview and Q&A effect.

The premiere event lasted until 11 p.m., greatly satisfying the enthusiasm of reporters and fans.

The following morning at 10:00 AM, the official Weibo accounts of the production companies, including China Film Group, Wenjie, and New Pictures, routinely released the results of yesterday's competition.

With a screening rate of over 35% in mainland China, it won the opening day box office champion of 2009 with a staggering 2880 million RMB, breaking the opening day box office record of 1900 million RMB set by "Mei Lanfang" earlier this year, and becoming the champion of the opening day box office for domestic art films.

Of course, with such a start, it's only a matter of time before it breaks the record for the highest-grossing domestic art film.

The previous record holder was Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang," which finished its run in January and grossed 130 million yuan.

The release of the first day's box office results prompted major cinema managers to increase the number of screenings.

Among the competitors at the same time:
The Taiwanese film "Cape No. 7" unfortunately clashed with "Under the Hawthorn Tree" yesterday, and its opening day box office was only 5.6 million.
The co-production film "Love Is Good," starring Gigi Leung and Chen Bolin, focuses on the topic of a romance between an older woman and a younger man. The plot is old-fashioned, and the film grossed 440 million yuan on its opening day.
Other films still relevant from the Lunar New Year season:

Andy Lau and Shu Qi's "Look for a Star" raked in 1000 million during the Valentine's Day period, bringing its total box office to over 2 million.
The imported film "Transporter 3" grossed 1200 million yuan on Valentine's Day, bringing its total box office to over 8000 million yuan.
Overall, it's truly astonishing that "Under the Hawthorn Tree" could achieve a first-day box office of 2880 million yuan with its genre, artistic style, and romantic elements.

This naturally stems from the appeal of the main creators, including Zhang Yimou, Lu Kuan, Liu Yifei, and Zhao Benshan, as well as from the mature marketing and publicity system of the Wenjie Group.

But most fundamentally, it stems from the booming growth of the Chinese film market.

This includes the online ticketing competition between Damai.cn and Wenjie.com, which has created benefits for movie fans and objectively encouraged more consumers to go to the cinema and develop movie-watching habits.

This is just the situation before the arrival of mobile devices; online ticketing accounts for a relatively small percentage, but the industry's potential is already evident.

Especially the evil axis of companies like Ali and Baidu, which are forced to provide subsidies and high screening rates to films from other companies, otherwise they are pushing users to their competitors, which is truly laughable.

But this year is different. With Wanda Pictures' own production team and the entry of players like LeTV Culture, the "axis of evil" hope to see more competitive films to avoid the awkward situation of fighting and killing while simultaneously "supplying ammunition" to each other.

The rise of the film industry has naturally spurred the prosperity of the upstream and downstream industrial chains, with media, netizens, and film critics releasing their enthusiastic reviews.

"Yesterday I wanted to see Jason Statham's 'Transporter 3,' but in order to get on base that night, I ended up watching 'Under the Hawthorn Tree' with my girlfriend instead. I ended up crying even more than her and got called a sissy. Damn it!"

"After watching this 7000 million yuan romantic drama, I only had one feeling: this is the whitewashing work of Liu Yifei. His performance made me completely believe that he is a pure love warrior. If I were Liu Yifei, I would stomp my feet and feel numb too!"

"Sissi's crying scene at the end was so moving and had such a nuanced quality. I believe it will become a classic in film and television. At that moment, I felt that she was truly empathizing with the character. I had previously opposed this marriage, but I decided to agree. I wish you happiness!"

"I've seen Xiao Liu's TV dramas before, and they were mostly youthful. I thought he would continue to be an idol. But I didn't expect that with Iris Chang and Jingqiu, he opened up a lot of room for future development. I look forward to seeing more of your faces on the screen."

"Is this still Liu Tianxian? Her drab short-sleeved shirt, her canvas shoes that expose her ankles, and the way she walks with her neck hunched over, afraid to look people in the eye... she's totally the timid yet stubborn Jingqiu from the 1970s!"

"Zhang Yimou is still among the top three in China, aiming for second place and hoping for first. In my mind, he is on par with Lu Kuan. His previous art film, 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles,' is far inferior to this one. This film is top-notch in terms of natural light imagery aesthetics."

"Comedians are absolutely amazing in serious films! I support Grandpa Benshan who gets cricketed by a female professor! It's really not easy to bring together so many good and well-matched actors. I hope there will be more conscientious production companies like Wenjie, so that the audience can have a real treat."

There were those who praised it, and naturally, there were also those who criticized it. Among them were paid trolls and ordinary viewers whose tastes didn't align with the criticism.

"The actress's identity and the role are too disconnected. In my mind, Liu Yifei is a fairy. This movie should be renamed 'The Richest Man's Pure Love Game in the 70s'."

"Isn't this just a reality show about the richest man and his wife? Why are you trying to pass it off as a movie and scam us out of 30 yuan?"

Among these, the commentary published by renowned film critic Cheng Qingsong in *Xin Jing Bao* was particularly sharp, focusing primarily on criticizing Zhang Yimou. *Under the Hawthorn Tree*: Ideological kitsch wrapped in exquisite sugar coating.
Zhang Yimou accomplished a brilliant artistic surrender in "Under the Hawthorn Tree".

The collective trauma is distilled into a "pure love specimen" like sterile distilled water, and then offered as a sacrifice to the altar of capital with the seductive charm of images.

This kind of creative decline stems from a deliberate self-degradation.

His signature gray-green tones, withered branches and blooming flowers, and other symbols were piled up, becoming mere embellishments to cover up the truth. The scene where Teacher Luo interrupts the village chief to tell the truth about the hawthorn tree could have been a dagger to pierce the lie, but it was treated as a light and fleeting interlude of the times.

When the village chief, played by Zhao Benshan, silently taps his shoe with his pipe and becomes a background figure, and when Xi Meijuan's "serious interrogation" is dissolved by the warm mother-daughter scene, the film completely emasculates its critical genes.

When Zhang Yimou uses the aesthetically pleasing shot of an embrace across the river to replace the crushing pressure on individuals with a cheap romance of "love fighting against the times," this is not artistic refinement, but a desecrating consumption of suffering.

The Berlin Film Festival Best Actress who participated in this film also makes it difficult for people to fully empathize with her role.

Even though the gray cloth shirt and liberation shoes tried to erase her ethereal aura, the cold, angular features projected by her hump nose and the stage manner honed by the Beijing People's Art Theatre remained detached from the cowardly and humble underlying logic of the character.

In short, it's like an old tea master encountering a heavily made-up female celebrity; he can't help but say something like:
Girl, move away, don't let the smell cross your nose!
"Under the Hawthorn Tree" was a box office success, but in my heart it was a major artistic failure.

From a certain perspective, this is Zhang Yimou's "Hero" 2.0, which similarly uses aesthetic violence to strangle historical truth and similarly uses grand narratives to pander to authority.

The difference is that "Hero" still retains the fervor of power worship, while "Under the Hawthorn Tree" is left with only the weariness of groveling.

This hawthorn tree, nurtured and pruned by capital, does not produce pure flowers, but rather a carefully cultivated flower of evil in a vulgar era.

……

Who is Cheng Qingsong?
Why did The Heartbeat News publish such a prominent front page for his sharp film review?
This previously low-profile film critic attracted public attention the moment he made his "debut".

Netizens dug up old posts and summarized the information, which finally made it clear to people about the origin of this person.

He began his screenwriting career in 2001 with "Goodnight Mountain City", and in 2004-2005 he released his representative films "Silent Distant Mountains" and "The Story of Cinema", the latter of which was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award.

But these are not his most important personal labels.

The key point is that this person publicly revealed his gay identity in 2005 and posted a photo of himself kissing his lover, which was the first case of its kind in mainland China.

If things had gone smoothly, he would have become the chief director of the 27th Golden Rooster Awards ceremony in October 2009, making him quite adept at self-promotion in the industry.

In fact, during the controversy surrounding Old Zhao being attacked by crickets on New Year's Eve, this person was one of the cheerleaders, and his stance is beyond question.

Cheng Qingsong suddenly launched his attack because he will officially take on the role of editor-in-chief of "Youth Film Handbook" this year, promoting the development of an independent film criticism platform.

His first "major initiative" was to establish China's "Golden Broom" award, modeled after the American award.

In his previous life, Cheng Qingsong gained fame by harshly criticizing Zhang Yimou's "A Simple Noodle Story," which indeed had a terrible reputation, and this quickly made the film critic famous.

This is Zhang Yimou's first work after the Olympics as a national director, and it has attracted a lot of attention, naturally allowing this hitchhiker to accumulate a lot of fans.

This time around, "Under the Hawthorn Tree" naturally became a target, and with Lu Kuan, the "old rival" of the Nanfang faction, also on the list, they had to ride the wave of popularity even more!
In fact, Cheng Qingsong had already finished writing the manuscript before the Lunar New Year. The original target was Zhang Yimou and the male and female protagonists, and he was ready to launch an attack together.

However, the "Professor Li's fart incident" during the Spring Festival had such a great impact that he dared not go too far in his comments, even when he was completely focused on the film itself.

Thus, this version of the commentary article, which focuses on Zhang Yimou and also criticizes Liu Yifei, came about.

In fact, every time a movie is released, there are many opinions on Lu Kuan and others based on the work itself, but it doesn't necessarily cause any trouble. He is a typical person who doesn't care much about maintaining his online reputation and doesn't try to create a perfect public image for himself.

That's why Zhu Dake was able to criticize so fiercely and remain unscathed for so long.

Cheng Qingsong avoided this limelight entirely because he had something to hide. He knew he wasn't giving an objective evaluation and was afraid of getting into trouble.

It must be said that many viewers agree with Cheng Qingsong's views, or rather, his commentary itself is a "20/80" split.

Eight parts personal bias and two parts truth make it seem more convincing.

For example, regarding the criticism of Zhang Yimou, the latter did not make a firm denunciation like "To Live," but the theme of this film is already very clear: pure love. Why should it involve too much reflection on the times?
With such a background, it is enough to highlight the tragic love between the male and female protagonists; there is no need to go beyond the essentials.

The niche field of film criticism flourished in 2009, with the introduction of the "Film Intelligence Index" concept by Beijing Normal University and Yenching University, which called for depth in film from an academic perspective.

There are also those like Cheng Qingsong who attempt to gain a certain degree of influence and establish their own school of thought, freeing themselves from the constraints of film criticism, which is why they choose to associate themselves with big directors and stars;
Of course, there are also grassroots film critics like Gu Xiaobai and Zhou Liming, who emerged from the blog era and came from different early film enthusiast forums such as Xici Hutong and Ye Hang Chuan.

These film critics have a relatively objective perspective and are aligned with the average moviegoer. Whether they were absorbed into the commercialization of their Weibo accounts is another matter entirely.

Cheng Qingsong's views on management were quickly refuted by grassroots film critics.

Zhou Liming published articles on his Weibo account and in the film magazine where he serves as a commentator.

"Under the Hawthorn Tree": A thunderclap in a silent era, a historical poem that has been misinterpreted.

Mr. Cheng Qingsong defined "Under the Hawthorn Tree" as "a kitschy specimen of pure love," but he overlooked the silent cut that Zhang Yimou made on the iron curtain of history with his images.

If "To Live" is a tragic epic, this film is a microcosmic epic that uses dewdrops to reflect a storm.

It never shied away from suffering, but instead transformed the gallows of the era into an altar of love, using the most restrained shots to complete an archaeological restoration of collective memory.

As for your evaluation of actress Liu Yifei, I disagree even more. I think her performance in this film was even better than in "The Sky of History"!

The character of Iris Chang in "The Sky of History" is a fixed template for biographical films, and the evaluation system focuses on whether the real person can be portrayed. But what about Jingqiu?
Using the character Jingqiu as a dissection table, she employed almost cruel physical deconstruction and micro-expression management to concretize the spiritual predicament of the descendants of intellectuals in a special era into a tangible physiological map.

When the train station first appeared, the ankles hooked inside the liberation shoes and the fingertips hastily tugging on the backpack straps constructed a timid biological language.

The hunched shoulders and neck and the bony ankles between the short, narrow trouser legs are not only a victory for costumes and props, but also proof that the actor has transformed the weight of the times into skeletal memory.

The act of quickly tucking in with only fingertips while adjusting the slipped backpack strap contrasts sharply with the later expansive outstretched arms across the river, marking the epic transformation from a "disciplined shell" to an "awakened life form."

Overall, the movie "Under the Hawthorn Tree" surprised me.

While Teacher Cheng Qingsong vehemently criticized the hawthorn tree for not producing "pure flowers," I witnessed an even more shocking truth beneath the turbulent waters of the Three Gorges:

When Liu Yifei, playing Jingqiu, leans against the railing in red, the shimmering white flowers in the water are both a requiem for love and a buoy of historical truth, deeply moving the viewer.

Cheng Qingsong, Zhou Liming, Gu Xiaobai, and Huang Shixian from Beijing Film Academy, among others, have all published comments, which are generally mixed, but almost all of them focus on the director himself. After all, no matter how big the actors are, they are still there to serve the film.

However, Dai Jinghua from the Yenching University Film Research Center, from the actors' own perspective, expressed her approval of Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei's performances:
The male and female leads in "Under the Hawthorn Tree" received a lot of attention from the very beginning of filming because of their close relationship in real life.

To be honest, I went to see the film with a critical eye last night. After all, both director Lu Kuan and actress Liu Yifei are already highly accomplished figures in their respective careers. It was questionable whether these two actresses, born in the 80s and 85s, could portray the style of that era.

But after watching the film, I was deeply moved. Lu Kuan and Liu Yifei's performances formed a wonderful intertextual structure:

It resonates with the emotions of the characters on screen and mirrors real-life relationships, making it a very well-made film.

Their real-life romantic relationship was not a shortcut to acting; rather, it became a medium for creating a sense of alienation.

For example, when Jingqiu bandages Lao San's frostbite hand, Liu Yifei's trembling fingertips, avoiding the touch, is both a precise grasp of the character's shyness in first love and a deliberate rebellion against her familiarity with physical movements in real life.

There is also the professional transformation of personal emotions, such as the classic scene of gazing at each other from the hospital ward and embracing across the river, which elevates personal emotions into a public expression of historical tragedy, which is very rare.

The most shocking scene is Jingqiu's explosive moment when she sees her lover off in a red dress.

Liu Yifei's screams, tinged with pain, mixed with the physiological shivers driven by hormones during pregnancy, welded together the pain of being both an "actress" and a "mother," bursting forth with a life-affirming quality that transcended the script.

However, the limitation lies in the fact that some of Lu Kuan's close-up shots still retain a sense of authority, such as the shape of his eyebrows when he reprimands Jing Qiu for refusing medical treatment. But this precisely confirms the essence of the performance:
Truly great performances do not disappear completely, but rather carve out a window for the audience to experience the character in the gap between "I am him" and "I play him".

There's absolutely no need for any additional means to promote or guide the discussion. Whether it's rivals, opportunists, or genuine moviegoers and fans, they simply can't resist discussing this film.

On February 15th, "Cape No. 2" was criticized by a large number of film critics, who said that the expressions in the love letter such as "the fate of the times is the sin of the times" are actually the colonizers' self-justification and absolution, avoiding the historical responsibility for colonial violence, which is quite controversial.

With the remaining blockbusters already pulled from theaters and no real competitors in the same period, "Under the Hawthorn Tree" continues to enjoy a favorable screening schedule.

The whole city is talking about it, the whole city is in love with it, and it's selling like hotcakes.

On February 21st, the opening week box office figures for "Under the Hawthorn Tree" were released, with a total of 72 million yuan, completely silencing other films released at the same time. Surpassing "Mei Lanfang" seems to be just around the corner.

Meanwhile, the film grossed 22 million in Hong Kong and Taiwan, which were released at the same time. The romantic and artistic theme full of the times did not appeal to Hong Kong and Taiwan audiences. Naturally, the film's screenings in Taiwan could not compete with "Cape No. 7", which had support policies.
In other parts of Asia, the rights were sold to CJ Entertainment for $200 million, a price that is already inflated.

Among Zhang Yimou's previous films, "Hero" set a record of 110 million viewers, but "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" only attracted more than 30 viewers.

Similar Chinese-language romance films also performed poorly. In 2007, "My Blueberry Nights" only attracted 32,000 viewers, while "Cape No. 7" became a hit in Taiwan due to its local sentiment, but only attracted 18,000 viewers in South Korea.

The situation in Japan is very promising. Toho Co., Ltd.'s theater chains already cover the entire country, and pure love themes have a large audience in Japan. In 1995, Shunji Iwai's "Love Letter" grossed 18 billion yen in Japan.

After a week in theaters, "Under the Hawthorn Tree," whose rights were sold for $300 million, grossed over 1000 million RMB in Japan.

On the day of the premiere, Zhang Yimou's friend Ken Takakura and Lu Kuan's friend Takeshi Kitano, among others, were present to cheer for the film.

Lu Kuan's Japanese housewife fan group remains formidable, fiercely criticizing the right-wingers who proposed boycotting "The Sky of History" and becoming the main force of moviegoers.

Apart from the fact that overseas rights need to be sold through the non-competitive section of Cannes in May, the film has basically recouped its costs in its first week of release.

It is yet another standard product from a mature film industry system.

To further boost the marketing and promotion of the film, CCTV-1's "Art Life" program premiered on Sunday, February 22, airing pre-recorded interviews with the "Under the Hawthorn Tree" crew.

The four main creators—Zhang Yimou, Zhao Benshan, Lu Kuan, and Liu Yifei—were all present and will share interesting stories from the filming process with the audience.

Meanwhile, as part of the "Art Life" program, the program will also review and explore the artistic careers of the main creators, especially Liu Yifei, who has garnered more attention.

This event attracted widespread attention because it was Xiao Liu's last activity before giving birth.

Fans and moviegoers are eagerly anticipating this expectant mother's final appearance in Girls' Generation.

(End of this chapter)