I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 588 Disagreement
Three days later, Liu Jin completed the creation of "Thunder on the Earth".

During those three days, he also attended the premiere of "Family Friends," directed by Paolo Sorrentino.

This is an Italian film. Sorrentino and Monica are also close friends, and Liu Jin couldn't refuse their hospitality...

In addition, he also read "The Red Road" and "Pan's Labyrinth".

To be honest, twelve-year-old Ivana Baclos displayed extraordinary talent in the film. However, the difference between her and the stunning beauty Liu Jin remembered was too great. He couldn't even see a trace of the future Spanish beauty.

Disappointed!

As for Avril Lavigne's role in "Fast Food Empire," it was unremarkable.

Pass!

As for "Flanders," which was highly anticipated by the French film industry this year, to be honest...

Very general.

It's that same old love triangle trope again, with "X" and "freedom" wrapped in the shell of war trauma, trying to portray the pain of post-war trauma, but instead dragging in a love triangle. It's like how Chinese screenwriters always throw in a bizarre love story when making war or spy films—it just feels so inexplicable.

Director Rachid Bouchara is a French director, screenwriter, and producer.

Liu Jin had met him at a party hosted by Ou Rong, and they had a pretty good chat.

But this movie truly disappointed Liu Jin.

So at the party after the premiere, Liu Jin privately told him, "Ratched, if I may be so bold, I'm a little disappointed."

Ratched was taken aback for a moment, but then laughed.

"Amos, I'm very sorry, I know that some plot points were not handled well."

Liu Jin didn't say anything more, and hugged him.

But what happened next left him somewhat bewildered.

Wang Jiawei praised "Flanders" as an excellent film...

He showered her with praise, while Liu Jin, standing to the side, looked at Rachid with a somewhat flustered expression.

Ratched glanced at Liu Jin.

Liu Jin gave a bitter smile, pounded his chest, and said nothing more.

It's impossible to criticize Director Wang in public...

It's okay to have disagreements in private, but in public, it's still important to maintain a harmonious atmosphere.

At the very least, we should give the organizing committee some face.

Moreover, Liu Jin had already guessed Director Wang's next thought: to divide the cake. He definitely wanted to divide the cake!

……

The first jury meeting on the 25th also proved this point.

Director Wang has brought out almost every film that could win an award, intending to distribute the awards at this year's Cannes Film Festival equally.

Before Liu Jin could object, Ilya Suleiman stepped forward.

This is an extremely serious and meticulous director who completely disregards Director Wang's plan to divide the cake.

Good is good, and bad is bad!
Especially when Director Wang suggested making a fuss about the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, Liu Jin's face turned dark.

He finally remembered the outrageous actions of Director Wang in the original timeline.

Five Best Actor winners and six Best Actress winners!
At the time, it was ridiculed by foreign media as the greatest cake-sharing event in the history of the Cannes Film Festival.

The most absurd thing is that all five Best Actor winners came from the French film "The Glorious Years"; and all six Best Actress winners came from the Spanish film "Volver".

In other words, the five male leads of "Glorious Years" and the six female leads of "Return" have all become the male and female leads of the film, respectively.

No wonder Penelope later sarcastically remarked in an interview that her Best Actress award was the least prestigious in Cannes history.

Hong Kong media outlets have given high praise to Director Wong's approach to sharing the spoils this time.

How was that article written again?

The theme of this year's Cannes Film Festival is win-win.

Chairwoman Wang Jiawei, with her elegant and aesthetically pleasing approach, and with gentle and skillful manipulation, constructed a 'harmonious film festival' through the anti-war themes of the award-winning works and a win-win strategy in the award presentation process.

After that, Cannes rarely invited Chinese judges anymore.

Zhang Manyu from the 60th class doesn't count!
She had already settled in France and established herself in the French film industry.

Of course, Zhang Manyu will definitely not be invited to the 60th Cannes Film Festival, as she has already joined the jury of the 58th Cannes Film Festival.

Liu Jin did not speak that day.

The discussion ended unhappily.

The next day, Liu Jin received a phone call from Han Shanping of China Film Group.

He said on the phone that people in the Hong Kong film industry had asked him through some channels to convey to Lau Chun that they hoped Lau Chun would support Wong Ka Wei.

Although no one in the Hong Kong entertainment circle said anything, Lau Chun could more or less guess what it was.

Therefore, he went all out at the discussion meeting on the 26th.

"Six Best Actress winners? That's a joke."

Do you think of the Best Actress winners at the Cannes Film Festival as a wholesale market in Hong Kong?
Returning to the film, Penelope Cruz's performance is impeccable, perfectly portraying a woman who, after her mother's death, endures grief and struggles to move from a mountain village to the city, experiencing confusion, fear, loneliness, yet also resilience.

I don't deny that Ms. Mullah, Ms. Dunas, and Michelle's performances were also excellent.

But to consider them all as female leads... is simply laughable.

And then there's *Glorious Years*... We all know a movie has leading and supporting roles; the protagonist is the protagonist, and while supporting actors can outshine the lead, they can't change the distinction between characters. Are you serious about turning every male actor into a leading man?

"Frandler" is also an overrated film.

Director Ratched himself admitted that he didn't handle some parts of the plot well, so why should he be given the Jury Prize?
Just because it's a French film?

Director Wang, please look carefully. This is the Cannes Film Festival, a fair, open, and impartial film festival open to the world. It shouldn't be biased towards France just because it's held in France. This would be a huge blow to the reputation of the Cannes Film Festival.

"I agree!"

Monica Bellucci immediately expressed her support.

Yesterday, she didn't say much either, basically just following the crowd, like Liu Jin.

But when Liu Jin spoke today, she immediately stated her position.

This made Director Wang's expression particularly unpleasant.

Meanwhile, the staff member in charge of taking notes in the conference room also looked like they were watching a show.

"Let's decide by vote." Director Wang acted unilaterally, but looking at the eight judges in the meeting room, he knew it would be very difficult.

In the original timeline, there were no conflicts of interest among the participants.

If you, Director Wang, want to make a statement, we'll cooperate.

In this timeline, the eight judges clearly have one core figure, which is why they would oppose Director Wang without hesitation.

After all, Director Wang is very famous, but only in the Chinese-speaking world.

Outside of the Chinese-speaking world, not many people pay attention to it.

"Best Film in the Un Certain Regard section: Summer in Wuhan"

"agree!"

Liu Jin was the first to raise his hand.

Although he didn't like the movie or Wang Chao's style, he still raised his hand in agreement.

After all, he had no grudge against Wang Chao.

The two never even spoke to each other or communicated.

He didn't watch the movie at the premiere; he went to see it secretly on his own.

After Liu Jin raised his hand, Samuel immediately followed suit, and then Monica, Tim Ralph, and Lecomte also raised their hands.

Successfully passed.

Three films were nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize: The Season for Breakups, The Paraguayan Tree Hammock, and the British film The Bug.

The fact that three films won awards simultaneously in the original timeline demonstrates Director Wang's powerful ability to create harmony.

In fact, behind these films that were nominated and shortlisted, there are all public relations efforts by capital.

The so-called fairness and impartiality are something the judges themselves are well aware of; they're just talking about it.

But you've given all three nominations a draw, what are those PR companies supposed to think?

Therefore, when the three films received the same number of votes, Director Wang thought of making all three films win awards at the same time.

However, Liu Jin once again stood up to object.

"Since it's a competition, there must be winners and losers."

"If all three films have won awards, what's the point of this nomination? Just give the awards to all three films directly."

"I agree with Amos's opinion. Since it's a competition, there should be a champion and a runner-up."

Otherwise, if Barcelona and Arsenal reach the Champions League final this year, there's no need to play; just hand the title to them directly.

Director Wang glared fiercely at Liu Jin with a dark expression.

What good does it do to glare at me?
If you're so capable, then say "I like it"...

He's just a bully in mainland China, but once he's outside of mainland China, nobody the hell cares about him.

Without even looking at it, Liu Jin raised his hand and said, "I still recommend 'The Paraguayan Tree Hammock'."

A truly excellent film.

It might feel a bit dull, but it makes it more vivid.

In the sweltering early autumn, time quietly slipped away in the tranquil village. The elderly couple spent their days sitting in hammocks in the woods, praying for the rainy season to arrive.

The war was over, and they were waiting for their son to return home.

But I waited and waited...

Like a gentle rain that will never come, all that remains at the end of life is endless waiting.

This film is very much in line with the theme of this year's film festival.

But director Paz restrained himself by removing violence and sentimental elements, allowing the impact to return to its natural state.

The seemingly simple conversations about everyday life reveal the cruelty of war and touching emotions.

At least in Liu Jin's opinion, "The Paraguayan Tree Hammock" is more moving than those romance films disguised as war movies.

That feeling is somewhat similar to Takeshi Kitano's film "A Scene at the Sea".

The natural scenery and moving music, though lacking in brilliant dialogue, still manage to touch the heart and bring tears to the eyes...

Monica thought for a moment and also chose "The Paraguayan Tree Hammock".

Elijah Suleiman and Samuel Jackson then raised their hands in support.

Lucrecia supported the film from the beginning, so he raised his hand again.

Lecomte thought for a moment and raised his hand in agreement.

Subsequently, Helena and Tim supported "Bug".

British films, well, everyone understands that.

And so, the FIPRESCI Prize was ultimately awarded to "The Paraguayan Tree Hammock".

Since no Asian films participated in this year's film festival, Liu Jin didn't need to think about upholding the honor of Asian films.

However, starting next year, Korean movies will shine.

And Chinese-language films...

This has nothing to do with Liu Jin.

He was too lazy to care about the development of the Chinese film industry.

After figures like Zuo Shandiao and Ren Zhonglun left, Chinese-language films became nothing more than tools for capital to exploit ordinary people.

High-level?

Nobody really cares about the development of Chinese-language films anymore.

MBZZ has already integrated them into one entity; the so-called 'cultural export' is nothing more than gilding in the end.

Who cares?

Liu Jin wouldn't care either!

He was never a noble person; he was incapable of doing things like worrying about the country and its people.

He's just an ordinary person; living his life honestly is enough for him...

(End of this chapter)