This director lacks vision.

Chapter 318 The Secrets Are All in the Diary (Movie Plot, Do Not Subscribe If You Dislike This)
The lights dimmed and the big screen lit up.

A short-haired little girl appeared in the shot.

Her skin was dark, but her eyes were very bright. Beads of sweat slid down her cheeks and dripped into the water vat with a chipped corner.

The girl didn't care at all, and directly buried her head in the water tank, gulping down the water.

After drinking her fill of water, she picked up a ceramic cup, scooped out a cup of water, and hurriedly went outside.

Following the girl's camera, viewers can see that this is a very poor village.

But there's a happy occasion in the village today.

Someone is raising the roof beam when building a house.

The girl's maternal grandfather was one of the people responsible for raising the roof beam.

She found her grandfather and presented him with the ceramic cup as if it were a treasure.

"Grandpa, it's too hot outside, have some water!"

"Haha, my dear grandson is so good."

"Grandpa, why do we always put up portraits when we build houses?"

"That's remembrance, and also respect..."

"But the teachers all said..."

"Bullshit! You silly girl, can't you tell good from bad!"

"You don't understand, you've never been to school!"

Grandpa, seeing that he couldn't win the argument with his granddaughter, shook his head in disappointment and turned to go and raise the roof beam.

However, during the process of raising the beam, he suddenly frowned, clutched his stomach, and then lost his balance and fell off the beam.

……

The blood flowed, even floated, and formed two large red characters on the screen—Youth.

Below is another line of text—a work directed by Jiang Yifeng.

Seeing this, Zhang Ziyi, hidden in the darkness, curled her lip in disdain and muttered to herself, "This guy surnamed Jiang pretends to be patriotic all day long in China, thinking he can make some kind of art film."

Now it seems he's just like other directors, filming China's poverty and backwardness?

It started as a poor rural village, where someone died while raising the roof beam.

Zhang Ziyi is the one who least wants "Youth" to succeed.

She withdrew from the "Sisters Who Make Waves" competition, and Yan Danchen replaced her on the show, but ended up winning the championship and becoming the female lead in "Youth".

Because of this incident, Zhang Ziyi has been subjected to a lot of ridicule and mockery from netizens.

She herself must have regretted her initial choice.

If *Youth* succeeds and Yan Danchen steals the spotlight, Zhang Ziyi will feel even more distressed.

So she came to the premiere today, ostensibly to support Chinese films, but actually to see how the film was doing as soon as possible.

The subsequent development of the plot confirmed Zhang Ziyi's idea.

Liu Miaomiao's maternal grandfather died, and she went to the city to stay with her father, who was an educated youth sent to the countryside.

Her father, who was now a minor leader, arranged for Liu Miaomiao to attend a good school.

This school is full of wealthy families.

It was 1998, and many families were experiencing hardship, but the children from these wealthy families lived extravagantly.

Liu Miaomiao, a girl from the countryside, was bullied and even harassed at school.

Seeing these scenes, Zhang Ziyi felt that previous directors were too subtle.

What Jiang Yifeng photographed was truly raw and unfiltered.

The plot moves quickly; after about six minutes of setup, Liu Miaomiao comes into contact with the strange He Qingfang.

Jiang Yifeng used a lot of low-angle and close-up shots to enhance the sense of oppression He Qingfang felt.

This woman was in her forties. No matter how hot it was in the summer, she always wore a sleeve on her right hand. She not only had a cold expression but also behaved somewhat neuroticly, and the students avoided her.

In order to learn dance, Liu Miaomiao had to overcome her fear and approach He Qingfang.

What follows is a Whiplash-style storyline.

He Qingfang subjected Liu Miaomiao to both physical and mental torment, forcing her to practice dance to the point of obsession.

When the audience watched Liu Miaomiao continue dancing after popping the blisters on the soles of her feet, with blood staining the ground, they all felt that kind of madness that made her life impossible.

The atmosphere inside the cinema was very oppressive.

Many people subconsciously dislike people like He Qingfang, who is perverted, cold-blooded, and neurotic.

If Liu Miaomiao made even the slightest mistake in a dance move, she would be beaten, scolded, and insulted, and made to repeat the training hundreds or thousands of times. They didn't treat Liu Miaomiao like a human being at all.

Jiang Yifeng shot this part perfectly.

He used cinematic language, paired with fast-paced drum music, to transform dance training into visual violence.

The camera lens became an extension of Liu Miaomiao's psychological and physiological feelings.

The splattering sweat and blood, Liu Miaomiao's painfully distorted expression, He Qingfang's cold scrutiny and endless humiliation all gave the audience a powerful sensory impact.

It seemed as if Liu Miaomiao would be unable to bear it any longer and be completely defeated at any moment.

Zhang Ziyi also felt this extreme pressure.

Especially when Liu Miaomiao made a mistake in a dance move, He Qingfang walked towards her step by step.

The camera slowly zooms in, revealing Liu Miaomiao cornered against a wall, the space shrinking as the suffocating pressure intensifies.

It makes one wonder.

Must ordinary people endure inhuman torture and abuse in their pursuit of success?

Is it necessary to pay such a price to succeed?
But under this pressure, everyone is also looking forward to it, hoping that hard work will pay off and that Liu Miaomiao will succeed!

Zhang Ziyi sighed.

She felt that Jiang Yifeng was showing off his skills in this scene.

The simple and tedious training scenes were filmed to create a sense of visual violence, directly impacting the audience's senses and stirring their emotions.

This is the power of a great director, and it's also the essence of art films.

After Liu Miaomiao got the hang of dancing, He Qingfang began to repeatedly emphasize one goal: "You must go to the National Assembly Hall to dance, that is the greatest success!"

Liu Miaomiao repeatedly asked He Qingfang why performing at the National Assembly Hall was considered a success, but He Qingfang did not answer.

Out of curiosity, Liu Miaomiao secretly read He Qingfang's diary.

The camera zooms in on the diary, then flashes back to 1976.

He Qingfang transformed into a bright and lively farm girl. Because of her excellent lotus-picking dance, she was exceptionally selected to join the cultural troupe.

At first, many people in the cultural troupe looked down on He Qingfang and always mocked her for smelling like pickled vegetables.

But He Qingfang felt neither inferior nor resentful.

She was a person of faith and felt that she joined the cultural troupe to boost the morale of the soldiers through dance.

This work is very meaningful.

Therefore, she trained diligently in the performing arts troupe and worked hard to improve herself.

The camera repeatedly switched between shots as Liu Miaomiao repeatedly peeked at her diary.

The storylines of the past and the present are intertwined.

In the current timeline, Liu Miaomiao, under He Qingfang's abnormal teaching, progressed step by step, from school-level competitions to city-level competitions, and finally had the opportunity to participate in the Taoli Cup.
In the past timeline, He Qingfang also began to learn various dances and gradually rose from a substitute dancer to a main dancer.

On this day, the performing arts troupe received an assignment: because they were going to welcome people from multiple countries, the troupe needed to rehearse a dance drama for a performance at the National Assembly Hall.

He Qingfang also participated in the choreography and performance.

The dance drama is called Bloodstained Long Street, and the background song is the National Anthem.

When the stirring national anthem resounded in the Palais des Festivals, many French audience members felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Although this song originated in France, these things are very distant from their culture.

But that's the charm of music.

Even if you don't know the meaning behind it, listening to Guo Ji's songs can still get your blood pumping.

Especially the classic lines from the dance drama.

"The most romantic thing I can think of."

Not roses, beaches, or cocktails. But long streets, rain-soaked alleys, and the national anthem!

Good dialogue paired with good songs is enough to stir the audience's emotions.

After the rehearsal performance of the dance drama "Bloody Street," it was well received. He Qingfang met some comrades from abroad and looked forward to performing at the National Assembly Hall.

Unfortunately, things took an unexpected turn, and the performance was repeatedly postponed.

Furthermore, with the outbreak of war, He Qingfang had higher aspirations. She voluntarily gave up her opportunity to pursue further studies at university and went to the front lines to serve her country.

The opportunity to perform "Bloody Long Street" at the National Assembly Hall thus became He Qingfang's regret.

Seeing this, many viewers felt the sentiments of the past and began to understand He Qingfang's abnormal training of Liu Miaomiao.

With past regrets resurfacing and emotions building, everyone hoped that Liu Miaomiao could go to the National Assembly Hall.

The new Taoli Cup Dance Competition has begun. If Liu Miaomiao can win the gold medal at the Taoli Cup, she will have the opportunity to give a performance at the National Assembly Hall.

The movie's plot gradually builds to its climax.

When Liu Miaomiao finally won the Taoli Cup gold medal, the entire audience couldn't help but cheer.

The pain and repression brought by the mad training, the obsession with making a name for himself, and He Qingfang's regrets all transformed into the joy of success at this moment.

The audience felt a release of emotions, as if they had achieved success alongside Liu Miaomiao.

But everyone was still not satisfied and was waiting to see Liu Miaomiao perform at the National Assembly Hall to completely make up for He Qingfang's regret.

Unexpectedly, the plot took a turn.

Someone reported that Liu Miaomiao's award was obtained through insider trading, and that He Qingfang had asked her old comrade-in-arms from the art troupe for help, which enabled her to win the gold medal.

Liu Miaomiao went to question He Qingfang.

"Why do you need to pull strings? Is the performance at the National Assembly Hall really that important to you?"
Didn't you always teach me that I should win awards based on my own abilities?

You selflessly dedicated yourself to the cause, even giving up your place in university to join the fight.

Now they're cheating for an award!
This isn't the you I know!

He Qingfang remained silent for a while before beginning to recall her experiences after going to the battlefield.

The scene flashes back to He Qingfang, who performed well on the battlefield but unfortunately lost her right hand and had to retire.

She didn't receive much compensation or treatment after the war, so she had to work as a logistics teacher at a school.

She didn't complain at all; she remained optimistic, positive, and had strong faith.

But there are fewer and fewer comrades around me.

He Qingfang's persistence made her an oddball, and over time she became a reclusive eccentric.

He Qingfang raised her right hand and said, "I always wear a sleeve on my right hand because I lost this hand a long time ago."

I lost a hand, and this is how I ended up.

……

Hearing He Qingfang's words, Zhang Ziyi felt a lump in her throat, and some audience members even shed tears.

The so-called killing is destroying one's heart.

The cruelest way to destroy a person is to destroy their ideals and beliefs.

After saying this, He Qingfang gave her diary to Liu Miaomiao and then disappeared into the crowd.

Liu Miaomiao took the diary and opened it; the camera then focused on the diary.

Then, a smooth transition occurred, revealing the diary laid out on an exquisite desk.

The camera zooms in on Liu Miaomiao.

At this time, her appearance became fashionable and mature, and she no longer had the naivety and inferiority she once had. Her hair also changed from short to long.

Liu Miaomiao was typing on the computer when a voice-over rang out.

"My Taoli Cup gold medal was ultimately retained, but because of the whistleblower report, I was unable to go to the National Assembly Hall."

Five years have passed in a flash, and I have never seen Teacher He since then.

Some students said that Teacher He couldn't accept his own corruption and eventually went insane.

I deeply regret this.

I chose to study abroad, and through my own efforts, I have finally become an internationally renowned dancer, and I am now living a very good life in the United States.

My name is Liu Miaomiao, and this is my story.

This article is dedicated to commemorating my youth and to thanking everyone who helped me throughout my life!

After writing this, Liu Miaomiao hesitated for a moment, then picked up the diary that He Qingfang had given her from the table.

The camera focuses on the latest page of the diary, which contains He Qingfang's words to Liu Miaomiao.

"Niu Miao, you are still young. There are many temptations abroad. I hope you will stay true to your original aspirations, train hard, and return to China as soon as possible."

This is my diary from when I was learning dance. It contains my life insights, and I'm giving it to you in the hope that it will be helpful to you.

You are a real man, responsible and dependable. Your teacher believes in you!

Upon seeing the words "manly man," many viewers exclaimed in surprise!

Liu Miaomiao's face turned cold, and she threw the diary into the fireplace.

The flames engulfed the diary; the hardest part to burn was the cover.

Halfway through the burning process, two large red characters on the hard shell stood out prominently and were very bright.

The camera zooms in and freezes on the two words: "Youthful Years".

With the beginning and end echoing each other, the entire movie came to a close.

Many viewers felt they wanted more.

Because there was a plot twist at the end of the movie: it turns out Liu Miaomiao is actually a boy! His real name is Niu Miao.

This film is told from Liu Miaomiao's perspective.

It's obvious that Liu Miaomiao lied and concealed the fact that he was a boy who had the surgery.

How much of the movie's content is actually fake?
If we look at this story from He Qingfang's perspective, would it be very different?

One plot twist made the audience feel like they had missed a lot of details, and they all wanted to watch the movie again.

The music interrupted the audience's thoughts.

The Chinese version of the national anthem played.

"Arise, ye prisoners of hunger and cold! Arise, ye wretched of the earth!"

My blood is boiling with passion; I must fight for the truth…

The large screen was divided in two: the left side displayed announcements and thank-you messages, while the right side showed He Qingfang dancing.

She has lost her right hand and can only dance with one hand, making it difficult for her to maintain balance. As a result, her dance moves appear somewhat clumsy, but they are very powerful.

Just like her initial lotus-picking dance, she was steadfast and confident.

After a solo dance, a row of seven- or eight-year-old children joined He Qingfang in dancing with her.

"This is the final struggle. Let us unite for tomorrow, and the Internationale will surely be realized! The Internationale will surely be realized!"

As the song ended, the big screen went completely dark, and the stage lights came on.

The audience was very supportive; although some people didn't fully understand the movie, everyone stood up and applauded.

Zhang Ziyi had a very bad feeling.

She didn't really understand the movie "Youth".

However, from a viewer's perspective, Zhang Ziyi felt that the movie was very good, with a strong sense of immersion and well-executed emotional shifts, including moments of depression, excitement, sadness, and unexpected twists.

Before I knew it, the hour and a half movie was over.

Moreover, after watching the movie, you can still feel a sense of awe and wonder.

Zhang Ziyi initially felt that there were some illogical parts in the movie, but after the final twist, she no longer dared to question it.

As a filmmaker, Zhang Ziyi also saw the key to the success of "Youth".

The secrets are all in the diary.

In the movie, the scenes that switch between the present and the past are all shown through Liu Miaomiao reading her diary, and each time there are shots of the diary entries.

However, Jiang Yifeng's screen time was short, and no one expected that there was a foreshadowing hidden in it. Zhang Ziyi didn't even read what was written in the diary carefully.

At this moment, like many others, she wanted to watch "Youth" one more time.

(End of this chapter)