Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 344 Film Review, Jin Kun

With the release of "I Am Not a Doctor", the word-of-mouth was overwhelming, and the box office reached 2.41 million yuan on Friday the second day.

Many directors in the film and television industry who specialize in realistic themes were stunned. When did realistic films become so popular?

They filmed a lot of movies, and even felt that they were much more profound than The Divine Doctor, but The Divine Doctor was a box office hit, while their movie even had trouble getting released.

"Han Sanping, along with Chen Shouzhe, wields immense influence in China."

After watching the movie, Director Jia felt that it was quite explicit, but compared to his own films, it lacked bloody scenes, yet it was full of talk about cannibalism.

The film vividly portrayed diseases, especially the disease of poverty, which gave him goosebumps.

His films used to expose darkness, but now it seems he didn't think things through enough.

"It seems he was telling the truth before; it's not that he didn't want to film, but that he's still young."

Online reviews are getting better and better, especially one review that has propelled the film to new heights.

In "I'm Not a Miracle Doctor," no one is wrong. This is the best and most agonizing part of the movie. While sympathizing with the vulnerable and sick, we must also consider the responsibilities of pharmaceutical companies and the government.

Pharmaceutical companies are in it for the money. They invest tens or hundreds of billions in the research and development of each drug. However, the patent period for a patented drug is only about ten years. Many targeted drugs have very small target groups, so the price of drugs is set very high.

The government aims to uphold the law and protect the people. Faced with high drug prices, it must safeguard the interests of businesses, protect the rights of patients, and crack down on those who illegally sell counterfeit drugs.

None of the three parties in the movie are wrong, and the protagonist is not wrong either. He smuggled medicine from India, which is illegal. He started out doing it for money, but in the end, he smuggled it to save lives.

From an ordinary person's perspective, no one thinks he is wrong, but pharmaceutical companies think he is wrong. His smuggling of cheap drugs has affected the pharmaceutical companies' revenue, and once revenue decreases, the pharmaceutical companies will naturally have less time for research and development.

The government also felt he was wrong because his smuggling activities violated laws and regulations.

So, if no one in the movie is wrong, then who is wrong?

The movie makes it very clear: it's about being poor. If you had money, you wouldn't have to worry about not being able to afford medical care.

I believe our country is making continuous efforts to make its people prosperous and strong, but it takes time. Just like the ending of the movie said, legitimate and effective drugs are now covered by medical insurance, so there's no need to resort to smuggling anymore...

The film review is right; everyone interprets things differently.

However, many people agree with this comment because no one in the movie is wrong. From the patient's perspective, he can even be called a hero. Even his family members went from not understanding him at the beginning to accepting him in the end and thinking he was a hero. So he is a hero.

There were many reviews of the film, and on the third day, Saturday the 28th, the box office exceeded 3 million, reaching 3.85 million.

A realistic film grossed over 3.85 million yuan in a single day. Initially, people said that the 3 million yuan mark on the first day was due to the inclusion of previews over four days. Now, the film has broken through such a high box office in a single day and even sparked nationwide discussion, indicating its immense popularity.

Wen Mu and Xu Zheng from the main creative team also started to take action and cheer for the film.

Chen Shouzhe's Journey to the West finally finished filming on August 1st. On the last day, the set was open for visits, and reporters flocked to the location as soon as they heard the news.

As usual, if you want to ask questions, you have to promote the movie. It's always the same. Reporters already know Chen Shou's routine. Moreover, the reporters who are allowed to visit the set are all from major media platforms, such as Sina Weibo and Tencent News.

"Director Chen, could you ask why we haven't heard any publicity about 'I'm Not a Miracle Doctor' before?" "Good movies don't need too much publicity from the production company. The times are different now. In the era of social media, everyone is a media outlet. People can become familiar with movies through the internet. If a movie is really good and worth going to the cinema for, it doesn't need too much publicity from the production company. The audience is the best publicity channel."

"Why was there no news at all when the movie was being filmed, and why was the filing information no longer being kept by the film company?"

"There's nothing we can do, it's just too popular. We want to keep a low profile. Besides, the film has already been submitted to the Venice International Film Festival, and its overseas premiere will be in Venice."

"Could it be that this is the movie that Director Chen talked about at the Venice International Film Festival last year?" the reporters asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"Is Director Chen going to attend the Venice International Film Festival at the end of the month?"

"I probably won't have time to go. It's true that filming for Journey to the West has wrapped up, but there's a lot of follow-up work, plus we'll be filming 'Operation Red Sea' at the end of August. As you all know, I won't have time to attend."

"Why did Director Chen ask Wen Muye to direct 'I Am Not a Miracle Doctor'? Why don't you direct it yourself?"

"The screenwriter is Han Jia Nu, who is in a relationship with Wen Mu. Wen Mu was originally slated to be the director as well."

"Why are you willing to invest in movies? As far as I know, you have never made a movie with realistic themes."

“I saw the potential. Movies are making money now, and as the sole producer of the film, I’ve made quite a bit of money.”

Seeing Chen Shouzhe's smiling face, the reporters were extremely envious. A movie with an investment of less than 1 million yuan is now heading towards 30 billion yuan at the box office. Even if Chen Shouzhe can earn 40%, that's still 12 billion yuan, not to mention the subsequent copyright income, etc.

Chen Shouzhe was already rich, and now he's even richer, and he's only thirty years old.

The oldest of these reporters is almost fifty years old; they're not even in the same league.

However, Chen Shouzhe knew how to handle people. After the interview, everyone received a red envelope for tea. This was a custom, a kind of ritual, hoping that the movie would be as successful as the red envelope.

News of the completion of filming for "Journey to the West" naturally spread throughout the country, along with interviews with Chen Shouzhe.

Those who dislike Chen Shouzhe naturally say that the movie was directed by Wen Muye, but people in the film industry know that Chen Shouzhe was in charge of the quality control behind the scenes. As early as the Chinese New Year this year, Chen Shouzhe had taken Wen Muye to visit him.

It's clear that Wen Mu will also become a big director under Chen Shou's company in the future, plus his girlfriend is Han Jia Nu, who is the only daughter of Zuo Shan Diao.

However, some people became anxious when they heard Chen Shou say that the film had participated in Venice.

"Director Zhang, look at Chen Shouzhe. He's a Western-worshipper, only interested in attending foreign awards and unwilling to attend domestic ones. He didn't go to the Hong Kong Film Awards or the Golden Horse Awards for Infernal Affairs, nor did he plan to attend the Golden Globe Awards. He insisted on attending Venice and the Oscars. We also have A-list awards in China. He didn't even go to the Shanghai International Film Festival, where he held a film premiere and disrupted the festival."

A group of elderly men who won the Golden Kun Award came to the Film Bureau to complain to Zhang Hongsheng.

"What do you think we should do?" Zhang Hongsheng asked calmly.

“Let him participate in the Golden Kun Award.”

"Then you should go and invite him."

(End of this chapter)