The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

The plot of this movie is not complicated. A Han army (originally the Qin army) is fighting against foreign tribes in the border region. The protagonist, a shepherd named Lu Shenkang, is recruited into the army. He dislikes killing, but by a twist of fate, he becomes a warrior on the battlefield.

It was the dead of winter, and heavy snow was falling. The Han army retreated and came to a village of a certain tribe. Because of the heavy snow, they stayed there. Lu Shenkang found a woman from another tribe in the tent and forced himself on her.

As time went by, feelings developed between them. The woman told him that their tribe was cursed by wolves, and if a member of their tribe had intercourse with someone from another tribe for more than seven days, both of them would turn into wolves.

Time flies, and several years have passed. The Han army was victorious, and the Han envoy went to deliver the letter of state. On the grassland, the followers, unaware of what was happening, saw two wolves mating, and so the followers were killed one by one.

The Han envoy hurried on his horse to complete his mission, but he still couldn't escape the wolves' pursuit. Just as the two wolves closed in on the Han envoy, the male wolf recognized him as the general who had recruited him—Lu Shenkang—into the army, and so it left, sparing the Han envoy's life.

To be honest, Gu Ning didn't understand what the movie was trying to express after listening to it.

Is it an anti-war movement? Or an exploration of human nature?

This thing is too profound; how can it be considered a commercial film?

It's not that commercial films shouldn't have these elements; they're all movies meant to entertain the masses.

Some say that commercial films portray the world as rational, while art films portray it as irrational.

The former gives people hope, while the latter reveals the truth.

However, Gu Ning felt that this statement was not entirely accurate.

Good movies often manage to balance both aspects: they need a compelling story and a thrilling experience to engage the audience's emotions.

Despite being described as a commercial film, Gu Ning found Tian Zhuangzhuang's movie unenjoyable.

The ideas they wanted to express were too obscure, leaving people feeling confused.

This is actually why art films have a small audience; the director's intended message is both profound and subtle, making it impossible for the audience to understand.

"How is it?"

The rough cut is about 30% longer than the final cut. More than two hours have passed since this film finished playing.

Gu Ning finally managed to finish reading it after much suffering, but when faced with Tian Zhuangzhuang's question, she was at a loss for what to do.

"Just tell me what you want to say. Since I've shown it to you, I'm already prepared."

Seeing Gu Ning's expression, Tian Zhuangzhuang waved his hand and said.

"Director Tian, ​​then I'll speak."

Gu Ning carefully considered her words and said, "I feel that you are using the methods of an art film to shoot a commercial film, and the final box office results may not be very good."

"Commercial films can't all be about entertaining the masses and abandoning emotional expression, can they?" Tian Zhuangzhuang frowned.

"Of course not. A true classic is a commercial film that can entertain the public while also expressing emotions and prompting reflection after watching it."

Gu Ning said, "But the film has a limited runtime. If you shoot it this way, the result will be a lack of entertainment value, as well as insufficient emotional and artistic expression."

This is a common problem among almost all older generation directors; even when they are making commercial films, they can't help but include their own personal agendas.

The end result was that it lacked entertainment value, the audience didn't feel satisfied, and found it boring.

It also falls short in terms of education and the expression of some ideas, leaving the audience confused.

This is like someone who considers themselves highly educated writing a novel in vernacular Chinese, always nitpicking over words and trying to convey profound truths.

However, the length of a novel is limited; it must not only tell a complete story but also contain profound truths.

That means we have to reduce the amount of storytelling to incorporate these profound truths.

However, they cannot fully express the story while also clearly articulating the message they want to convey.

This means the story wasn't explained clearly, and the profound truth was condensed to an extreme degree, making it difficult for people to understand.

They may not be unaware of this, they just can't bring themselves to lower themselves.

After all, they all consider themselves artists, and combining both can be seen as finding a way out for art.

Abandoning grand principles and focusing solely on making commercial films inevitably invites criticism from self-proclaimed artists.

Of course, it could also be a habit from shooting for a long time.

"Perhaps."

Tian Zhuangzhuang remained silent for a long time before nodding.

He wasn't satisfied with the footage he shot while editing it himself.

I always feel that I haven't fully expressed what I wanted to say.

However, if it were fully expressed, there would be significant problems with the plot.

"And the story is a bit thin; I hardly saw anything appealing about it."

Gu Ning's words were somewhat insincere, but there were still some appealing aspects to them.

This film can be divided into three parts. The first part is about fighting, which is the part where the male protagonist joins the army and fights.

The second part is about sex; it's the part where the male protagonist rapes the female protagonist and they develop feelings for each other.

This section has quite a few of those kinds of shots, so it's still worth watching.

But as anyone who knows about mainland films knows, even Hong Kong can't match these kinds of shots.

However, no matter what, she still has some appeal to men.

The third part is when the male and female protagonists turn into wolves, which is completely uninteresting.

Upon hearing this, Tian Zhuangzhuang's expression changed. Although Gu Ning was a newcomer, it was precisely because of this that her evaluation was more objective.

Seeing that Tian Zhuangzhuang's expression was off, Gu Ning quickly comforted him, "However, this movie still has many good points. It captured the grandeur, desolation, vastness, and coldness of the frontier."

"You might as well not say anything," Tian Zhuangzhuang said irritably.

"hey-hey."

Gu Ning breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Director Tian, ​​I think each generation of directors has its own role to play. Whether it's a commercial film or an art film, they all have their value."

You don't need to make any commercial films; making more good art films is enough.

Let's leave the commercial films to us new directors. If you older directors try to take our jobs, we're no match for you."

This statement is half praise and half truth; Zhang Yimou's family has never lacked investment.

However, his films in the early and middle stages of his career did not exactly generate good returns.

The same goes for Chen Dashi; at least Zhang Yimou made a few high-grossing movies later on.

The only films with high box office returns for the great poet Chen are "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and "My People, My Country".

However, he was only one of the directors of both films.

Moreover, both films have mission-related elements, so he can't arbitrarily change the script.

If someone can keep Chen Da Shi Poet in check, among the older generation of directors in China, probably no one can compare to him in making commercial films.

Even though older generation directors' commercial films don't do very well at the box office, there are still a lot of people willing to invest.

After all, while their potential ceiling is uncertain, their potential floor is quite guaranteed.

If those big directors had cast someone else, their films would have been lucky to even break even at the box office.

"But how many of you young directors are willing to make art films?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang sighed, "Among young directors, the difference in camera work is too great. Box office revenue has gone up, but the overall artistic quality is declining."

Gu Ning fell silent upon hearing this; what Tian Zhuangzhuang said was indeed an undeniable fact.

Just like how, after the widespread use of mobile phones in later generations, many people can't write more than a few words all year round.

Let alone calligraphy, it's difficult to even write characters neatly.

The new generation of directors is far behind the older generation in terms of camera work and visual presentation.

This difference is not caused by age, but by the shooting technique.

Let's not talk about this anymore.

Tian Zhuangzhuang shook his head and said, "I heard you've finished filming your movie. Have you considered making an art film?"