Pokémon's Lord of Fear

Chapter 351: Thirty Years of the Truman Show

"'The Truman Show', directed by Teng Shu, so it should be quite good." Film critic Roger held the movie ticket and sat in the cinema waiting for the show to start, with some fatigue in his eyes.

Being a film critic is a job that is both painful and relatively happy. The painful part is that I have to watch movies every day, and the happy part is naturally also having to watch movies every day.

Roger once thought that he didn't need to watch movies every day. After all, there were only a limited number of movies in the theater. A theater usually only had a dozen movies a day, sometimes less than ten. Even if a movie lasted two hours, what would it matter? It would be gone after you finished watching it.

If you're even more ruthless, you can go see a movie as soon as it comes out and then take a long break. Isn't this kind of job exactly what Roger envisions, with short working hours, high pay, and the freedom to arrange your schedule?

But the ideal is like Gojo Satoru making a victory declaration, and then the reality is like Sukuna, which directly cuts the ideal in half while he was still making a victory speech.

Short working hours? It is indeed quite short, but in order to write fairly, to stand out, and to be admired, sometimes I have to watch a movie several times, just to get ahead of other colleagues, to find the Easter eggs and some details in the movie first, and then to get traffic.

If it is a commercial film, it is not so bad. The plot logic of commercial films is mostly very simple and direct. It is like the answer is placed in front of you. You just need to copy it according to the answer. At most, you have to wait and see if there is an easter egg at the end of the film, and then the work is done.

But the problem is that some movies are not commercial films. They are mixed with some suspense or irony, which requires careful consideration. Once is not enough, so watch it twice until you feel confident. Therefore, most film critics will deliberately maintain a good relationship with the director, so that they can write more authoritative film reviews. After all, when the time comes, you only need to ask the director whether the movie has any profound meaning, which can save a lot of work.

So although the time seems short, it is actually not short, and the intensity of other work is also maxed out. A qualified film critic not only has to maintain his fans, but also has to keep an eye on the entertainment industry so that he can get the benefits of traffic at the first time. He even has to face competition from peers occasionally, deal with haters, edit videos, etc., so it is actually quite hard.

High salary? It depends on the situation. At least Roger couldn't even afford to eat in the beginning and had to rely on his parents for help. Later, he had some fans and was able to earn his own living. Now he can send money to his parents to show his filial piety. Roger's biggest feeling is that money is hard to make and food is hard to eat. Or maybe many people would rather eat food and make more money.

In this world, being a second-generation person is probably the only easy thing, but other things are not so easy.

"However, Director Teng Shu's movies are relatively easy to understand, but they are not very heart-friendly, and some of the depths are difficult to explore." Roger heard the reminder to enter the movie, he took his movie ticket and came to the theater. There were many people in the theater. Teng Shu won the hearts of many audiences with a steady stream of excellent movies.

Roger actually likes Teng Shu's movies very much. They are simple to watch, do not require much thinking, and are very shocking. However, he feels an inexplicable sense of refreshment after watching them, so Roger still likes to watch them very much. However, in order to be the first to publish a film review, Roger took it a lot more seriously. In order to publish a film review earlier, he also wrote some templates, and he would just apply the ratings according to the type of movie.

It can be sent out as quickly as possible. Of course, your hand speed is also very important. If your hand speed is slow, you will not be able to grab the traffic.

As the theater darkened, the movie began to play. Roger watched it very seriously. But after seeing the first faces and Truman, Roger had a bad feeling in his heart. He always felt that he seemed to be in a trap. This movie didn't look like a horror movie!

[You can't give up, man. You have to climb to the top even if you have to tiptoe.] Truman looked at himself in the mirror and said softly.

Then the film began to intersperse the director's narration and Truman's soliloquy, and then the two actors smiled and said in front of the camera that The Truman Show was an absolute reality show, without any falsehood at all.

Roger fell silent. Could it be a sci-fi horror movie? But these lines, Truman's lines combined with those of the actors, always had a strange sense of absurdity. Roger sat up straighter and looked ahead intently. He wanted to see what this movie was all about.

【Day 10909】

"10909? If you calculate it based on 365 days, it's almost thirty years." Roger calculated subconsciously, and got an astonishing number. Compared with the simple and direct thirty years, the number 10909 is more intuitive and huge, and it also makes people more desperate.

"In case I can't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night~" With Truman's smile and cheerful look, the movie officially kicked off.

Bright lighting, less depressing tones, everything is so unique, forming a sharp difference from Teng Shu's previous films. Roger is sure that this is indeed not a horror film. Just as director Teng Shu's personal account posted, "The Truman Show" is a feature film, a movie that tries to say something.

Roger has seen all of Teng Shu's works, including After the Lights which were screened outdoors. After watching them, Roger discovered a habit of Director Teng Shu, which is that Director Teng Shu is accustomed to using color tones to tell stories.

Generally speaking, the colors in the world are divided into warm colors, cool colors, and neutral colors. According to the research of doctors, different colors will affect people's mood to some extent. In psychology, people can even analyze the target's personality based on the color the target likes.

Roger discovered that director Teng Shu particularly liked to use color tones to tell stories. In his previous horror films, most of the shots were in cold colors, which brought a depressing and uneasy feeling, accompanied by intense fear, making many viewers tremble with fear.

However, this movie has a lot of warm tones and some cold tones, but the warm tones still dominate the theme, so Roger is very sure that this is not a horror movie. If it were a horror movie, then according to director Teng Shu's personality, the horror and fright scenes would have already begun.

Truman was about to drive to work, but found something falling from the sky. He checked and found it was a lamp. Roger recognized at a glance that this was a kind of lighting equipment commonly used on the set, and there was a constellation written on it.

"Fake...all of this is fake. Truman lives in a fake world. This is...The Truman Show?!" Roger realized that something was wrong here. Combining everything that happened before, Roger realized that he was actually watching someone else perform a reality show in a movie theater?

Realizing this, Roger looked more attentively.

Although Truman was very confused, he still drove to work. On the way to work, the radio happened to say that the light was dropped from a plane in the sky, explaining everything as an accident. Truman did not doubt it, but went to work happily. Then he met passers-by and was greeted by them. Next to Truman was a huge billboard.

And it was a brand Roger recognized.

But Roger didn't pay attention to these. He was watching very attentively. What he was curious about now was how Truman would find out that he was actually in a huge stage and everything around him was actually fake. This made Roger full of curiosity. He was thinking before, would the drama be boring and would the audience leave halfway?

After all, not everyone likes to watch feature films, likes to watch art films, and likes to think about the director's questioning of the world. They just want to relax during their break, that's all.

But now Roger is not worried. Director Teng Shu is undoubtedly a very good director. He captured the hearts of the audience with reality shows in the very beginning. Although it is a feature film, there is not too much preaching, only narrative, just like a butterfly falling into a spider web, struggling constantly without knowing it.

Truman went to work and called Alola to ask about his intention to travel there, but was overheard by his manager, who picked up a newspaper with a headline on it that read [Seaview Town, the best place in the world].

Truman was also pretending to sell to the client, but he still asked about Alora in private, and the manager's expression became ugly.

Then they arranged for Truman to go on a business trip to another island. Roger was a little curious. Wasn't he worried that Truman would run away? When he saw the light, Roger suspected that the town where Truman stayed was a fictional place specially used to serve Truman to shoot the Truman Show.

But when Truman went to the dock, Roger found that Truman seemed very scared. The camera was also given to the sinking boat beside the dock. Truman's legs were shaking, and the people around him seemed to be observing him. Truman finally gave up and left.

At this time, Truman's wife also appeared. Roger found that Truman's wife was actually the actress who appeared at the beginning. Roger took a breath of cold air. Oh my god, this means that Truman's wife is also fake? Truman's wife is an actress, so Truman and his wife's love and marriage, are all scripts?

Truman's wife even did some product placement in the advertisement, which made Roger quite angry. Truman was kept in the dark!

After that, Truman started chatting with a man. Truman once again mentioned that he wanted to leave and go to Alola, but his friend did not support his idea. Truman sat alone on the beach at night, looking at the waves in front of him, and then there was a memory.

In his memories, Roger also knew why Truman was afraid of the sea, because when he was a child, he went out on a boat with his father and encountered a shipwreck. His father drowned in front of him, which made the young Truman deeply afraid of the sea.

"This is simply a form of control. Truman's father...could he also be an actor?" Roger had a strange idea and he was a little nervous. If it was true, then Truman was too desperate.

From childhood to adulthood, everything was arranged clearly.

Immediately afterwards, the plot began to advance, and Truman discovered some anomalies, such as the rain that only got on him, and even chased him to get wet, his wife who opposed it, and having a child. At this time, the camera also turned to the security guards in the garage, who were looking at the camera and talking, and they were watching the Truman Show.

It was also revealed that when encountering intimate scenes, the program crew would still turn the camera away to avoid exposing this privacy.

The next day, Truman went to work and met a homeless man. He found that the other person looked very much like his father. He wanted to confirm it, but was stopped by a group of people. The homeless man was also taken away directly. Truman did not see him in the end. Truman was very confused and went to find his mother. Roger discovered that Truman's mother was also an actor.

"The Truman Show. The Truman Show only has one real person, Truman?" Roger realized something.

Truman's mother denied this, and Truman's wife comforted her husband not to think too much, and then played an advertisement. Truman was a little confused, but still took out a red dress. Truman fell into deep thought, and Roger finally knew in his memories that Truman had met this girl when he was in school and fell in love with her.

Although the other party was an actress, she was not the candidate for Truman's wife, so there was no love scene. However, Truman still liked her and confessed to her, but was pulled away by the girl and told Truman something on the beach.

"Damn the Riddler." Roger shook his head. This woman couldn't just say that everyone around her was an actor, all fake, and that Truman lived on the set? She had to say something specious.

The result was that Truman watched his sweetheart being taken away in confusion, and the other person's father told him that they would go to Alola tomorrow, so this was also one of the reasons why Truman wanted to go to Alola.

"Damn, these are all videotapes?" Roger couldn't help but complain in his heart. He saw the lines of the audience and found out that this memory was also a videotape. This made Roger feel helpless. Truman's life was really recorded in everything.

But Roger was even more curious. If that was the case, how would Director Teng Shu arrange the next plot so that this plot could develop smoothly? After all, Truman couldn't always be a reality show actor. Movies need conflicts, and conflicts are a test for a director and screenwriter. After all, if they are not handled well, a masterpiece can become a piece of shit.

As Truman took out the photo frame of his wife and the face he had pieced together, the camera pulled out to reveal the actress, who was also watching Truman's reality show.

Afterwards, Truman was driving and accidentally connected to the crew's frequency. This made Truman discover something strange and he began to doubt everything around him.

Roger watched more attentively. He was curious about what choice Truman would make and how he would discover the strangeness of this world.

Chapter 352 Best of the Year?

Truman began to test, began to do some abnormal things, and began to observe everything around him. His eyes were like a frightened deer, full of fear of this world.

After such temptations and accidents, he came to a building, and after pressing the elevator button, he found that the elevator was not an elevator, but a backstage rest set. There were even actors eating and resting inside. Truman wanted to say something, but was carried away and thrown out.

A strong fear attacked Truman, and he chose to talk to his good friend Marlon, but he just fell into a trap again. Marlon's words were trying to make Truman nostalgic for this place.

When he returned home, Truman's mother brought a photo album and asked Truman to recall these beautiful moments. Roger squinted his eyes. The butterfly was struggling, trying to fly, trying to leave this hellhole, but the spider was also weaving a new web.

Truman's mother and wife left temporarily, and the things broadcast on TV were trying to rekindle Truman's attachment to this place. Truman was flipping through the photo album irritably, but accidentally discovered that in the wedding photo, his wife's middle finger and index finger were crossed, which meant [I am lying, please forgive me].

This made Truman realize something was wrong. He thought of his wife's usual strange behavior, but at that time he just thought that his wife liked to recommend products to him, but now it seems that this is not the case.

Only Pokémon seemed to be the most real to him, but he had never owned a Pokémon of his own because he was allergic to Pokémon and would break out in rashes when he hugged one.

Truman began to test his wife. He chased to the hospital where his wife was, wanting to witness his wife's surgery today. Along the way, people stopped him and obstructed him, but Truman still ran to the operating room, only to see a ridiculous show. There was no patient undergoing surgery at all. He was deceived.

Truman even unexpectedly discovered that the reason he broke out in rashes when he hugged a Pokémon was because these Pokémon were sprinkled with medicine powder, which caused him to have such a reaction.

The director was afraid that Truman and Pokémon would develop a bond, which would ruin everything in the end.

Such desperation drove Truman crazy. He wanted to take a plane to Alola, but the plane would not be available until a month later. He bought a ticket, but when the bus started, the driver probably stepped on the accelerator too much, and the car didn't leave in the end.

Truman discovered that as long as he wanted to leave, everything in this town would stop him, which made Truman more determined to leave.

So Truman found his wife, took her to the car, and told her his discovery. In fact, the plot did play out as Truman predicted, which made Truman more desperate. He began to drive his wife around, but was finally stopped by the police on the bridge. The collapsed Truman even took his wife hostage.

But the appearance of his good friend Marlon also calmed Truman down. Truman and Marlon went to the broken bridge to talk. Marlon seemed to be talking, but in fact his every word was controlled by the director behind the scenes. When he said "I will never lie to you", Marlon hesitated, and Truman's eyes instantly became stunned, with tears flowing from his eyes.

At this moment Truman realized that his good friend was also an actor. He lived in a false world. His wife was an actor, and his good friend was also an actor. The entire cinema became quieter and quieter.

Everyone was watching silently, watching Truman discover all this. They wanted to see how Truman would break free from these scams.

But this time Malone brought Truman's father, and there was a touching scene of father-son reunion, which attracted the attention of the audience. However, the director's indifferent command only made Roger feel cold all over. Truman was just a puppet, a puppet controlled by others.

In the following TV interview, the director of The Truman Show even decided to release Truman's first intimate footage in the future in order to get higher ratings. Such a release means that Truman will have no privacy at all in the future.

This made people even more desperate, but Truman seemed to have found himself again because of his father's return. He began to continue his daily life, smiling, smiling heartily, and speaking his lines.

Everything seemed to be going in the wrong direction until one day when Truman went to the basement to sleep. When everyone present thought there was no problem, the director discovered something strange.

He controlled the camera to play back and forth, and then noticed Truman's hand flashing by on the other side. The director quickly directed Malone to go find Truman, but discovered that the person sleeping in the basement was not Truman at all, but a dummy made of Truman, and the snoring sound was also played by the tape recorder. Malone even found a tunnel leading to the outside.

Truman did all this without telling anyone. The feeling of being out of control made the director panic. He quickly directed everyone to search the entire Seaview Town, but Truman was not found. They searched everywhere but still couldn't find him.

Finally the director realized something, he let the camera go to the sea, and as a result, Truman was really found on the sea. Truman had overcome his fear of water!

"This director made a stupid mistake. Truman found his father. The reunion after a long separation was indeed touching, but it also helped Truman overcome his psychological fear." Roger shook his head. If Truman was not allowed to find his father, Truman might still be afraid of the sea in his heart. But now, everything is messed up.

Roger knew from the previous TV show that the so-called Seaview Town was just a huge film set surrounded by fake scenery. As long as Truman kept sailing, he would break through the curtain sooner or later.

The director didn't want to let Truman go, so he turned up the wind and waves, putting Truman in danger, but Truman still didn't give up. Truman's fatigue made the director a little hesitant, after all, he had watched Truman grow up and had feelings for him.

But at this moment Truman shouted angrily, "Is that it? You have to kill me!" This roar angered the director, and he increased the wind and waves to the maximum level, and the boat was even about to capsize. However, looking at Truman's struggle and his determination to never give up, the director chose to compromise, and the boat became calm again.

The sun reappeared, and Truman's bow pierced through the curtain. Truman then realized that the sky he saw was just a false scenery. Truman collapsed and pounded, but finally calmed down. He walked along the edge of the sea and found a staircase.

After going up the stairs, there is a door with [Exit] written on it.

It was at this time that the director spoke. He talked to Truman and told him that if he stayed here, he would still be the protagonist, but once he went out, he would have to face the cruel reality. The outside world was actually just a bigger stage, but if he stayed here, he could be the protagonist and everything would revolve around him.

Truman faces a choice.

And it was at this time that Truman smiled. He looked at the camera facing the sky, as if he was looking into Roger's eyes, and then said those words.

"In case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night."

Truman bowed gracefully, then walked through the door and left the stage that had been set up for him.

The audience outside were cheering and jumping for joy. Truman's first love also came downstairs happily. She wanted to find Truman.

Everything seemed to have a happy ending. The director took off his glasses dejectedly. The broadcast of The Truman Show ended, and the program also ended.

Roger always felt that something was missing. Although this ending was good, it was still missing something.

Until the last shot, the two security guards who were happy for Truman's escape from the cage now asked with dull faces, "Are there any other good shows?" [Let's check the TV Guide].

And the whole film ended completely.

At this moment, Roger's pupils were shaking. The appearance and lines of these two security guards made the whole ending even more impressive.