373. Lu Ban Was Nothing Special!

When Ms. Merritt Rice, who was in France, received the copied discs, she had already watched several of the major works to be selected.

This includes a film by a Middle Eastern director about a protagonist who goes to jail for debt and gets involved with his autistic son and girlfriend; a film about a father who commits crimes and struggles in his search for his missing son; and a film about a woman who takes a train for an extramarital affair and ends up spending a long time with an Eastern European miner in the train carriage.

These films mostly focus on humanity, family, self, and crime, and have a strong art film style.

Moreover, the vast majority of these films are works by non-European and American directors. Films from developing countries such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America are the mainstream. In the lenses of these directors, their homelands are shrouded in a mysterious color, and films full of primitive wildness and exotic scenery dominate.

Of course, the narrative of most of these films is relatively dull, usually consisting of one or two people having a conversation that is like a riddle or something, in some very dark setting, and then interspersed with elements such as violence and sex.

According to Ms. Merritt, this year's Palme d'Or should be awarded to one of these films.

As for "Spring No War"?

Sorry, we're really not that close.

She had even considered fast-forwarding through the movie to show that she had seen it, since in Ms. Merritt's mind, the film was nothing more than a collection of individual heroism and male chauvinism, coupled with the gentleness and tenderness of a beautiful young woman, just like those superhero movies that would make Ms. Merritt vomit at the mere smell of them.

This kind of movie can't even get a nomination, it's not worth wasting your time on.

However, in the evening, her colleague, Professor Michael Vivo, a fellow film critic, sent her a special email.

"My dear Merritt, I think you absolutely must see ' Spring No War.' This work is simply perfect. If there's any work this year that can be called art, I think it's definitely this one. I can't explain it any further. It's a work that can touch your heart and heal you. You absolutely must watch the whole thing. My God, I've never felt such a powerful impact. I assure you, it's a work you won't regret watching, and you'll recommend it to everyone!"

Professor Michael himself is not the typical extroverted and enthusiastic Frenchman, so Ms. Merritt was quite surprised when she saw him describe a work in this way.

He's not the kind of person who would use those words to praise a bad movie.

Is "Spring No War" really that good?

Ms. Merritt went to the projection room in her house, suspiciously put the disc into the computer, poured herself a martini, and then closed the door.

She had no children before her divorce, and after the divorce, she lived alone in a detached house in the suburbs. The dampness unique to the French countryside at this time of year permeated the moss on the walls, and the vast farmland was shrouded in white mist, making it a perfect night for drinking.

After taking a quick look at the view outside the window, Ms. Merritt drew the curtains and pressed play.

The film begins in complete darkness.

In the darkness, something was crawling forward.

In the dim light of the night, Ms. Merritt saw that they were a group of monsters.

These monsters were unlike anything she had ever seen before. Each one was twisted to the extreme, like the kind of paintings a drunken addict would create. Just one glance was enough to shock her soul.

She felt a little dizzy for a moment.

"That bastard Michael"

Ms. Merritt couldn't help but curse. Was it because of the terrifying opening scene that the old man made her watch it?

Is he really that bored?!

However, the opening monster scene only made Ms. Merritt more certain that this film was just another commercial movie, and one that they, as artists, despised the most.

She picked up her glass, took a sip, and rubbed her temples to calm herself.

Monsters ravage the island villages, devouring humans.

Compared to the violence between humans in ordinary movies, this wild struggle between humans and nature is even more shocking. Even though Ms. Merritt is well-traveled, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine and gripped her wine glass tightly.

At that moment, a Pale flame descended from the sky, like an arrow, and fell upon the monster.

The whole world lit up.

Those hideous and twisted monsters were burned by flames, connecting the grass, trees, villages, and the earth.

Everything vanished into nothingness in those Pale flames.

Only a few surviving villagers and children boarded a small boat and drifted away into the distance.

One of the children turned to look at the island where he was born, which was burning fiercely, reflecting the child's profile.

As the scene transitioned, the subtitles briefly introduced the world's background in just a couple of sentences.

Ms. Merritt was not familiar with this work before, but after reading this part, she could roughly understand the background of the story.

"So, it must be that this child grew up and embarked on the journey with that priestess?"

Ms. Merritt has seen countless films, so this kind of development is quite easy to predict.

After the transition ended and the title appeared, the entire screen lit up.

Just like in the trailer, the spring scene arrives with cherry blossoms. Ms. Merritt takes another sip of wine, feeling slightly tipsy. The endearing warmth of spring bursts from the screen, and people come and go on the streets, bustling with life.

The protagonist and several mercenaries walked down the street, seeing vendors setting up stalls, children playing, a woman walking under an umbrella amidst falling cherry blossoms, strong laborers carrying goods, and women trying to calm their children.

With just a few shots, the atmosphere of the entire town is fully revealed.

The protagonist and his companions arrived at the entrance of the most magnificent building in town. Guided by a maid, they entered the courtyard and wandered through the corridors.

At this moment, the protagonist seemed to sense something and looked up at a corner.

The camera followed his perspective as it moved, and in front of a window of a building, a black-haired woman was gazing at him.

Ms. Merritt recognized her immediately; she was the female lead in the trailer.

However, at this moment, the female protagonist gave her a feeling of coldness, indifference, and distance.

The protagonist was only caught a fleeting glimpse before the gaze was quickly turned away.

At the same time, the older woman next to her explained that this was a genius shrine maiden, the hope of the entire Harmony Island.

"Old-fashioned."

Ms. Merritt couldn't help but mutter to herself that she had seen too many stories like this. The road movie template could be used for both commercial and art films. It seemed that Lu Ban was just an ordinary director, nothing special!

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