Impressions from the Venice Film Festival (Continued)

All I can say is that when it comes to color, humanity knows no nationality; we're all the same!

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the scale of films submitted to the Venice Film Festival has been increasing year by year.

Of course, the reserved Easterners certainly don't play as freely as the Europeans. In the project designs provided by these Europeans, things like same-sex attraction, two-way plugs, German orthopedic clinics, and even starting with a dog... these are all trivial matters.

In short, as long as you give them a stick and a hole, these guys can make a movie with a stick-poking-hole scene, so extreme that even Shinji, a seasoned womanizer, couldn't stand it.

This is also why Shinji didn't want to watch the movie with Chloe.

Watching this kind of movie in a hotel room is considered romantic, but watching it in a movie theater would only be awkward.

So it's better to separate.

Moreover, Shinji and Chloe's goals were originally quite different.

Chloe, representing the Jidai Group. distributor, judges films based on their commercial value.

Shinji hand, pays more attention to the filmmakers, hoping to discover some talent among them.

Unfortunately, the embarrassing situation with "Kara no Kyoukai" made Shinji realize that he still didn't have enough talent reserves behind the scenes.

We especially need more Director.

However, in this Parallel world, many movies and filmmakers have gone mad, and many of Shinji's "acquaintances" have been Counter Force and disappeared by the Counter Force.

Therefore, if Shinji wants to discover talented filmmakers, he can only judge them by their works.

Then Second Master's eyes were burned, and the burning was unbearable.

"Seriously, can't these guys just stick to making pornographic content?"

As Shinji emerged from the movie theater, he was still rubbing his eyes and complaining, "Why did they have to add this melodramatic love triangle at the end? Were they trying to make a School Days movie?"

He had just seen a movie that was basically a European splatter version of School Days, about a promiscuous man's love-hate relationships with several women, and the story of a woman with a machete killing the scumbag in the end.

But to be honest, this movie is really not very good.

The actors are terrible-looking, the editing is messy, the camera work is shaky, and the erotic scenes are too bland and boring. The whole movie is less interesting than what the Second Master did with Miss Lizzie last night.

Frankly, it's a stretch to use a movie like this for entertainment, because viewers might get nauseous halfway through because of the shaky camera work.

As for the final blood plasma part, it really is just blood plasma.

Because of the excellent contrast provided by this film, Shinji finally understood why Quentin Tarantino's violent aesthetics theory was so admired by so many people.

"So, the movie you watched was completely worthless?"

"I'm holding Shinji's arm, "Chloe asked, tilting her head.

"No."

Shinji shook his head, his face full of resistance.

"Too good for high-end films, not good enough for low-end ones. Even theatrical screenings are unlikely to break even. Even films that are popular in Tokyo are more profitable."

"What are you saying!"

Chloe playfully slapped Shinji, then sighed, "Sigh, are there no films worth releasing at this film festival?"

"It's not that there aren't any, but they don't make much money. If you want to expand your film library, I can still give you a list."

Shinji shrugged and gave his answer.

"Oh, remember to give me the list tonight, I'll have someone talk to the film crew."

Chloe did not refuse.

Even a small amount is still something, and enriching a film library is the right thing to do for a Film Company, so Chloe wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

"What about awards? Are there any films you're optimistic about?"

Chloe still remembered why Shinji had come to Italy.

Shinji pointed to a poster on the street, the landscape on it was as beautiful as if it were the work of a master.

"Still Life," a Chinese film, I think it has a good chance of winning the Golden Lion Award.

Although Shinji had doubts about Director Jia's character, the visuals he shot were undeniably beautiful.

As for why Shinji is optimistic about this film, it's naturally because the film itself was the winner of the Golden Lion Award at this year's Venice Film Festival.

Chloe looked up at the poster and said, "The poster for this movie is nice."

Shinji smiled and said, "Then let's go there for tourism next time. We can also invite Old Karuta to be our guide; she knows the place well."

Chloe pinched Shinji, seemingly blaming him for bringing along a female third wheel.

"Is being a player your only ambition in life? Watch out, or I might do something to you tonight."

Chloe glared at him angrily and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Shinji leaned closer and said, "Lizzie, I just think it's not good for you to eat alone."

Chloe glared at her. "What did you say?!"

Shinji retorted, "How can you enjoy such a beautiful view all by yourself? You have to bring Sakura and the others along!"

"You--!"

Looking at the mocking expression on the man's handsome face, Chloe was willing to bet that this beast of Director was doing it on purpose.

"Alright, since you're interested in this beautiful scenery, let's go see this movie. At least you can have all the food in the theater by yourself."

Now that the joke was over, Shinji naturally had to make amends to maintain the girl's positive feelings towards him.

Although he didn't intend to max out the affection level and then marry the other person, maintaining the affection level wasn't a loss for Shinji; at least it made him comfortable in the hotel at night.

Yes, it's the kind of comfort everyone's thinking about.

All I can say is that when it comes to being treated like an animal, Shinji Matou has always been an animal.

"Are you planning to aid the enemy?"

Chloe rolled her eyes at Shinji.

"This is called knowing yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Let's go, let's go."

With that, Shinji pulled Chloe into the movie theater.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

To be fair, the movie "Still Life" is really good.

It's not that the movie is good in terms of plot, but rather that the scenery is beautiful.

The film was shot in high definition, and the images displayed on the big screen were so exquisite that they drew repeated praises, truly revealing the meaning of the phrase "picturesque scenery."

Shinji had heard rumors in his previous life that "Still Life" was disqualified from the Hong Kong Film Awards because it wasn't shot on 35mm film.

But regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, the film's visuals are undeniably stunning.

If he hadn't changed his nationality in this lifetime, Shinji would probably have proudly said to Chloe, "This is my beautiful homeland."

As for the plot, opinions will vary.

Some people think this film shows the lives of the poor, which is rarely seen in Chinese films, while others think that director Jia deliberately smeared the film to win awards, confusing the concepts of good people and honest people.

Shinji didn't have much of a problem with the film itself; after all, it's quite difficult to expect Director of Jia Zhangke's generation not to cater to film art awards.

After all, this generation of Director studied filmmaking solely to win awards; they've become obsessed.

Shinji only has two impressions of Director Jia.

One is his relentless practice of casting his wife as the female lead in his movies, a trait he shares with Paul W. S. Anderson, the Director Resident Evil.

Another issue is that after this Director won the Golden Lion Award for "Still Life," the film's screenings in China were completely overshadowed by "Curse of the Golden Flower."

Director Jia, who thought winning the award would bring glory to the country and earn him preferential treatment, staged a deeply moving crying scene at Peking University and made a so-called declaration of being a good person after facing the blow of reality.

He made the shocking statement, "Look at this society full of gold, who still cares about good people!" and earned the nickname "Good Man Jia".

So...

"Hehe."

This is Second Master's assessment of Director Jia: simple, clear, and blunt.

If possible, Shinji would certainly like to use Ultraseven X to defeat Still Life, and see what kind of capital this art-house Director has to brag about back in China after losing his film awards.

Unfortunately, that's impossible; the Venice Film Festival is one of the few film festivals in the world that awards first and second prizes for the Best Picture.

Even though Ultraseven X won the Golden Lion and the Silver Lion, it is still an incredible honor.

"Did this guy plan this all along?"

Shinji raised this question.

By this time, the film festival had entered its later stages, and the competition for awards among the various films had reached a fever pitch.

Even though he tried to be a hands-off manager, Shinji started to care about film award selections at this point.

Every potential award-winning film crew tries various methods to obtain useful information from the film festival jury.

Unfortunately, the Venice Film Festival has been running for decades, and its procedures are already very well-established.

The film festival jury kept the news very secret, making it impossible for outsiders to obtain any information.

Therefore, Shinji could only try to make Ultraseven X more attractive through various forms of indirect publicity.

Fortunately, compared to the various R-rated films competing in the other sections, <Ultraseven X>, while not as bland as <Still Life>, is definitely a breath of fresh air.

However, in order to get the audience's first impressions of the film, Shinji visited the festival screening room of <Ultraseven X> multiple times during the film festival to check the number of audience members and listen to their opinions.

Compared to those films that are just a step away from being adult films, <Ultraseven X> doesn't have a large audience, with some seats remaining empty at each screening.

Shinji offered a brief analysis from the audience's perspective, suggesting that this might be one of the reasons.

Many viewers come to the Venice Film Festival specifically to experience the feeling of legally watching adult films in a large audience, alongside hundreds or even thousands of others.

This is commonly known as seeking thrills.

<Ultraseven X> is rated PG-13 in North America, and given its confirmed wide release, it is naturally not the first choice for film festival audiences.

Because those films with explicit content might become banned worldwide and never be seen again.

Feeling the urgency that this opportunity wouldn't come again, LSP...

Ah, no, that's not right.

Those who appreciate film art will naturally criticize the art of the flesh first, and then turn around to criticize the ugliness of human nature in <Ultraseven X>.

Fortunately, there weren't many ordinary spectators, but quite a few media people were present.

Compared to those low-budget films that aren't up to par, big-budget films like <Ultraseven X> with profound themes are much more likely to generate buzz.

Shinji welcomed all the reporters without reservation and imposed no restrictions on their reporting.

Second Master X isn't worried about the negative reviews of <Ultraseven X> because he has great confidence in the film.

The most outstanding aspect of this cyberpunk film is that it not only absorbs the classic hero-defeates-the-villain story template, but also uses this template to deliver a thought-provoking satire.

The story outline of <Ultraseven X> is very simple, but the setting is very novel.

The story takes place in a Parallel world, or rather, a bustling metropolis.

Countless surveillance cameras patrol the streets of this city, conveying the government's intentions, providing people with all sorts of intelligence, and simultaneously monitoring everyone.

A highly managed society where citizens are controlled by intelligence.

The world has long been peaceful and unified, and people's living conditions are quite good. There is no war, no chaos, and the social environment is very safe, but there is not a trace of human warmth.

The core concept of cyberpunk works is a highly developed, technologically advanced society coupled with the extreme emptiness within people's inner worlds.

The protagonist, JIN, is a member of "DEUS," a cutting-edge investigation team that fights against aliens attempting to invade the world.

He woke up in a daze in a room, having lost all his memories, but was given a pair of red glasses by a mysterious woman who told him that he was the savior of this world.

Thus, in order to protect the world and to regain his lost memories, JIN embarks on a journey to fight against the alien invaders.

The mastermind behind the movie is an alien creature named Gula Chies.

Using surveillance cameras spread across the world, they have been monitoring and ruling humanity, and even established DEUS to maintain their rule.

In the "Water God Plan," Gula Chies discovered a passage to another world, namely the world where Seven resides, and thus launched an invasion attempt.

Seven discovered this conspiracy and sent his consciousness to Parallel world, attaching himself to Jin. In the end, he used Jin to defeat Gula Chies and protect both worlds.

The story of the hero defeating the villain should end here, and the original plot of <Ultraseven X> should also end here.