CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 332: STUNNING PERFORMANCE (REQUESTING MONTHLY TICKETS)

The promotional poster for "hello! Mr. Tree" is very simple, just a large area of red background, and then a lonely dead tree that occupies all the vision.

And there’s nothing else in the copy except "MR. TREE."

This kind of promotion might not spark interest, but it certainly has a high level of sophistication, giving a sense of mysterious allure.

It causes people to overlook that Han Jie, this director, is completely unknown, and Qi Hao, this actor, actually doesn’t have much influence in the international art film scene.

Before "hello! Mr. Tree" was Sofia Coppola’s "Somewhere."

This little princess of the Coppola family chose a golden time slot, and by the time her movie activities ended, it was already past eight in the evening.

This time slot is actually not very good.

There weren’t many passersby left around the red carpet to join in the fun.

The film festival has a dedicated premiere screening room with a red carpet laid out outside.

Without the supplementation of natural light, the light began to turn dim and glaring.

Many audience members, famished, went to eat, starting their nightlife filled with lights and wines.

However, there are benefits too.

Namely, some of the audience who have watched "Somewhere" saw that another movie was about to premiere and if they’re not too hungry or have nothing else to do, they would stay to continue watching movies.

Especially the media.

Movies produced by the Coppola family are definitely the focus of media attention.

Even if only half of these people stayed, it would still be a stronger lineup than other movie premieres.

Qi Hao has been socializing in various circles these days, getting to know a bunch of international film people, so not only did the red carpet not appear deserted, it was bustling with activity.

Furthermore, the Chinese community is quite united, and all the Chinese in Venice would support films by Chinese.

Even Li Xue’xue, who wasn’t pleased with An Feng, came.

Qi Hao and An Feng walked out from the screening room of "Somewhere," then stepped onto the red carpet.

The director of "hello! Mr. Tree" is Han Jie, who quietly took on a lot of work so that Qi Hao could leisurely go to other people’s screening rooms to watch movies.

"Somewhere" was essentially predestined to win the Golden Lion Award.

At least Qi Hao knew this result, so he couldn’t help but assess the movie with the Golden Lion standard while watching it.

In Qi Hao’s opinion, although "Somewhere" wasn’t bad, winning the Golden Lion seemed a bit forced.

This movie has traces of Sofia Coppola’s famous work "Lost in Translation" — Qi Hao has also seen "Lost in Translation" and must admit this little princess of the Coppola family does have skills.

However, this "Somewhere" can barely be called "decent" but definitely not a masterpiece, and it’s a movie much worse than "Lost in Translation."

Perhaps for Coppola who has yet to reach middle age, dealing with grand themes like family, life, and the past is still too difficult, or maybe "Lost in Translation" drained too much of her talent.

In any case, in this "Somewhere," Coppola’s visual language is fragmented and disordered, the characters are too flat, and both the film and script have a fatal flaw, which is the lack of emotion.

If "Lost in Translation" is a film that’s "scattered in form but concentrated in essence," then "Somewhere" is truly a film that’s "scattered in both form and essence."

Golden Lion Award?

Quentin, you most likely will not be impressive, you’ll become a fool.

Qi Hao decided he would later teach Quentin, letting him know this new term tailor-made for him.

As for the quality of "hello! Mr. Tree," Qi Hao is very confident.

This is a divine film.

Shown to the general audience, there might be many complaints about not understanding it.

They might think the director is being overly mysterious, and the actors irrational and disordered.

However, these Venice viewers, even if they’re ordinary viewers, are seasoned connoisseurs exposed to countless works of art.

They aren’t afraid of films that are hard to understand.

Instead, they would disdain your film for lacking depth, leaving them unsatisfied.

And as for those in the film industry, there’s no need to mention them.

They, immersed in the world of art films, can interpret even an empty and trivial child’s scribble into an imagery comparable to Van Gogh.

"hello! Mr. Tree" is worthy of interpretation.

Through its unique perspective and narrative style, it sketches the tragic life of a small character struggling between reality and fantasy, like a mirror, reflecting the complexity of society and the multifaceted nature of humanity.

It is not specifically about Huaxia, nor about any country.

It speaks to the whole of human society.

One could say that Mr. Tree’s heart in the film is a barren land never sown with seeds, where loneliness grows wantonly.

In this desolate land of loneliness, there are the figures of you, me, and everyone.

Including the media.

They are happy to see a work from an unknown director from Huaxia outperforming "Somewhere."

Coppola indeed has brilliance, but it’s precisely because of her brilliance that defeating her carries more hype.

Who the heck cares about the Coppola family’s face?

True art workers should dare to confront authority, challenge authority, and humiliate authority...

Everyone also noticed the actors.

No need to mention An Feng, Qi Hao and Tan Nao’s performances were near perfect.

Especially Qi Hao, the handsome Huaxia star everyone saw during the festival, who abandoned his ego to achieve an immersive crossover.

Completely seamless.

From his performance, one can glimpse this character’s deeper inner world.

Later, when a film critic wrote a viewing review, they compared Huaxia movie star Zhang Manyu with Qi Hao.

During an interview, Zhang Manyu said, "Acting is life, it is life itself. Every role I play is a living person. I hope the audience sees not only our appearance but also our spirit and soul."

This statement, when applied to Qi Hao, a Chinese actor, is truly spot-on.

The success of this film is inseparable from Qi Hao’s brilliant performance.

He used his delicate acting skills to portray the complex character of Mr. Tree to perfection.

Subtle facial expressions and body movements, every detail of his made the audience feel the helplessness and pain.

Through the character of Mr. Tree, people did not see Qi Hao’s appearance.

It is precisely this contrast that brought great shock to the audience.

There is often a saying in the entertainment industry that someone is too handsome or beautiful, making it hard for the audience to engage in the role.

This is difficult to understand whether it is an excuse or a compliment.

Especially in the wedding scene of Mr. Tree, where excitement and helplessness, happiness and pain interweave.

Such complex emotions became real and weighty in Qi Hao’s hands, and the audience was infected by that almost desperate emotion, as if they were in that absurd and real wedding themselves.

The well-informed Venice fans felt a deep suffocation.

In fact, the film producers’ decision to bring "Hello! Mr. Tree" to Venice was indeed a stroke of luck.

This movie is extremely esoteric.

Even movies with strange structures try to build a structure that, though unclear, can at least be easily unearthed by viewers.

Just by reading a few reviews, people can understand the core of the movie.

However, Han Jie is somewhat lacking in this aspect.

Not to mention ordinary viewers, even seasoned movie fans and critics may not fully comprehend it.

There’s no way around it; this is the shortcoming of a novice director.

Unable to express with ease.

In domestic cinemas, the few impressions left on moviegoers is that Qi Hao’s acting is amazing.

Then the movie doesn’t reveal its story.

If domestic film critics want to interpret the movie, they need to be paid and then marketing promotion is required.

Now that it has screened at the Venice International Film Festival, naturally, professional critics of art films will shine.

Moreover, films that premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and have already been shortlisted for the main competition will attract domestic filmmakers.

They don’t need to be paid; they’ll eagerly follow and analyze the film.

And more commonly, they copy reviews from others and post them domestically to flaunt their level.

This tactic was skillfully used in the music industry before.

Now domestic film critics also like to earn manuscript fees this way since hardly anyone pursues it.

The benefit of this is that shortly after the premiere of "Hello! Mr. Tree", a large number of international film critic interpretations appeared in the mainland.

Everyone then discovered, oh my, Qi Hao’s new movie is truly amazing.

It’s praised by so many international critics.

Even on the day after the film’s premiere, many authoritative overseas film media allocated significant coverage to this movie.

And Qi Hao’s subversive performance.

In this regard, domestic media has not lagged behind, considering how Qi Hao performed in "Hello! Mr. Tree". Anyone with eyes can see it.

And Qi Hao’s popularity in the mainland is obvious.

There’s no shortage of people singing his praises.

It’s just that no one expected that foreign media would evaluate Qi Hao’s acting so highly.

Some media even firmly believe that Qi Hao is highly likely to win the title of Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival this time.

After this report was reprinted domestically, there wasn’t anyone mocking Qi Hao as undeserving.

Please, would becoming Best Actor be any surprise for Qi Hao?

Qi Hao was already the Golden Rooster Best Actor in 2007.

Three years have passed.

His roles in "Wait and See" and "October Fortress" have both won performance awards, and his acting skills have been steadily improving.

How could they not improve, when he’s been honing his acting in training spaces all these years, never neglecting it, even when cooking with An Feng.

His enthusiasm for training surpasses cooking.

Throughout the year, there’s never a day of absence.

However, compared to Qi Hao’s progress in acting, people are obviously more interested in his rumors with An Feng and his various stirs in the financial market.

Even when directing films that gross billions at the box office excites more discussion than his improvements in acting.

No wonder performance is something unseen and untouchable.

This is also why many actors are unwilling to delve deep into honing their craft; the cost-effectiveness is just too low.

Thanks to "Hello! Mr. Tree", people’s focus has shifted back to Qi Hao’s acting once again.

And then, they were gorgeously amazed by him.

Even the official media went down to make a report.

However, the intent of the official media was not merely to praise Qi Hao but to critique the increasingly ostentatious unprofessionalism emerging in the entertainment industry.

Qi Hao was just used as a benchmark.

And a positive one at that.

The official media harshly criticized some celebrities who don’t seriously delve into honing basic skills and rely on "boosts" to advance their standing, considering it a malady of the industry.

Although not specifying names, everyone actually knows who they’re talking about.