How can a director be a gigolo?

Chapter 61 Dark and Cruel

Come to think of it, this General Manager Yang was already watching internal reference films and experiencing advanced foreign art and culture 20 or 30 years ago, when others were struggling to get enough to eat.

He could also join the army, and after his discharge, he could start a company and have sex in those chaotic times.

If the background isn't strong, can it work?

Moreover, this Mr. Yang has a certain energy about him. How to put it? It's that kind of youthful vigor that immediately brings to mind the era and people in Jiang Wen's "In the Heat of the Sun" from my past life. No, Mr. Yang is over forty now, so you can't really call him youthful anymore.

Is it idealism? A spirit of never giving up, of fighting against nature?

Anyway, Wang Xiaohao had never seen such a person in his previous life, nor in this one.

Compared to them, Huang Anzhong and his ilk seem like petty scheming fools!

This is probably the kind of spirit that only people from good families, or children of high-ranking officials, can maintain.

At least, a person who is scheming and despicable could never cultivate this kind of temperament.

Even Wang Xiaohao couldn't raise them!

Even though he was a time traveler, he came from an ordinary family and worked his way up through hardship.

However, after having a few drinks with Mr. Yang today, Wang Xiaohao was also influenced and opened up, chatting with Yang Jianzhong about art and movies.

Although this Mr. Yang's views are still rather outdated, his aesthetic sense is probably still stuck in his youth.

My favorite films are still those of the fourth generation of directors. As for the films of the fifth generation of directors, I can only say that they are acceptable, but they don't quite fit my aesthetic.

As for the works of the sixth generation of directors, they are completely beneath Mr. Yang's notice.

In his words, "These sixth-generation directors all make films that are so life-or-death, so disheartening, that it's painful to watch!"

Wang Xiaohao could probably understand, because the works of the fourth generation of directors still have the light of idealism.

By the time of the fifth generation of directors, idealism had already dwindled.

Although the fifth generation of directors has far surpassed the fourth generation of directors in terms of aesthetics, technique, and artistic level.

However, its core spirit has already been shaken, and it has begun to examine the changes between individuals and world history from a so-called micro perspective.

As for the sixth generation of directors, they were a generation that groped their way out from the margins and in the dark.

These guys were the most tragic. When they were young, the Fifth Generation directors were at their peak, and with the collapse of the domestic film market, they had absolutely no room to make a difference.

Each of them had to sell their possessions and scrape together money to make their own films. After achieving fame by sheer luck, they lost interest in grand themes like history and destiny and began to focus on ordinary people, even those on the margins of society.

This is completely contrary to Mr. Yang's aesthetic taste!

Therefore, while people must rely on their own efforts, the most important thing is the historical process!

Each era, with its own unique currents, shapes the distinctive characteristics of different directors.

Then came the seventh generation of directors... and that was it!

The seventh generation is basically no longer a generation.

Because there is basically no common ground left!

Yang Jianzhong added, "Director Wang, your works are different!"

Although it's an art film, and even though it's the kind of movie with a heavy theme that makes you not want to watch it a second time after the first viewing.

But your core isn't dark, unlike those characters from the Sixth Generation, who are constantly on the verge of death...

Moreover, your films have a broad perspective, possessing the qualities of a fifth-generation director!

These words, though not without a hint of flattery towards Wang Xiaohao, were nonetheless intended to praise him to his face.

But these words actually hit the nail on the head.

Why did the original director of the film "Beautiful Legend" become so widely known and remembered by audiences even decades later, considered a classic?

Unlike other heavy films, which are forgotten early on and are generally unknown to most people except for professionals and seasoned film enthusiasts.

Aside from this film, it's made in a way that's quite audience-friendly...

This friendliness refers to the friendliness of the shooting techniques!

As Wang Xiaohao mentioned earlier, the film's shooting techniques are outdated and ordinary. However, it is precisely because of its text-based narrative style that it is more accessible to the average viewer!

Let's leave that aside for now!

Then there's the issue Yang Jianzhong just mentioned: the movie "Beautiful Legend," despite its very heavy theme and its complete tragedy, makes it something you wouldn't want to watch a second time.

The greatest tragedy in the world is watching something beautiful being destroyed right before your eyes.

In "Beautiful Legend", the extremely beautiful heroine Marina is coveted by all men and envied by all women.

Ultimately, forced by life's circumstances, she was compelled to enter the world of prostitution.

Then he was beaten by jealous women, who cut off his hair and tore his clothes.

This is to blatantly destroy the most beautiful things right before everyone's eyes!

This is truly a tragic story!

However, in the original version, although it was heavy, it was not dark.

Because there is both evil and good in human nature.

There are those who hurt the female protagonist, and there are also those who protect and help her.

This film tells the story from the perspective of the male protagonist, a young boy named Renato.

And Renato undoubtedly sympathized with the female lead, and even helped her!

Although he initially stalked and spied on the female protagonist out of youthful desire, he later undoubtedly felt sympathy for her and offered her help!

And in the end, he really did help the female lead!

In the end, the female protagonist's husband returned, and the couple lived peacefully in the small town again.

This is also the director's kindness towards the female lead!

If a typical art-house film director were to make this, how would they do it?

They might end up going completely astray in the name of so-called artistry!

Most half-baked arthouse film directors like dark, gritty, and brutal themes. They believe that without darkness, gritty, and brutality, they can't make good films.

The most typical example is like the novel "Hidden in the Dust" from my previous life.

The film received very polarized reviews; generally, it was city dwellers who had never been to the countryside who praised it.

However, people from rural backgrounds or those who have experienced rural life often scoff at this film.

They often say, "We rural people are not like that!"

Even in the most difficult times, there are places to find joy, rather than suffering endlessly.

If that were the case, I wouldn't have been able to hold on any longer, I wouldn't have been able to survive, I would have drunk a bottle of pesticide and died long ago!

However, for the sake of so-called art, the director was willing to go to such extremes of darkness and cruelty.

Upon closer reflection, it lacks the darkness, brutality, and despair of a dark film, and it doesn't adequately explore the evil of human nature. This is probably another reason why Tolstoy's film didn't win any awards.

But this is obviously much more friendly to the audience!