Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 908 Red Sorghum and Akira Kurosawa

Ronald's interest was immediately piqued by his assistant and translator Hannah.Can the cultural gap between different countries have such a big effect?
The most incredible cross-cultural shock that my own film encountered before was the experience of "Breakdancing" in China.Their original intention of introducing this film was to reflect the low-level blacks and Latinos being oppressed by the upper-level whites in Ronald's film, and the gap between race and class made it almost impossible for the bottom-level people to stand up.

However, the charm of break dancing is unstoppable, and it has become a popular fashion among young people. This is unexpected by the Ministry of Culture.Even the opening shot of the heroine working in a hamburger fast food restaurant was amazed by audiences who had never seen this kind of foreign fast food.

Just a few months ago, KFC Hometown Chicken also opened its first store in Qianmen, and it was very popular for a while.

Is it true that Germans are not allowed to dance like in the movie "Full Body" back then?Did you cry when you suddenly saw this hot dance between men and women?

Ronald was curious, slept for a while, ate some fried sausage and Coke, and waited for Hannah to take him to see "Dirty Dancing".

The cinema that shows "Dirty Dancing" twice a day is not far from the Brandenburg Gate.This famous landmark in Berlin was built by King Frederick II of Prussia for several years of war victory.It is a landmark building on the scenery star card.

However, after the Cold War, this place became the demarcation point between East and West Berlin. The immediate opposite is the Berlin Wall that separates the two camps.

Looking at the Statue of Victory on the Brandenburg Gate, behind it is the TV tower built by East Berlin to show its superiority.Ronald resisted the idea of ​​going to have a look. This is a place where no one comes, and there are defense forces standing guard on the opposite side.

"That's right here, there's the ticket booth." Hannah pointed to a very old-fashioned movie theater and said to Ronald. The outer wall was still a red brick structure, not the Bauhaus style that has become popular in West Germany recently.The two bought tickets to go in, and the movie theater was still the old theater style with an aisle in the middle.

Ronald looked around, and the audience who came to see "Dirty Dancing" was similar to that in America, mainly couples and single women.The seats were probably less than [-]% full.Ronald looked at Hannah, and the other party said that no one would come to see it until the screening opened.

Soon the movie theater started ringing the bell, then the lights dimmed, and Ronald looked suspiciously at the screen.The film is still in English, with German subtitles below.However, many young people in West Berlin can speak some English, and the audience doesn't seem to have much trouble.

Suddenly, there was a sound from the back entrance. Ronald looked back and saw a group of young people filing in from the back, picked up the seats at the back and sat down.There are thirty or forty people.

Soon the movie was over and the lights came back on.Ronald stood up and wanted to communicate with the later audience, but found that those people were hiding in the corner, where the lights couldn't shine, and they seemed to be sobbing softly.

Ronald was baffled, this group of spectators came in after the opening, and it seemed that they didn't buy tickets, so they sat in the back corner.Moreover, their clothing and temperament are also different from the young people in West Berlin that Ronald saw.

Ronald went up to say hello to a young woman with short, ear-length hair who was wiping tears with her hands.

"Hello... I'm the director of the movie..." Ronald wanted to talk to her about why he cried while watching "Dirty Dancing".

"Woo... ah..." It's okay for Ronald not to speak, this action seemed to have touched something in the female audience's mind, she was sobbing softly, but suddenly burst into tears.It didn't matter this time, the audience who came with her also started to cry aloud.

"What did I say?" Ronald looked back at Hannah in a daze.

The two returned to the hotel, and Hannah told Ronald the ins and outs in the bar.Since Mikhail, the new Secretary-General of the Alliance, came to power, under the new thinking of openness and transparency, the strength of the Berlin Wall has loosened.

The number of East Berliners smuggled in from various places has grown rapidly from dozens to hundreds or even thousands of people every year. In 1987, nearly 4000 people managed to come over from there.

Many of these people are well-educated young people with skills, and some came here alone through other Eastern European countries in the name of tourism.They often spent a lot of money to come here, and many of them chose to work in West Berlin, where wages are relatively high, in an attempt to reunite with their families.

However, East and West Germany have been separated for a long time, and there has been a deep cultural gap between the two sides. Many people have been culturally shocked after coming here, and do not know how to socialize with West Berlin residents.

Many charitable organizations let them go to the cinema for free to watch Western movies.Let them gradually become familiar with how to gain a foothold in Western society.

Hannah, a staff member of the Berlin Film Festival, is also a member of a charity organization. She used the convenience of working in the film industry to contact some theaters. If the seats were not full after the opening, she would let those East Berlin immigrants go in for free. .

After trying many movies, Hannah found that Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" worked best.Many people will cry after watching it, as if the pressure has been vented, and they will be able to adapt and integrate into society better in the future.

So this time when Ronald came to the Berlin Film Festival, Hannah volunteered to be his translator and assistant, just to thank Ronald.

"Why? Why does my movie have this effect? ​​I don't understand? This is just a romantic comedy. American audiences, at most, have a kind of heroine who helps them fulfill their dreams that have not been realized." Ronald still I didn't quite understand, so I asked Hannah why these people would cry.

"This is a kind of venting after long-term depression in life. Your movie is a movie that makes people brave. The hero and heroine have made choices according to their inner thoughts, which just fits their mental state. Crying and laughing are both Acknowledgment of one's choice."

"Okay..." Ronald thought for a while and finally understood.In a new environment, there is a big cultural divide.Although the language is the same, there is always a sense of incompatibility.Such a movie seems to be a ritual to let them say goodbye to the past, which is a bit of psychotherapy.That's why the audience is crying.

"But this movie is about to be released. I would like to ask you to authorize several movie theaters to show your 'Dirty Dancing' for a long time, so that we can help more people. The number of people who came through the third country this year is more than A lot more last year...please, Ronald."

"Give me the list of movie theaters, and I will authorize each of these theaters to have a set of copies for a long time, without any copy rent. As long as you want to continue showing them, you can keep showing them." Ronald thought it was a good thing, so he agreed. .

Hannah is very happy and will do her best in the next accompanying work.She can speak the languages ​​of several European countries. She is familiar with the translation and is also a member of the film industry. She is often familiar with professional vocabulary, which made Ronald's trip to the Berlin Film Festival very smooth.

……

"This is Mr. Godard..." A few days later, Hannah introduced to Ronald the director of Chinese New Wave films, Jean-Luc Godard, when she helped Ronald participate in the screening of the film forum.

In addition to the 15 international films in competition, the West Berlinale has many other films to screen.Some of these films were not selected in the competition, and some were originally small productions, so they only participated in the so-called forum screenings.

What is shown today is "Hairspray" produced by Ronald's Daydream and directed by John Waters.Still smoking cigarette after cigarette, Waters waited for the screening of his movie to begin.He kept looking at a director on the other side, and their films were being screened at the same time.

Together with his "Hairspray", Godard's new work "Keep Your Right Up" is also on display at today's forum.

The reporters were all around Godard, wanting to interview this big mouth.The unscrupulous left-wing filmmaker wanted to make ultra-low-budget films, but he and John Waters sympathized with John Waters on this point.

However, other views of the two on the film are completely different.Godard just spat at the reporter.

"Too much, too much Hollywood rubbish. Bah... I don't know if this is West Berlin or a Hollywood film fair? There are as many as eight Hollywood commercial films participating in the competition and forum of the West Berlin Film Festival this year?

And they are not here to exchange art at all, they are here to sell films.Let me tell you, these Hollywood garbage will be shown in Germany after the film festival is over.They turned the film festival into an advertising conference full of money!

The truly artistic and humanistic left-wing films have been squeezed out by them.It's like a colony here..."

Looking at John Waters with a bad face, Ronald shook his head, and pulled him in to chat with the studio and the audience.

Godard was right, he was here to sell films. Low-budget films such as "Hairspray" are sold to German filmmakers here. A mid-level production like "Moonlight Sultry" is here to mix up awards, take the recognition of foreigners, and go back to create momentum for the Oscars.

"Hollywood, Hollywood doesn't understand art, it's a tool used by capitalists to make money. I strongly urge this year's jury to pay more attention to the films of real working people, such as those films of Eastern Europe and Huaguo. "

Ronald hurriedly covered his face. Godard, regardless of his participation in left-wing activities, always said that he made movies for the working people. In fact, his family was rich, and he paid for the movies himself.

Among the directors of the new wave, only Truffaut came from a really low-level family. On the contrary, he respects the industrial mechanism of Hollywood. , it's a pity that there is no holiday...

Against Godard who was still talking about it outside, Ronald accompanied John Waters to watch the "hairspray" perception of German audiences.

It may be because I don’t understand the black liberation movement in America represented by “Hairspray”, and the content about black people entering white schools in the background didn’t get any response.

However, some comedy content is still beyond culture.For example, the mother played by the Drag Queen actor Divine, and the protagonist's daughter Tracy played by Ricky Lake, made the audience laugh as soon as they appeared.

Both are fat, but very flexible.Especially Ricky Lake, a fat girl, dances better than those slender girls.Rhythm and expressiveness are definitely beyond the average dancer.

This kind of plot can naturally arouse the joy of the audience.No need to read the subtitles, the audience also applauded happily, cheering for the fat girl Tracy.

After the film was released, John Waters went to be interviewed by reporters from the film festival. Ronald was very happy to watch Michelle Cannold, who was in charge of distribution, negotiate with various filmmakers.The film's ability to amuse audiences across cultures is clearly recognized by many theater buyers.

Seeing the buyers who were eagerly raising their hands and trying to squeeze in to talk to Cannold, and signed a contract with Daydream to buy copies, Ronald happily slipped to the back of the cinema.It seems that this ultra-low-cost production invested by Daydream will make money.

Contrary to the situation where Godard was surrounded by many journalists outside, when Godard's new works were about to be screened, none of the buyers were present.Godard's films are known for being crude, obscure, and inexplicable. This kind of film has no box office value at all, and only some cinemas that show literary films will be interested.

Just 10 minutes after the screening started, some viewers started to run away one after another.The film, directed and acted by Godard himself, is divided into three parts.The first is a musician looking for an ideal harmony, the second is an individual looking for a suitable society, and the third is a traveler looking for a destination.

Ronald held his temper and saw the third paragraph, and couldn't help running away.Some avant-garde and experimental films, directors can also find inspiration or inspiration from them.But Godard's creative method of random shooting is very lucky to see inspiring works.

After he came out, Hannah asked him what he thought of Godard's works.

It was inconvenient for Ronald to say bad things about his colleagues, so he thought about it and said, "Godard occasionally makes one or two good films, but unfortunately I never see them."

Hannah understood Ronald's cold humor and couldn't help laughing.A reporter next to him heard a few words and wanted to come over for an interview.Seeing that he couldn't escape, Ronald simply accepted the interview generously.

"May I ask what you think and comment on Godard's opinion on the film festival?"

"I don't quite agree with him, what I disagree with is that the West Berlin Film Festival is not Hollywood's backyard. We are like West Germany and our America's ally, not a puppet. As for whether Hollywood's films in competition are good, it is up to the audience and the judges to judge.

What I agree with him is that we really need to focus more on other parts of the world except Europe and America.For example, the films of Akira Kurosawa of Dongying have always given me a lot of inspiration. "

"May I ask if you have any preference for the films from the Asian countries participating in this year? Apart from your own sultry moonlight?"

"I love everything I get a chance to see."

"Then how many films have you watched? Do you like Akira Kurosawa of Dongying? Do you have a preference for the film Red Sorghum in Huaguo, which is also an Asian country this year? Do you think this film is different from your own work? , who will the audience like more?"

"Oh... I don't know, I hear it's a pretty good movie. I haven't seen it yet. As for the audience's taste, that's a mystery."

After accepting an interview with a reporter, Ronald hurried away.When he arrived at the hotel, he asked Hannah, when will the Huaguo movie be shown?I also want to see it myself.

Hannah checked the schedule of the film festival, and it happened that the screening time of "Red Sorghum" was close to the awards, and Ronald, who came late, could have a chance to see one.This also shows that the organizing committee is very optimistic about this film, and arranged for the audience to watch it later.

Ronald casually said that he likes Akira Kurosawa's movies, but he didn't expect this "Red Sorghum" to give him a very familiar feeling.This director's use of color is obviously in the style of Akira Kurosawa's "Shadow Warrior".

In the large yellow wheat field, a red sedan chair was carried by several strong and strong men. The sedan chair swayed up and down constantly. The heroine who looked very Chinese in it was wearing a red wedding dress.

Ronald felt a strong hormonal impact that was about to overflow from the screen, and it was constantly accumulating.Regardless of other things in this movie, the ability to directly hit the audience's emotions with pictures and colors is still very good.Even audiences who do not understand Chinese will be aroused by this audio-visual language, that kind of primitive emotion.

The leading actor of the movie, whom Ronald knew, was the leading actor of the movie Director Xie was filming when he went to Songjiang.The lines of the face are familiar.

But the heroine has never been seen before, and the style of those Jiangnan beauties in the Xujiahui studio is very different.There is a wild beauty.

Ronald feels very good. This movie is also a movie that does not need to understand the lines or the story, but can understand the emotions the director wants to express. It is very interesting.Just like Kurosawa's "Shadow Warrior".This director was obviously deeply influenced by Akira Kurosawa, which can be seen from the screen.

When the movie was over, Ronald waited to see who the director was.Huaguo movie subtitles are different from Hollywood rules.Immediately after the title of the movie, there are only the names of the original novel and screenwriter.The director's name finally appeared after the film was screened.

"Zhang Yimou?" Ronald was confused for a while.Isn't this the name of the best actor at the Tokyo International Film Festival last year?Director Wu said that he is not a professional actor, but a photographer. Why is he now a director?
(End of this chapter)