In 2007, three Asian films with the intention to enter the European and American markets were released in Hong Kong at the same time. The three films are different in nature and should not be compared at all. However, recently Hong Kong movie fans have attached great importance to Ang Lee's "Lust" and Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises". I took advantage of the opportunity to mention "Miryang" directed by Lee Chang-dong from South Korea, hoping to gain insight. Fans should not miss this important work.
"Lust" won the Golden Lion Award (Best Film) at the Venice Film Festival; "Miryang" won the Best Actress Award (Jeon Do-yeon) at the French Cannes Film Festival; and "The Sun Also Rises" won no major awards . All three, however, will be in the running for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and it looks like they'll go head-to-head and fight again.
For the chance to watch these three high-quality films, I personally think "The Sun Also Rises" is the most unfavorable in international film competitions, because the content about the Chinese Cultural Revolution society is unfamiliar to non-Chinese audiences, and director Jiang Wen has no intention of accommodating other places. audience, so it would be understandable if the film was first dropped by American filmmakers.
The film "Lust" doesn't have much better chances, because one of the film's key elements is Eileen Chang, but that element doesn't make sense to American moviegoers. The film critic of the Los Angeles Times, the largest newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, has criticized that the horse fight scenes in the film are long and dull (perhaps compared to Wang Jing's horse horse films), and the bed scenes are pediatric. The big American film critics discourage us, but in fact we can't do anything about the American audience. We can't expect Americans to understand what Zhang Hailing means to us, and we can't expect them to have the same viewing angle as ours.
At this time, the Korean film "Miryang" has an advantage over the two Chinese films in the United States, because it is about cosmic themes, and audiences all over the world can see what it is talking about, and they will feel its explosive power. And will reflect more or less. What is the content of "Miryang" so shocking? It boldly challenges taboos, doubts God, thinks God is unfair, oppresses good people, and instead forgives murderers. The murderer lives comfortably, on the contrary, the victim gets himself a mental breakdown and is dead.
Of course, talking about movies should not be based on the content of the script, but more importantly, the way of expression. But if we compare the two directors, Ang Lee and Cangdong Lee, I think "Lust" will suffer a lot in international competitions, because Ang Lee spends a lot of effort to polish the actors' inner drama; Props and costumes; to study the various possibilities of adapting Eileen Chang's original novels. However, Ang Lee's hard work, delicate performance and his own views (re-creation) were all in vain when the international audience watched the English subtitles.
Moreover, Ang Lee's film is actually quite broad in terms of expression techniques, and the same is generally true for the expression methods of fine American films. In contrast, "Miryang" directed by Lee Chang-dong is at least a little special in terms of expression. It has strong Korean characteristics, which is different from American movies. The heroine's son is killed, and she lacks assistance, so step by step toward a nervous breakdown. Lee Chang-dong's directorial technique is outstanding in that he can convince the international audience that the whole process of the heroine's sinking took place in Korea, which is established and can be believed. In other words, the power of director Lee Changdong is easy for the audience to appreciate. Actress Jeon Do-yeon's devotion to performance is even more obvious to all, and almost all audiences will agree that she has performed well, especially as the upper body of a wronged soul.
It's hard not to be moved by watching "Miryang", because the pressure created by Li Cangdong comes one after another, and the pressure on the audience is getting heavier and heavier. It's hard not to agree with the heroine's doubts about God.
However, Li Changdong handled this subject matter of doubting God very well. After he let the heroine vent his intense emotions, he gradually showed that she calmed down. It seems that after everyone has reflected and responded, (for example, after the clothes store has been renovated, the business has become good), everyone's life and behavior are the same as before, everyone continues to believe in God, the sun still rises, and everyone can live in peace. However, this attempt by Li Cangdong will leave a deep impression on international fans. (over)
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