Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 21 Preview Begins

On November 13, 2004, the lingering heat of late summer had gradually dissipated, and fallen leaves along the roads foreshadowed the arrival of winter's desolation.

However, the atmosphere inside the small auditorium of Tsinghua University was quite lively.

Today is a special day. Zhang Jun, a legendary figure from the Department of Astronomy who recently graduated from the school, returned to his alma mater with his new film "Little Miss Sunshine," which he wrote and directed.

It's only been about half a year since Zhang Jun became a legendary figure at Tsinghua University.

First, he led the school to win an award at the Beijing College Student Film Festival in May. Later, rumors circulated that he went into the film industry, which was completely unrelated to his major, and became a director.

Later, he became an internet celebrity with several sets of photos of male campus idols, which also made Tsinghua University popular online.

People say that it's only because Tsinghua University has good feng shui that it can produce someone as handsome and talented as Zhang Jun.

Peking University next door said sourly that Tsinghua University was lucky, because someone like Zhang Jun suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Given the aforementioned legendary events, and the fact that they occurred so recently, no one has forgotten them.

So when Zhang Jun brought back "Little Miss Sunshine," the teachers and students of Tsinghua University were quite curious.

Having been Zhang Jun's roommate for four years, Ma Qiang's understanding has undergone a complete transformation in the past six months.

My good classmate Zhang Jun not only won an award for his short film, but also became a film director, fulfilling what he had told himself on the playground.

Then he became famous and became the face of male idols.

With all these events connected, Ma Qiang suddenly felt a bit confused, and he thought the world had changed.

The world hasn't really changed much, but Zhang Jun has changed a lot.

Because of limited spots, not everyone in the school could attend the preview screening; only a select group of students were able to see the film.

However, thanks to his old classmate Zhang Jun, Ma Qiang still managed to get a ticket to the preview screening. So, despite his busy schedule, he took some time to come to the school's small auditorium to find out.

Before the movie started, Zhang Jun also talked to Ma Qiang about their relationship.

"So, Lao Ma, did I become a director?"

Ma Qiang said he was convinced: "Brother Jun, you're amazing. I really didn't expect you to actually become a director."

Zhang Jun waved his hand modestly and said, "It's nothing. What matters is that the movie is well-made."

You'll see in a moment; this movie definitely won't disappoint you.

"Really?" Ma Qiang asked, sounding skeptical.

Although Zhang Jun won an award for his short film, Ma Qiang was inspired by Zhang Jun to learn about the film industry and realized that there is a big difference between short films and feature films.

However, since Zhang Jun said so, Ma Qiang believed him and sat down to watch the movie with great anticipation.

The movie gave him a completely different feeling from the very beginning.

Ma Qiang had seen a few movies in the cinema before, especially "Hero," which was so hyped up back then that he went to see it too.

To be honest, Ma Qiang's impression of this so-called blockbuster was just so-so. Although the visuals were beautiful, fully showcasing Zhang Yimou's aesthetic skills.

However, Ma Qiang found the film's plot utterly terrible. Zhang Yimou couldn't even tell a decent story, making him unable to believe that this was a work by the director of "Red Sorghum" and "To Live".

However, Ma Qiang had a completely different feeling about "Little Miss Sunshine"; Xiao Guo's family was all very eccentric.

Fan Wei plays Liu Neng, the father, who is a laid-off worker who switched to sales, while Song Dandan plays Xie Dajiao, the mother, who is a strong-willed, smoking housewife tormented by household chores.

Li Baotian plays Liu Dana, the grandfather who retired from the military's cultural troupe. He spends his free time flirting with old ladies, behaving in a disrespectful manner.

Xiao Guo's uncle could always spout some philosophical insights about life, but he was a failed rural poet who had been rejected by publishers more than a dozen times over the years.

Xiao Guo's older brother, Guang Kun, is a high school student who vows to get into a top-tier university and refuses to speak or communicate until then.

The film begins with Xiao Guo seeing footage of the "Avenue of Stars" program on TV, interspersed with speeches by Liu Neng, played by Fan Wei, on self-help, which turns out to be a sales pitch for health products.

He tried to convince the audience, but the elderly people in the audience didn't believe him at all, so the health products didn't sell at all, which created the first funny moment in the video.

Fan Wei's comedic talent can be described as natural; he doesn't need to deliberately deliver punchlines to easily make the audience laugh.

Including Ma Qiang, who used to have a high threshold for laughter, but unexpectedly, he laughed along with everyone several times in just over ten minutes at the beginning.

This is quite unusual, which proves that the movie "Little Miss Sunshine" is at least very good at being funny.

However, what impressed Ma Qiang even more was the exquisite cinematography of "Little Miss Sunshine".

Logically speaking, since the main characters in "Little Miss Sunshine" all speak Northeastern dialect and have a certain rural flavor, it should be a very rustic rural comedy.

But Ma Qiang discovered that it wasn't like that. Although the characters in the movie spoke in dialect, Zhang Jun's exquisite cinematography and aesthetic sense gave the film a surprisingly sophisticated feel.

This left Ma Qiang incredulous.

Could it be that Zhang Jun cast some kind of magic on it?

With Xiao Guo securing her qualification to compete in Beijing, the whole family mobilized to support her dream. The only usable item in the house was their old Songhuajiang bread truck.

So the whole family set off for Beijing in this van in a grand procession.

Ma Qiang was completely captivated by the film, not just by the scenery along the way it depicted.

More importantly, the family experiences a series of hilarious and absurd events along the way.

Especially the middle section, the Songhua River bread truck had a problem and couldn't be repaired.

So the whole family had to push the car to start it, and then jump in one by one, leaving the repair shop owner dumbfounded.

The teachers and students watching the movie together in the small auditorium were amused by this funny yet poignant scene, finding the movie incredibly entertaining.

Ye Xiaoyi was the same; although she followed the filming for a short distance, she had not seen the full version of the film.

But today, when she saw the movie for the first time in the school's small auditorium, she was completely immersed in it.

Once the plot progressed smoothly a bit, Ye Xiaoyi suddenly remembered something Zhang Jun had said to her before filming.

"Just wait, this movie will become a textbook example of Chinese-language road comedy films."

At that time, Ye Xiaoyi thought Zhang Jun was just cheering her on, but she didn't expect that Zhang Jun would actually do it.

This film is not just a simple comedy that makes people laugh; it also gives people a lot to think about while they are laughing.

For example, there's a conversation between Xiaoguo and her grandfather Liu Dana about failure in a hotel.

The closer Xiao Guo got to Beijing, the more nervous she became, worried that she would lose the competition and that her father would be angry.

"I don't want to be a failure!"

"You're not a failure, how could you feel like a failure?"

Qi Ruyi displayed acting skills beyond her years, and said with a slight chokeback, "Because Dad hates people who fail the most!"

"No, no, wait a moment."

Grandpa uttered the most philosophical words of his life: "The real failures are those who are terrified of not succeeding."

People who are terrified and don't even dare to try.

What about you? Are you trying?

Xiao Guo nodded.

"Then you are not a loser."

This passage might not resonate with someone who is used to reading inspirational quotes.

However, in this era where inspirational literature like "Reader" and "Yilin" is prevalent, it works very well.

Upon seeing this conversation, Ye Xiaoyi couldn't help but think of Zhang Jun.

As an outsider, he must have faced numerous difficulties in becoming a director, but he bravely gave it a try.

Regardless of whether this movie is a success or not, Zhang Jun is already a success.