Chapter 22: Film Screening

As for the distributors, they appear wherever there is profit to be made.

If a movie is truly good, they will be the first to snap it up.

If it is bad, they simply treat it as having wasted time watching a film.

The remaining few are the true audience.

For instance, Jia Zhangke brought the crew of *The World* to the cinema to support Cheng Sheng's film.

Although the two were not from the same school, it was a Chinese-language film after all; supporting a fellow countryman was a small gesture of goodwill.

Moreover, Jia Zhangke also wanted to see for himself whether this film, which the domestic media had looked down upon, was actually reliable.

"Oh my God, a Chinese historical epic, and I, a European, actually understood it."

"Yang Guang, a corrupt and tyrannical ruler—is this what Chinese emperors were like? I feel like Louis XVI was better than him."

"Young Li Shimin... My God, that name is magnificent. I used to hear his stories when I visited Chinatown."

"War—this is exactly how I imagined a battlefield. Tens of thousands of cavalry charging; that would be absolutely impossible in Europe."

"History from over a thousand years ago... the Chinese are truly incredible. They have turned warfare into an art form."

"Compared to this, those war scenes Hollywood produces are nothing but a pile of shit."

"The plot is fluid, the cinematography is unique; using an art-house style to film war scenes is simply too romantic."

Inside the theater, the continuous gasps of astonishment made Cheng Sheng, who had rushed over, grin from ear to ear.

Judging by the reactions of the people in the hall, the movie was clearly a success.

While the audience gasped in awe, the film critics maintained serious expressions.

They watched movies differently from ordinary viewers; they needed to examine every aspect of a film with a professional eye.

The fluidity of the plot, the composition, the lighting transitions, the acting, the director's technique, and so on.

Many critics were scribbling away with pens as they watched.

Only thirty minutes into the film, the critics finally understood why the committee was so optimistic about this movie.

Aside from the fact that it was a Chinese historical epic, this was an absolute classic.

Furthermore, many critics discovered that they could actually understand a Chinese historical film.

It was simply incredible.

It wasn't that they hadn't watched Chinese historical films before, but they would usually drift off to sleep after a few minutes.

This film, however, gave them an immersive feeling, as if they were participating in history itself.

This was primarily because Cheng Sheng had layered his "immersion buff" into the film, which created this sensation and allowed foreigners to follow the story.

It was surreal.

They vaguely sensed that they were falling in love with Chinese historical films, wondering to themselves if they should find a Chinese history book when they returned home to understand the charm of China's past.

Especially regarding Yang Guang and Li Shimin in this film.

Just how corrupt and tyrannical was Yang Guang? Was he truly like Louis XVI of France?

How did Li Shimin become the pinnacle of Chinese emperors?

Was he even more brilliant and martial than Alexander the Great?

What surprised the critics most was that they found the acting of every single performer to be exquisite.

It didn't feel like they were acting; they were entirely the characters from the film.

It was incredible.

Every one of these actors possessed the caliber of a Best Actor winner.

They were curious how the director had managed to find such powerful actors for the production.

The narrative structure of the film *The Great Tang Dynasty—Origins* was absolutely perfect, with no flaws in its logic.

But why couldn't other directors make a movie like this?

While China produced more historical films than anywhere else in the world, the quality was often abysmal.

China possesses countless ancient stories that could crush any other nation on Earth, but it lacks good screenwriters, directors, and actors. One is reminded of a certain famous director and the renowned actor Liu Yifei, who played the guqin poorly in a certain TV drama; had the director or actors possessed even a modicum of professionalism, such a situation wouldn't have occurred, which also implied that the crew around them were incompetent fools who failed to point out the error.

Cheng Sheng's film was different. The script, generated by the Simulation Panel, was strictly based on history, leaving not even the smallest plot detail untouched.

In contrast, other domestic filmmakers paid no attention to detail; ancient costumes were not researched, with Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasty attire being swapped haphazardly because no one bothered to make authentic costumes.

Cheng Sheng had all the costumes and props custom-made according to actual history, even paying a premium for it.

Regarding the war scenes, Cheng Sheng had spared no expense, even bringing in the military to assist.

In other domestic productions, when filming war scenes, three or five people would stand in for three or five thousand ancient soldiers, turning a great battle into a game of "house" played by villagers. Not to mention the incorrect style and material of the soldiers' armor (if one could even call it that), there was none of the wear and tear or weathered look of a real battlefield. The few extras standing in for thousands of soldiers were listless, looking as if they were working on an empty stomach after not eating for days, swinging their blades wildly...

The most common ancient weaponry, especially shields and spears (note that a spear can exceed five and a half meters in length; it is not a toy red-tasseled spear for children), seemed as if they had never existed in this version of Earth inhabited by the Chinese, nor were there any formations, let alone coordination between different branches of service, such as cavalry charges or harvesting retreating infantry.

The weapons Cheng Sheng custom-ordered, aside from being brand new, were nearly identical to real historical weapons.

If not for the presence of actual military personnel, they truly wouldn't have been able to lift them.

A look of shock appeared on Jia Zhangke's face.

*Fuck!*

He wasn't cursing Cheng Sheng or the film, but the domestic media professionals.

This was the "unreliable" film they had looked down upon?

As a director, regardless of professionalism, plot, cinematography, or lighting, this film was a masterpiece.

In terms of grand scale, no domestic director could likely film better than Cheng Sheng.

At this thought, Jia Zhangke's gaze drifted across the seats to land on Cheng Sheng in the front row.

What a talent—a student from the directing department whose directorial skill was even stronger than his own.

His debut film could practically be used as a textbook.

If nothing went wrong, this film should win an award.

Cheng Sheng, a director only in his twenties, would likely become world-famous in Venice this time.

The whole world would likely remember this Chinese director, Cheng Sheng.

*Clap, clap, clap...*

As the three-hour film ended, there wasn't a hint of impatience in the theater. Instead, the audience was incredibly excited. As people slowly came back to reality, the applause gradually grew from sparse to thunderous.

Even though ninety percent of the theater was filled with foreigners, they truly loved this Chinese historical film with all their hearts.

Amidst the applause, Cheng Sheng led the main cast and crew to the front of the screen and bowed in thanks.

"Cheng, you are the best!"

At some point, a familiar voice rang out.

Cheng Sheng looked toward the audience and saw a young girl wearing a mask sitting in the second row, shouting at him.

"Scarlett."

Even though she was masked, Cheng Sheng recognized her at first glance.

Because over the past two days, Scarlett had been hanging out with them, following Zeng Li around to sightsee.