CHAPTER 730: CHAPTER 503: THE PREMIERE

This isn’t an arthouse film; it’s not stuffy.

The movie begins with a female director played by Zhou Yun angrily slamming the table and shouting at the camera: "Do you understand films better than I do?"

The screen pauses the moment her voice drops.

"This woman is me." Zhou Yun’s voiceover plays, "This looks ugly, right?"

The shot switches, and a woman pushes through a crowded scene, and she’s none other than the fierce woman we just saw.

But she has completely changed her appearance, wearing a ponytail, a windbreaker, carrying a plastic bag filled with vegetables, walking forward with an expressionless face, not wearing any makeup, her whole face magnified on the big screen, you can almost see the flaring of the alae of her nose with each breath.

The voiceover continues: "I was once a director, and I still am, just that no plays come my way anymore. I truly believed that my talent was just lacking an opportunity, but I have to admit, if you’re unlucky, no amount of opportunities matter. Direct a play, lose a play, no one is willing to invest in you anymore, and no actors are willing to take part in your productions. In this industry, your name becomes a curse, everyone avoids you, even if it’s just to catch up, because they fear you’ll ask for another chance."

The scenes from the film change continuously with the voiceover, showing Zhou Yun working an office job, cooking alone at home, reading in bed late at night, and staring blankly while sitting on the subway or bus.

Within a mere one-minute voiceover, nearly ten different scenes featuring Zhou Yun were shot.

A light background music slowly emerges.

At some point, Zhou Yun’s voiceover comes to a halt.

The camera focuses on Zhou Yun walking through the crowd, when suddenly her cellphone rings.

She is holding a cup of coffee in her left hand and has to awkwardly reach into her bag to get her phone and answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Yes, it’s me."

"Hm?"

We don’t get to hear what the person on the other end of the call is saying, we can only see Zhou Yun’s expression change from bewilderment to gradual surprise, then to an unexpected excitement and joy.

...

Yao Yuanfeng sits among the audience, watching the big screen.

He is very familiar with Zhou Yun, but seeing that segment, he still felt a sense of surprise.

He had never seen such a lifelike Zhou Yun before.

It’s easy for an actor to play a state, but to fully present a state from beginning to end without giving the impression of acting, that’s hard. The former requires technique, the latter, mastery.

Like Kate Winslet in "East Town Nightmare", or Olivia Colman in "Favourite".

To many in the audience, this earlier scene might be just an ordinary one, easy to watch or ignore, but in Yao Yuanfeng’s eyes, that entrance has already imperceptibly undermined everyone’s image of Zhou Yun in "Life".

She no longer looks as beautiful, artistic, and bright; instead, she appears a bit puffy, irritable, seemingly filled with anger throughout her body.

And when she arrogantly drives to the set, inspecting her domain and being nitpicky about everything, providing a reality check to everyone there, Yao Yuanfeng is shocked.

In reality, it is very hard for actors to play a character as a completely different person, most actors praised for acting well are actually just very empathetic, no matter what role they play, they can immerse the audience, but if you really compare the roles they play, they might be much of a muchness.

Yet Zhou Yun in "Behind the Scenes" is in a completely different state, unlike any Yao Yuanfeng has seen before.

In "Life", she is bright, radiant, spirited, with a touch of naivety, her smile especially dazzling, her features animated when she’s angry.

In "Heart Inquiry", she’s vibrant in the beginning, forthright and resolute, in the later stages, she becomes restrained, taciturn and composed, every emotion hidden in her eyes.

In "Dingfengbo", she is endurant, aggrieved, and seemingly generous but incapable of letting go in the beginning, and finally becomes a refreshing woman after releasing herself from self-restraint.

But in those previous films, there were always traces of performance—crying, laughing, etc., there was camera awareness.

"Behind the Scenes," however, lacks this sense of camera awareness; it’s like a documentary.

That’s the biggest difference.