Forty years later, such a symposium would have been held in a large and bright conference room, with colored balls and red banners hanging outside, and all kinds of luxury cars parked outside the venue. But in 1978, there was nothing, and even the venue was Nortel's big canteen. The scene is extremely simple, that is, in front of the cafeteria, divided into two sets of left and right, and two rows of tables and chairs are placed.

Nortel students are very concerned about this symposium, one is that they can meet many famous experts with their own eyes, and the other is very concerned about the future development of Chinese films. After all, everyone is a student of the film academy, and how Chinese films will develop in the future is closely related to everyone.

Xu Wangqiu and his dormitory classmates took Mazha to the canteen early in the morning and set up camp, chatting and chatting. It didn't take long for the acting department to come, and Liu Lin and the others came over and laughed with Fang Shu and them.

When the time came to 9:15, the guests who participated in the symposium appeared one after another. They all wore blue tunics and a fountain pen stuck in their chests, typical of experts. Xu Wangqiu saw Zhong Xinfei, who came in with Zhang Ke. Xu Wangqiu wanted to go over and care, but after seeing Zhong Xinfei sitting down, he was chatting with a man in his forties or fifties next to him, so he gave up the idea of saying hello.

Zhong Xianfei's eyes swept the scene, and saw Xu Wangqiu sitting down with his dormitory classmates laughing, thinking about how this kid was hiding below, so he waved at Xu Wangqiu and said, "Wangqiu! Wangqiu! What are you doing sitting below? Come here!"

Xu Wangqiu heard Zhong Xianfei calling himself, walked over quickly, and said with a smile: "Zhong Lao, do you have something to do with me?"

"Let me introduce you to you, this is Xu Wangqiu, the author of "On the Sinicization of Modern Film Language"!" Zhong Xinfei introduced Xu Wangqiu to the middle-aged man next to him, and then introduced to Xu Wangqiu, "Wangqiu, this is the film theorist Shao Mujun. ”

Xu Wangqiu knew Shao Mujun and knew that Shao Mujun was the first theorist in China to realize that film is an industry. In 1995, Shao Mujun expressed his opinion on "World Cinema" that "film is first and foremost an industry, and then an art", which sparked heated discussions and criticism, but everything that happened later proved that Shao Mujun's view was correct.

Xu Wangqiu undoubtedly had great respect for this senior, and hurriedly bowed to Shao Mujun: "Hello Senior Shao! I have heard of Senior Shao's name for a long time, and it is an honor for the younger generation to be able to meet you today." ”

Seeing that Xu Wangqiu was so modest and respectful to himself, Shao Mujun was very impressed in his heart, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to be able to write such an article at such a young age, it's really amazing! I read your "On the Sinicization of Modern Film Language", this article has sharp views, sufficient arguments, and in-depth thinking about the future development of Chinese films. After reading this article, I was so inspired!"

Xu Wangqiu said modestly: "Senior Shao, you are too polite, what is this little thing of mine in front of you." ”

After introducing Shao Mujun, Zhong Xianfei introduced other experts to Xu Wangqiu, including Zhang Junxiang, Zheng Shelley, Li Shaobai and others, all of whom are well-known figures in the film industry and are all authorities in film theory.

These experts were very surprised when they heard that Xu Wangqiu was the author of "On the Sinicization of Modern Film Language", but they did not expect such an eloquent essay to come from the hand of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy. Although many experts do not agree with Xu Wangqiu's views, and even resolutely oppose them, they are all dozens of years old, and it is impossible for them to show their faces with a half-old child, and they are very polite to Xu Wangqiu.

When the time pointed to half past nine, the moderator of the symposium asked the Nortel students not to speak, and the symposium was about to start.

Xu Wangqiu said to Zhong Xianfei: "Old Zhong, I'll go down first, and I'll talk to you later." ”

Zhong Yanfei suddenly smiled: "Go down, where are you going? Wait for you to speak, do you want to sit down and speak like a talk?"

Xu Wangqiu glanced down, the school teachers and leaders were sitting below, and said, "Isn't it okay for one of my students to sit with you experts?"

Zhong Xinfei deliberately said with a straight face: "We are a symposium, a discussion of film theory, and a discussion of the future development of Chinese films. Aren't Bai Jingsheng and Zhang Nuanxin in your school sitting on it, what are you afraid of? You just sit next to me!" As he spoke, he pulled the chair next to him over and asked Xu Wangqiu to sit down.

The moment Xu Wangqiu sat down next to Zhong Xinfei, Chen Kaige, who was chatting with Tian Zhuangzhuang, saw this scene, and felt that his heart felt like a heavy punch, stopped beating instantly, and said to Tian Zhuangzhuang indignantly: "I don't know what is good about Xu Wangqiu, articles are always inseparable from Hollywood and business, full of copper smell, how can Zhong Xinfei appreciate him so much?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang shook his head lightly: "I don't understand either, but so many people appreciate him, there must be his advantages." ”

Brother Chen Kai snorted lightly: "I think he is a good sycophant!

That's what he said, but in his heart he couldn't even believe himself!

Not only Chen Kaige, but also the Nortel students present also noticed that Xu Wangqiu was sitting in the guest seat, and they were all shocked by this scene. Xu Wangqiu actually sat with the expert in front of him, and he was still sitting next to Zhong Xinfei, what is the situation?

Liu Lin was surprised when he saw the audience, and saw that Xu Wangqiu was calm and calm, and said with bad intentions: "Fang Shu, you also know that Wangqiu published an article in "Film Art", and his views have been criticized by many experts. Today, these experts will definitely criticize Wangqiu, so let's make a bet on whether Wangqiu and these experts will win or lose in the debate. Fang Shu chuckled and said, "I'm betting on Wangqiu to win, what do you say." Wu Zhiliu also said: "I also bet on Qiu to win!", "Me too." "Count me in!" Liu Lin looked at Wu Ziniu speechlessly: "I made a bet with Fang Shu, what kind of mess are you making trouble!"

Seeing that the guests had arrived, the host briefly said a few enthusiastic words, and then began to introduce the guests present today. In the process of introducing the guests, the host did not forget to introduce Xu Wangqiu, and also specifically mentioned the huge repercussions caused by "On the Sinicization of Modern Film Language" in the film industry.

Brother Chen Kai was extremely depressed, didn't he just write a bullshit article, as for such a fanfare introduction!

After introducing the guests, the host asked Zhong Xinfei to speak. Zhong Xianfei briefly stated the purpose of holding this symposium, and made a speech of encouragement and support for the film industry, and the symposium officially began.

The experts present and the teachers and students of Nortel agreed on the point that "the film language needs to be innovated and the film language needs to be modernized", but there are huge differences in how the film language should be innovated, and the most controversial of them is the relationship between film and drama, as well as the issue of montage and long shots.

Nortel's teacher Bai Jingsheng published an article titled "Lose the Crutch of Drama" on the special issue of "Film Art", calling for a complete separation of film and drama, which is very radical. At the symposium, he was the first to get up and speak: "A trend in the modern development of world film art is that the film language is increasingly getting rid of the influence of drama, and in order for Chinese film to develop, it must get rid of the concept of drama and film, and if Chinese film language is to be modernized, it must be de-dramatized." ”

As soon as Bai Jingsheng's speech ended, Shao Mujun immediately retorted: "The emphasis on literature and dramatization of Chinese films is a characteristic, not a defect, and the longevity of dramatized films shows that it is suitable for the appreciation habits and aesthetic needs of Chinese audiences." The audience wants to watch a movie to watch a good story, and if the movie has no dramatic conflict and no good story, then the audience will not watch it. ”

The confrontation between Bai Jingsheng and Shao Mujun completely opened the curtain of debate at the forum, and supporters on both sides rose up one after another to speak, expound their own views, and criticize the opponent's views. The two sides come and go, and they don't give in to each other, and the air at the scene is filled with a strong smell of gunpowder. The two sides fought fiercely over the relationship between film and theater, but soon turned the war on montage and long shots.

As a staunch supporter of long shots, Zhang Nuanxin believes that the longer the shots of a film, the better, and the fewer shots in a film, the better, she believes that this is artistic innovation and the modernization of film language; at the same time, she also criticized montage, believing that the montage theory does not pay enough attention to the expressiveness of a single shot in the internal structure of the lens compared to the long shot theory, and the montage theory is outdated, so montage should be suppressed and the aesthetics of long shots should be carried forward.

For a long time, Chinese films have been learning from the Soviet Union and the Soviet montage film theory. Many people heard Zhang Nuanxin say that montage is an outdated theory, and it is necessary to suppress montage, so they naturally can't accept it, and immediately refute it: "Montage is not outdated, on the contrary, there is a fatal flaw in the long lens, the long lens is dull and boring, and the abuse of the long lens will inevitably lead to a greatly reduced attraction of the movie to the audience, and the audience will not go to the cinema to watch the movie." ”

The Nortel students in the audience were also divided into two factions and whispered. The students represented by Tian Zhuangzhuang and Chen Kaige supported Bai Jingsheng and Zhang Nuanxin, who believed that movies should draw a clear line with drama and pursue realism, while Liu Lin and others tended to work with Shao Mujun, believing that movies can't do without telling stories, and if movies don't tell stories, who will watch them?

Zhong Xianqi saw Xu Wangqiu sitting silently, listening quietly, thinking Wangqiu, you kid is not very able to speak, why are you dumb today? After the publication of your article "On the Sinicization of Modern Film Language", it caused a lot of controversy, and there are both support and opposition to your views. We all want to hear what you think, you come and talk about it. ”

As soon as Zhong Xinfei spoke, everyone's eyes on the scene converged on Xu Wangqiu. Needless to say, the Nortel students also read Xu Wangqiu's article, regardless of whether they agree with Xu Wangqiu's views or not, but they all believe that Xu Wangqiu has in-depth research and thinking about the future development of Chinese films and the development trend of world films. They all wanted to hear what Xu Wangqiu would say, and whether it would be as sharp and bold as his article.

Xu Wangqiu stood up in front of everyone's gaze and chuckled, "Elder Zhong asked me to talk about it, then I'll talk about it." If I am not right, I would like to ask for your forgiveness. Chinese films need to be modernized, and they must be modernized, this is our consensus. Then the problem is, since it is modernization, then we must make it clear that modernization must be industry, not a handicraft workshop, and the same is true for movies. In order to modernize film, we must realize that film is an industry, and at the same time, we must also realize that handicraft workshops are industrial large-scale production that must not be defeated. European cinema is a handicraft workshop, creating many exquisite handicrafts with a high degree of artistry, while Hollywood cinema is industrialized and large-scale production, and the products have swept the world. Our country has always emphasized the need to achieve the four modernizations, so why don't we learn from Hollywood and engage in the film industry, but go to learn from European handicraft workshops?"