Emily Chan sat up straight, looked around, and quickly scanned the scene.

At this time, the Lumière Hall was brightly lit but pitch black, and the line of sight could not be transmitted at all, only the dense surging crowd could be seen, like a dense green forest, the whole audience was obviously full, but the audience who were actively seated could still be seen in every corner, as if the screening hall that could accommodate 2,000 people was forcibly crammed into 6,000 people.

Emily strongly doubted that she couldn't even find a place to stay now.

Involuntarily, Emily breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she had come to line up early today. Although the huge queue was really exaggerated when queuing, after actually entering, the throughput of Lumière Hall was still a little reassuring-

This is a film festival and does not have a seat number, but seats are taken on their own according to the order in which they arrive at the venue. Except for a small number of seats reserved for the crew and the jury, the other guests also sat on their own, so Emily was lucky enough to find a place on the first floor without having to go to the second floor, and the condescending viewing experience still affected the viewing experience to a greater or lesser extent.

In fact, the entire first floor was already full, and everyone took it for granted that there was no place here, and many of the media who had come in before Emily had consciously gone to the second floor, but Emily still chose to stay on the first floor, but unexpectedly found that there were still a large number of empty seats. It seems that everyone is still too conscious and too orderly, and "politely" reserved the space on the first floor.

Of course, the Coen brothers' work is not a visually appealing genre in the first place. But at the end of the day, it's a lucky thing to be able to stay on the first floor.

"It's really crazy today, isn't it?"

Emily didn't think much about it, and took it for granted that it should be the small talk of her peers, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she said with a smile, "I thought that Leonardo DiCaprio's game was exaggerated enough, but I didn't expect that this one was the real high/tide, I think Fumao must regret it now, and he should press this one back." ”

Turning her head, Emily noticed the people around her, and couldn't help but be slightly stunned, but the ridiculous words still didn't have time to control, and blurted out, "I'm very curious now, what is it like to be Lan Li-Hall?"

"He's right there, you can ask him directly. Steven Spielberg sat down in his chair, his eyes flashing with the mischievous light of an old naughty, leaned forward, and shouted in the direction of the left side of the front row, "Hey, Lanli, this lady has a question about you, what is it like to be Lanli-Hall?"

Emily's head couldn't turn around, and she subconsciously followed Steven's gaze away, and then saw Lan Li who was politely apologizing and moving to the center seat.

Hearing the voice, Lan Li raised his head, and the corners of his mouth outlined a shallow arc, "I was interviewed by the 'New York Times' before, and I once answered this question, if you are interested, you can read it." ”

The official answer is perfunctory, bad review. Without hesitation, Steven began to complain, even booing him.

Lan Li shrugged his shoulders unhurriedly, "Hey, this is the right to be Lan Li-Hall. With that, his head tilted slightly, revealing a smug expression, and then he turned his head and sat down in his seat.

Emily and Steven exchanged glances, both paused for a moment, and then the curvature of the corners of his mouth rose at the same time, and Steven spread his hands with a helpless expression, "I guess, this is the correct answer." ”

Emily chuckled and nodded in agreement.

This is where the most amazing moment of the Festival de Cannes comes in, when journalists are able to become ordinary members of the screening room after they have successfully lined up for admission.

As we all know, the area in the center of the screening room is the best place to watch the movie, and in general, this area is reserved for the jury judges, crew members and important guests, while outside the area, it is completely open, and everyone can choose to sit freely.

They can sit next to the jury and watch the jury show up close – is he asleep, is he crying, is he yawning, is he engrossed, is he giving a standing ovation, does he like it or does he hate it?

They can also watch the film with the crew members and capture the first time how the actors or directors feel about the finished film – what is the chemistry of the filming process, are the actors satisfied with the quality of the finished product, and what is the director's attitude?

These details are often the first-hand source of gossip and rumors about word-of-mouth in a work. Because the jury is not allowed to openly discuss the film during the festival, so as not to influence the direction of the awards, these close-up gossip has become the most intuitive trend.

Obviously, Emily was lucky today, with the president of the jury on her right, the male lead of the film in the front left, and then the Coen brothers and Carey Mulligan sitting not far ahead.

It was an amazing experience, and Emily tried to stay calm and composed, which was not an easy task, but as the lights in the screening hall dimmed, Emily's attention gradually shifted to the big screen.

One intro can feel that, as the Coen brothers say, the post-production of the film is not over yet. There's no production company, there's no cast, there's not even a complete list of producers, it's just a black background, on the book, "Produced by the Coen Brothers", that's all, rough and rudimentary.

Then, the sound of guitar strings came from the stereo.

Not the casual guitar string sound, but a log guitar without any embellishment, the case resonance and the rough texture of the strings stand out in the welcome of the Lumière Hall.

What's more, the whole audience was dark, there was not even a little ghostly light, the vision was completely isolated, the sense of hearing began to be amplified, and the slight vibration of the strings seemed to be gently plucking the heartstrings of every audience.

The melody that is not in the middle of a chapter is not being played, but being tuned.

You can hear the cacophony of beer crashing against the bar, customers talking, bartenders pouring alcohol, waiters coming and going, and glasses touching each other...... There is no need for explanation, no explanation, and all the audience in the entire screening room are truly in the bar.

"Gaslight Cafe, 1961".

A microphone appeared on the big screen, there was no formal and grand introduction, the melodious and light melody slowly flowed down like gurgling water, before seeing the person, hearing the sound first, between the camera wandering, the golden light in the darkness little by little outlined the face and body of the bearded and scummy man.

"Hang me, oh, hang me, I'll die soon. ”

Involuntarily, a thin layer of goosebumps appeared on the surface of Emily's skin.

On the huge screen, the handsome and decadent, vicissitudes and gloomy man was humming in a low voice, and the hoarse voice told the story, without words or expressions, and the noise and boredom in his mind had slowly precipitated.

It was as if he had packed his bags and followed his footsteps to an unknown journey, and after being weathered, he still faltered and continued to move forward, leaving only a lonely back, walking alone on the barren and magnificent road.

Time slowly began to flow back in that meandering melody.

2013, 2012, 2011...... 2000, 1999...... 1990...... 1980...... 1970...... Finally, time slowly freezes on 1961. The era that was devastated by the war, the era that bloomed wantonly because of the ideology/liberation/release, and the era that was struggling because of the scars.

The story begins in 1961 in a gaslight café.

Under the lens of the Coen brothers, the entire Lumière Hall is transformed into a gaslight café, and every audience member becomes a patron of the café and is enjoying a folk performance.

Interestingly, in 1961, when folk songs were popular, people were accustomed to them because there were countless similar singers, and in 2013, when folk songs were in decline, people were indifferent because no one cared about them and there was a cultural fault. Invisibly, the Gaslight Cafe and the Lumière Hall seem to break the boundaries of time, space and illusion, and complete a seamless connection.

At the end of the performance, the patrons in the café burst into polite applause.

"You and Mikey (Mike's nickname) used to sing this song together?"

"Yes. ”

"Boy, you were such a mess last night. ”

"Yes...... I'm sorry, Papi, I'm a jerk. ”

"I don't care, it's just music. One of your friends is in the back alley. ”

After the performance, the singer went to the bar, chatted with the bar owner, and then went to the back alley.

The man was a tough guy dressed as a western cowboy, and his face was not visible in the dimly lit back alley, but it was certain that they were not friends, because the other party had come for last night's mess, beat him up badly, and then left the embarrassed singer and walked away.

Emily bowed her head slightly in surprise and admiration.

The Coen brothers seem to have such an ability, outlining the background of the story and the image of the characters in a few strokes, and this time, with Lan Li, their skills have undoubtedly reached a higher level, and it has just begun, and things have already shown an outline.