The Los Angeles section is over, and the time has just entered August. August is an important date for Theolod's second film - "Strange Kid" will participate in the 54th Venice International Film Festival on August 27.

and the Cannes International Film Festival in France, the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, and the Venice International Film Festival, which has become one of the three major international film festivals in Europe, and as the father of international film festivals, it is the oldest film festival in the world. Every year from the end of August to the beginning of September, thousands of film lovers flock to the Venice island of Lido to witness the birth of masterpieces and film masters with enthusiasm or admiration.

The films screened at the opening and closing times are often the favorites of this year's film festival, and it is not the powerful films that gather the best actors and actresses to get this kind of honor, or the masterpieces of various famous directors. During the festival, it is also divided into competition and non-competition. As the name suggests, the films in competition are those that want to win the prize, while the films that are not in competition are only trying to raise the profile of the Guò Venice International Film Festival, not the competition.

The jury of a film festival is generally made up of outstanding directors, screenwriters and actors from all over the world, and there are very few film critics who can squeeze into the jury, and they are more likely to sit in the auditorium's reserved seats and watch the film with the audience.

As the cradle of the Renaissance, Italy seems to have anything to do with artistry and innovation, even the Venice International Film Festival. Unlike Cannes and Berlin, the Venice International Film Festival pays more attention to innovative shooting techniques and brilliant cinematic art, which also makes the films participating in the Venice Film Festival unique in Europe and the world.

It can accept "Strange Kid" from a little-known director, most of which is also for this reason.

Almost two years have passed since the start of the filming, and after two years, this so-called cult film that can make people suffocate can finally unravel its mystery. In addition to some well-known Italian critics in the Venice Film Festival, it will also invite well-known film and television critics from all over the world, and some American media critics who are interested in "Strange Kid" because of Theorod have already bought tickets in advance, wanting to see what the second film of this genius who can win the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for his first film is.

Although Theolod does not have much box office appeal internationally, he has a large fan base in the United States, and as the Venice International Film Festival approaches, there are more and more posts about "Strange Kid" in the forum, and some fans with good financial conditions are still discussing going to the Venice Film Festival together.

Harmony also bought his plane ticket early and arrived in Venice a week early. As a rookie cult film director, his "Strange Boy" is certainly not the focus of the festival's publicity, and there are so many films participating in the Venice International Film Festival every year.

The Venice Film Festival is usually held between 10 and 15 days, and this year's festival will be held for 11 days, from August 27 to September 6, and the humble "Strange Boy" will certainly not be screened at the opening or closing of the festival, it will be scheduled for the last show on September 4 in the middle and late stages of the festival.

At that time, after several days of bombardment of good films and a day of watching movies, the judges and film critics lost their enthusiasm and patience, and naturally did not have the intention to seriously figure out the movie. The films that are generally released at this time are those niche films that can be squeezed into the threshold of the film festival and are not favored or have no popularity, which fully shows that the organizers are not interested in "Strange Boy", and they do not think that such a film can win many awards.

But thanks to Theolod, and thanks to the Golden Globe Awards and Oscars held before the opening of the film festival, the world saw the birth of a genius, which made many critics and judges interested in this film, so on the day of the screening of "Strange Boy", the audience attendance rate reached almost 70% or more, which is very successful for a newcomer, a new film, and a cult film "Strange Boy".

You know, the attendance rate of movies with the same treatment is only about 40%, and sometimes it doesn't reach 40%.

Sitting in the screening room, the young director, who had always had faith in his films, suddenly became a little nervous. I didn't expect him to be nervous, and this fact made him laugh. He's sitting next to some film critics, or directors, or screenwriters, and who knows? He can't know so many people in the industry -- and they don't seem to be just Americans.

Harmony could only smile at everyone who greeted him kindly, and while listening to their unbelievable politeness, he complained to himself about who the fuck it was. I knew that he gritted his teeth and brought Chloe over, at least there was a companion who could chat with him, and accompany him to save some face with these film critics who were fake polite before the movie started, and began to show their true faces after the movie.

I don't know if it was because of nervousness or because he was forced to sit still by these smiling people he didn't know, Harmony took out his mobile phone, thought about it, and thought that it should be nine o'clock in the morning in Los Angeles, so he called Theolod.

Maybe the other party is filming "Soul Shifting City" now, and the phone rang a lot before it was connected.

‘…… Oh, it's you, what's the urgency...... Theolod on the other end of the phone sounded dizzy, nasal and hoarse, as if he hadn't woken up yet, and Harmoni couldn't help but laugh.

"Man, the sun is drying your ass, aren't you going to leave Gentle Township?"

‘…… My old friend, I'm in Sydney, not Los Angeles, and now Sydney is ...... Four o'clock in the morning...... Theorod was a little crying and laughing.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, what the, I forgot that you've been in Australia for most of the ......" Harmony slapped his forehead, "You better go ahead and rest......"

'It's okay, you say, I'm awake now anyway. ’

"Okay, hehe, guess where I am?"

'Screening room for Kid Strange, Lido, Venice, Italy, Europe, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Universe. ’

Harmony couldn't help but widen his eyes: "...... How can you guess it!"

Because it's the time of the Venice International Film Festival, and you choose to call me at this time -- it's about six o'clock in the afternoon -- either before or after Kid Strange. Theolod's bland voice calmed Hamoni's impetuousness, aroused by the hypocritical critics, and he laughed again.

"Yes, before the screening, there are five minutes to ......"

'Don't be nervous, Hamm. ’

"Hey, how can I be nervous!"

You're sitting alone in the screening room, surrounded by hypocritical flatterers, and you know that Kid Strange is not going to be liked by the public, and the reviews are making you nervous. ’

"Theo, did I say that sometimes I really don't like your straightforwardness?"

'No, I'll write it down now. Theorod on the other end of the line laughed, too, "But, Hamm, you have to remember that you don't make movies for the guys who get up and leave within the first ten minutes, you show them for those who can save last, and you're doing it for your hobby, not for going with the flow." ’

“…… Oh, I seem to see my bleak future in your tone, boy, I'm not as fragile as you think, I just called to tell you the good news that "Strange Kid" is about to be unveiled, and now you know, get out and go to bed, I'm sure you have to continue filming early in the morning. ”

Hamosi said lazily and hung up.

I don't know why, after hanging up the phone, he really wasn't nervous, even when the movie showed the cat abuse scene, and a bunch of audiences and film critics left the table angrily, he didn't have any depressed or embarrassed face, but still crossed Erlang's legs, nestled in the chair, put his hands on the armrests, and watched those people leave.

There are also people who leave the scene in the middle of the film, but the vast majority of the remaining people have stayed, and they have gradually groped for what this babbling movie seems to have no theme to say, and these darker truths hidden behind the depression make them decide to stay.

Until the end of the film, when the rabbit boy showed the corpse of the black cat in front of everyone's eyes, the shock in their hearts could not be simply described in three words. The lights in the screening room came on, and the subtitles began to roll on the screen, but the people in the screening room had no intention of leaving.

From 70% to 30%, almost half of the audience in the screening hall left, and the remaining 30% of the people stood up one after another, and the huge theater resounded with few applause.

Hamoni put away his laziness, stood up, and bowed deeply to those who had stayed and recognized him.

"This movie is very good, kid," a short, stocky middle-aged man walked up to Harmony who didn't know him, but he knew that he had been sitting in his row by the aisle, without taking his attention off the film the whole time, "I would never believe it if someone told me that such a realistic dark movie was done by a young man when he was twenty-two years old, but this young man is standing in front of me right now!" You have to believe, kid, it's a good movie, but the comments of many critics in the future may not be so good......"

Thinking of what Theolod had told him before, Harmony smiled: "It's okay, sir, I'm only making this movie for the last person to see." ”

Harmony did not know that this stocky middle-aged man was the famous Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, and for him the other party was just an audience who could understand and appreciate his films. Of course, Harmony knew that his films could not be accepted by the traditional public, but, as Theorod said, he only wanted to make what he wanted to make and show it to those who knew him.

Naturally, this film, which was mistaken for a dark horse in the eyes of many people, received very obvious polarizing reviews after the film was screened.

The vast majority of critics could not accept that the footage was too shaky (at this time pseudo-documentary films were not in vogue), and the style was too repressive, abusive, alternative, anarchist film, and all kinds of criticism swept towards Harmony and even Theorod.

Among them, Janet Maslin from the New York Times was the most critically criticized.

"When Theolod chose Kid Strange, countless of my colleagues told me that the kid had made a wrong move, and with the rigor of a journalist, I didn't say much, and even when he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and an Oscar, I had high expectations for this mysterious cult movie. But now, I can say with great certainty that Theolod Recht, the talented teenager in Hollywood, made a ridiculous mistake. ”

Janet Maslin wrote with great grief and indignation.

"Kid Strange is a movie without any taste, yes, you read that right, that's how I described it. The chatter in the film seems to tell us how bleak the lives of the people at the bottom are after the hurricane, but all I can experience is the buzzing sound of mosquitoes, which is a failure. ”

The shaky camera and the lights that are never right all say a lot about the rookie director's meagre abilities. He has ambitions, he wants to make a dystopian reality movie, but he seems to be drunk and lose his mind, his brakes are out of order or he doesn't hit the brakes at all. If it is said that all the taboos and underground culture, all the lives of the people at the bottom who are not real and disgusting at all, and then a little animal cruelty that does not respect life at all, can be called 'realism', then there is no master realist film in this world. And this young director, who vainly tries to become a 'master', will definitely not be able to achieve much. ”

Of course, Theolod Lecht did a good job, but an insensitive bunny boy can't save one of the worst films of the year, and it will be a big failure in the history of the Venice Film Festival. ”

Janet Maslin has cleverly not commented too much on Theorod's acting, and her words have made her dislike for the film very clear.

Other mainstream film critics followed her in her criticism of "Strange Boy". This time, Sean Thorpe's criticism finally got his strength - almost all the mainstream film critics were on his side!

"I don't want to know what Harmony Cocklin's intentions were when he put the cat abuse scene in the film, and I don't want to know why Theolod, who is said to be particularly fond of small animals, chose to join the cat abuse movie," Sean Thorpe said with great sarcasm, "I just know that this movie can't tell us anything at all." ”

As Janet Maslin said, "Kid Strange" is a beggar who tries to squeeze into the ranks of high-end realist dark films, but in the end he can't hide his stench. Whether it is from the connotation of the film itself or from the perspective of shooting, there is no need for this film to be saved. ”

In addition to the obscure scenes of the movie itself, the problem of cat abuse itself has hit the g-spot of many audiences. Europeans and Americans have always regarded animals such as cats and dogs as indispensable friends in their lives, which is the main reason why they leave the table angrily when they see the cat abuse footage. Even the Animal Protection Society has issued a warning that it will thoroughly investigate whether there were any animal cruelty actors during the filming of the film.

But how fierce the criticism is, how fanatical is the opposite.

"I had a few words with the young director after the screening and reassured him that the film would not be accepted by the mainstream, but he told me that he made this film only for the last people. Yes, I must admit that this movie belongs only to those who can understand it. Bernardo Bertolucci said that he became famous at the age of 24 with "On the Eve of the Revolution", "The Last Tango in Paris" not only pushed Marlon Brando to the top, but also ushered in the peak era of European erotic art films, and then he won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture with "The Last Emperor".

"Sometimes people like to ignore the realities that are hidden around us, for example, there is always human trafficking in seemingly peaceful societies, for example, the rich people who live on the Upper East Side always don't understand the lives of people in the slums of Rio, people think that they can't see these things, they can't exist, and you can only pick up the naked/naked reality and send it to his eyes in front of his eyes, so he can't escape it. But even so, the timid nature will make them refuse and make them dodge, this is "Strange Boy", this is the status quo brought by Bunny Boy. ”

Bernardo Bertolucci completely disagrees with the public's evaluation of the plot connotation of "Strange Kid", on the contrary, he can understand what Harmony wants to express, this film is not just a cult, it reveals not only reality, but also the inner world of human beings.

What is ugly is not necessarily evil, what is innocent is not necessarily pure, and what is numb to the walking dead is not necessarily really insensitive.

"Theolod Recht, the young talented actor, was able to capture everyone's hearts as soon as he appeared on the stage. Born for performance, he only used a few simple movements, a few subtle demeanors, and a monotonous and even bitter singing voice to show the tone of this movie. Bunny Boy is not the protagonist of the movie, but he is like the soul of the movie, on the surface he is just an orphan who spends his time in a muddy way, but in fact, he understands better than anyone else, lives clearly, and compromises. ”

"That kind of depression and depression is not something that any actor can do, but Theorod did. If "Kid Strange" was just a good movie that made my eyes shine without Theorod, then with Theorod, this movie is a masterpiece that I will never forget!"

Like Bernardo Bertolucci, one of the jurors, the famous German film master and writer, Werner Herzog also gave great praise to "Strange Boy" and Theorod's performances, he publicly stated that "Strange Boy" is the kind of film that is missing in today's society, and called Harmony Collin "the future of American cinema".

And among the general public, the evaluation of "Strange Kid" is still polarized.

The vast majority of people don't like the depressive atmosphere that has been lingering in the film for a long time, and they don't like those cat abuse scenes, but some people say that the depression of the movie hits the heart directly, making them realize for the first time that a movie can still have such a big impact, although they will not touch this movie again in a short time, but they will definitely buy a DVD collection.

Fans of cult movies went crazy, as did some extreme fans of Theorod. They didn't want to analyze the meaning behind the movie, they just knew that Theolod's thin body and pink rabbit ears in the cold wind were too cute, and their idol could sing!

No matter how polarized "Kid Strange" is, its strength is evident when it won the FIPRESCI Award (International Society of Film Critics Award) at the Venice International Film Festival.