I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 373 - 373 372. Art Is he worthy _1

Chapter 373: 372. Art? Is he worthy? _1 Chapter 373: 372. Art? Is he worthy? _1 At the same time, viewing this trailer was Mrs. Merritt Leslie, who was in France.

She was a freelance writer and film critic, originally making a name for herself with theater reviews before moving into the realms of cinema, television, stage plays, and opera. As per French tradition, where women are often regarded as stronger than men, she was also a member of the jury for the Palme d’Or.

Mrs. Merritt was known for her harsh critiques and biting insight. She once publicly dissed an actress attempting to transition from film to Broadway, resulting in the actress being attacked by the media and audiences and leading to her eventual withdrawal from the entertainment industry.

As a result, some called her “The Queen of Cannes,” meaning that once she spoke up, it was essentially decided whether a film would win at the Palme d’Or or not.

Mrs. Merritt, as a drama critic, naturally found herself at the top of the disdain hierarchy.

In this circle, filmmakers looked down on TV directors, and theater actors looked down on filmmakers—it was all quite normal. Most people retained some decorum and kept their true opinions to themselves, but Mrs. Merritt was different; she despised those who ventured into her beloved theater or art film territory from their usual domain of churning out low-cost entertainment like blockbuster movies.

Any director with a “history” invariably received low scores from her.

Not just low scores, but she would also write scathing articles and criticize them directly to their faces.

Therefore, when she heard that Lu Ban was going to be participating in the Palme d’Or selection, her first reaction was that this was just another pretentious egomaniac.

“These people simply don’t understand art. I’ve said it before, they think that fooling the public and making money with their clichéd films is impressive. They try to gold-plate their image with one or two awards. Hah, laughable.”

Mrs. Merritt sneered at the thought.

In her view, many commercial directors couldn’t understand; they thought that just because they could produce a box-office hit, they could also create an artistic film. However, Mrs. Merritt believed that these people had no idea what art was. Their actions were a desecration of art.

And Lu Ban was among them.

This emerging young director from the East had achieved the impressive result of the fifth-highest-grossing movie in the global box office with just one film and had also won widespread acclaim from the public.

Mrs. Merritt hadn’t seen that movie; she never actively watched commercial films. The better they sold and the more they earned at the box office, the more she detested them.

She believed art should be pure, untainted by money, and pristine.

So, when a director of an award-winning art film died due to poverty and illness, Mrs. Merritt even wrote a special article, highly praising the director, considering him to have defended the integrity of art with his life without consorting with businessmen.

Some thought Mrs. Merritt’s views were extreme, even pathological, but that was precisely her persona.

After the release of Lu Ban’s trailer, Mrs. Merritt had no intention of watching it, but people around her were all praising it.

For instance, her colleague and fellow film festival juror, Michael Vivo, was effusive in his praise for the artistic vision demonstrated in the trailer.

“I tell you, this film could captivate everyone just with this trailer alone. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a work that could tug at my heartstrings purely through its visuals!”

Hearing this, Mrs. Merritt felt even more adamant that she couldn’t let Lu Ban get away with being so arrogant.

“You have such high expectations from just a trailer; has the movie industry recently become so terrible?”

She muttered to herself and clicked on the trailer.

For a moment, Mrs. Meritt felt a warm breeze.

She had once visited the Island Country and witnessed the cherry blossoms fluttering down the streets, but at this moment, what she saw was an even more splendid shower of cherry blossoms.

In its midst, a young girl walked among the falling petals.

The first time Mrs. Meritt laid eyes on her, she felt a surge of youthful energy, a kind and gentle temperament, as if anyone could be friendly with her and become her friend.

As time passed, even though Mrs. Meritt had never seen this girl before, she felt that if she could meet her in reality, the two of them would surely have endless topics to talk about.

Before she knew it, the trailer had ended. Although it only portrayed the life of a young girl, it had already created boundless expectations in Mrs. Meritt; she wanted to see what the girl would experience next, wanted to learn more about her, and wished to become a character in the movie to interact with her.

Staring blankly at the computer screen, Mrs. Meritt momentarily forgot that she had come to watch this film with a critical mindset.

“…Surely it’s because that actress’s acting is too good,”

Mrs. Meritt said to herself.

“This kind of short film, you just need to pick a good scene and find an actress with good acting skills. It’s just about looking good.”

After pondering for a while, she felt even more convinced that what Lu Ban was doing—showcasing beautiful sceneries and using attractive actors to add gimmicks to his work—was a desecration of art!

Thinking so, Mrs. Meritt could hardly contain her critical power.

She immediately opened a document and began to write about this trailer and her views on Lu Ban.

“…Director Lu Ban may have succeeded in business, but he has only a rudimentary understanding of art. He thinks that using beautiful actors, stunning landscapes, and slow camera shots equates to art, but if you ask me, he is tarnishing art. He tries to use those commercial practices to deceive the audience, but not everyone is so easily fooled. As for ‘Peaceful Days in Spring’, I think it’s just a tacky romance film, not to mention winning the Palme d’Or; it wouldn’t even get nominated!”

“…He thought he could use the same tricks that please an audience without taste to deceive the experienced jurors. Unfortunately, he has failed.”

“Art? Does he deserve it?”

This was a review article updated on her personal website, and within a few hours, the clicks had broken through ten thousand.

In the domestic scene, a major forum quickly reposted this article and even attached a machine translation.

Many who looked down on Lu Ban treated it as a bible, using it to criticize Lu Ban’s new movie. After all, some people only echo the opinions of others, having no subjective views of their own. Others believe that whatever foreigners say is right; if a foreign critic censures something domestic, then it must be a domestic shortcoming. Now a foreign big shot has criticized Lu Ban, declaring him inadequate, therefore he must be!

Under such circumstances, the complete master tape of Lu Ban’s “Peaceful Days in Spring” was delivered into the hands of the Cannes jury committee, located in the far reaches of Europe.

Within a week, the jurors would consecutively review this film and give their evaluation.

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