"betweentake" is located in a slightly remote alley in Koto District, Tokyo, but the atmosphere is very good and the freshness is strong. It is a place where many literary and artistic workers and college students like to hang out.
On the evening of February 26, Shengzi dragged Aiko and Wusha to the door of "betweentake" and said super excitedly: "Here we are, right here."
Aiko looked at the front door of "betweentake" and said with a strange expression: "You asked me to take leave just to watch a movie?"
She is currently working as an intern in a French restaurant. It is a busy time in the evening and it is difficult to ask for leave. Shengzi forcibly called her out. She thought something big had happened, but she did not expect that she was watching a movie. She was speechless for a while. Wusha was equally strange:
"A salon-style cinema? A place that shows old movies? Only people who are bored would come to this kind of place. Why would you want to watch a movie here?"
The Holy Son said mysteriously: "There is a super good movie showing here tonight. You will not be able to guess who filmed it!"
Aiko and Kirisa don't like to pretend to be literary young women like Seiko, and they don't have the tone of literary girls. In fact, they don't care, but they have been good friends for many years, so they still reluctantly said: "Who is it?"
But they were complimenting each other, but they were just exchanging glances, ready to find an opportunity to tease this stupid ass, and they couldn't waste their time by being fooled by her.
The Holy Son was unaware and said with a little pride: "It's my master, Mr. Qianyuan!"
Aiko and Kirisa had not received any news before, so they were really surprised, "Teacher Qianhara? Why did he suddenly start making movies?"
Shengzi was even happier and said mysteriously: "There is a reason for this." She briefly explained the reason why Chihara Rinto suddenly wanted to make an independent film. She held her chest with her little hands and said with admiration: "As expected of Chihara-sensei, really
What a sense of responsibility.”
Aiko and Kirisa didn't care that this idiot fan was getting sick again. They focused on other aspects and asked in unison: "Wait a minute, you said Sister Atong is one of the leading actors, and you also appeared on the scene?"
Shengzi suddenly became shy and nodded: "It's true that it's sister A Tong who plays the leading role. I...I also participated. Teacher Qianyuan said that there are only so many people, so I must be a guest worker..."
Before she could finish her words, Aiko and Kirisa had already picked her up and rushed to the theater, shouting in unison: "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and buy a ticket!"
They were also excited. Regardless of what the movie was about, seeing their good friends on the big screen was something that was not easy to come across. They had to watch it, and it was impossible not to watch it!
Although "betweentake" is an independent cinema, it is a salon-style cafe as soon as you enter. Many people gather here to drink coffee and talk. However, Aiko and Kirisa ignored this and went straight to the bar and successfully bought a ticket.
Three tickets - no one grabbed them at all, it is generally difficult for independent theaters to fill up the theater.
After buying the tickets, they went straight to the screening room, and saw a poster for today's movie in the aisle. The heroine in the drama played by Hitomi Konoe was chopping up zombies with an ax, with a determined expression and a funny feeling.
Behind him is Higurashi Takayuki, played by Shingo Yoshizaki, chasing after him with a camera.
Aiko and Kirisa stopped and looked at each other, and laughed together: "It's really Sister Ah Tong!" But then they became strange again, "This zombie looks so fake, and the blood stains are also fake, and the design of this poster seems a bit...
question."
Shengzi immediately explained: "There is a reason for this. This is a creative reversal movie. The first part pursues this effect, and the second part..."
"No spoilers!" Aiko and Kirisa covered her mouth together and dragged her to the screening room. "We can just watch it ourselves. You are not allowed to speak later."
The three of them huddled together and entered the screening room. The seats here were not numbered, first come, first served. However, there were only about 40 or 50 people sitting in the twelve rows of nearly 200 seats in the screening room.
The occupancy rate is less than 30%, and it is easy to find three locations that are connected together and are suitable for watching movies.
The time has not yet come, the lights in the screening room are soft and soft jazz is playing, and Kirisa looks around and wonders: "By the way, why is Teacher Qianhara's new movie being shown in this kind of theater?
Shouldn’t it be a theatrical release?”
"There is nothing we can do about it." When this topic was brought up, even such a good-tempered person as Shengzi became a little angry, and his face turned into a puffy face, "Teacher Qianyuan wholeheartedly wants to help people in the work group who have family difficulties, and does not seek fame.
He doesn't seek profit and has such a noble character, but the TV station executives not only refused to help, but also deliberately set up obstacles for him. It makes people angry just thinking about it."
She really admires Chihara Rinto, which means that she has the final say, and now Chihara Rinto is the director of Kanto United, so she doesn't have to worry about making money anymore.
Upon hearing the gossip, Wusha and Aiko both pricked up their ears and urged: "What's going on? Please tell me in detail."
Seiko immediately explained in detail and began to tell his two friends about the internal struggles of the Kanto Alliance, the injustice suffered by the "noble-minded" teacher Chihara, and the "difficult" filming process of "The Camera Can't Stop" - it was so miserable, in the industry
Mr. Chihara, a well-known TV drama director, known as a genius screenwriter, and a national teacher, had only 690,000 yen for the production of his first movie. The top management of Kanto United was simply committing a crime against the Japanese people, and showed no mercy at all.
…………
Iida Tomohito, who was in the same theater, was sitting not far behind the trio of pigs, deer, dogs, and friends. He saw the three girls gathering together and whispering together, but he didn't pay much attention to it. The movie hadn't officially started yet, so it didn't affect anything.
The reason why he noticed it was because the Holy Son looked like an idol star, pure and cute, with an excellent figure, so he couldn't help but take a closer look.
But it was just for a look. He came here to watch a movie, not to see beautiful women. Otherwise, it would be more convenient to go to Shibuya or Shinjuku.
He is a frequent visitor to "betweentake". He participated in the film and television appreciation club in college and also made some short films with his friends. However, he did not engage in this field of work after graduation and became a university teaching assistant. However, his hobby has not changed.
I have become a long-time movie fan, and I often come here to chat with new directors, screenwriters and colleagues, and also watch independent films.
It would be too pitiful if no one appreciates a movie that someone else has put so much effort into making. No matter how good or bad the quality is, just watch it if you can. Anyway, you have to kill time at night, so it doesn't affect anything.
That's what he thinks, and "betweentake" is an independent theater established for people with similar interests. There are two independent movies showing tonight, and this one called "The Camera Can't Stop" is just one of them.
He just waited patiently, and soon the lights dimmed, the music stopped, the screen slowly lit up, and a line of words appeared to represent the title: "The Camera Can't Stop", a work of the Kanto United Film Operations Class.
Tomohito Iida is a little strange. Isn't it an independent film? A TV production?
But this line only lasted five or six seconds before the movie started. A zombie or zombie with a black face and a dull expression appeared on the screen. It moved tremblingly amidst the weird background music, and soon the camera
Turning around, a girl with a round face was holding a sharp ax. Her face could not tell whether it was fear or grief, and she murmured softly: "Jian-chan, please, don't... don't..."
Iida Tomohito was dumbfounded, the makeup was poor, and the actors had no acting skills. It was an independent film, and it was probably a personal work produced by an employee of the television station using the equipment of the television station.
Unlike other movie fans, he is very adaptable to this kind of low-cost effect. In fact, this is the standard of ordinary independent films. He doesn't think there is any problem. Instead, he thinks the zombie theme is quite fresh. He is going to see what the director wants to express and whether he can dig it out.
It has an interesting connotation, and as the round-faced girl gave up her resistance and began to have her neck chewed by zombies, a weak "stuck" sound came out, and then the filming crew was revealed. A bearded director walked towards the round-faced girl, next to him
There are also makeup artists and director assistants talking:
"How many times was it just now?"
"The 42nd time."
Tomohito Iida has gained some energy. Is this a drama within a drama? It’s very novel...
At this time, the bearded director also walked up to the round-faced girl, squatted down, was silent for a while, and asked: "Were you really scared just now when you were facing death?"
"Ah, this... is, it seemed to be..."
"It doesn't seem to be the case, it should be! It should be revealed naturally!"
The round-faced girl's expression was more frightening than facing zombies, and she said in a trembling voice: "Um, may I ask... what is spontaneous expression?"
"I want real fear!" Director Beard suddenly became furious, hoarse, and shouted with all his strength: "I want to see fear appear on your face! Face! Face! Do you understand? Why do you
Don’t take off your false mask!”
The round-faced girl was so frightened that the actor who just played the zombie couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed the bearded director from behind and shouted, "You're going too far!"
The bearded director turned around and gave him a slap, then started fighting with him and yelled angrily: "Go away, you bastard, this is my show, my work! You have been talking back to me since the rehearsal..."
The shooting scene suddenly became chaotic, and everyone began to break up the fight. Finally, the bearded director shook everyone off and left the shooting scene with an annoyed look on his face.
The actor comforted the actress, walked to the rest area together, sat down and started chatting. The female makeup artist also joined in, and the three of them began to talk about the strange legends of this abandoned factory and the previous human experiments.
Seeing this, Tomohito Iida felt that it was okay. Even if the actors' performances were unnatural, the scenes were simple, and the props were cheap, at least it was still telling a story. However, the film soon took a weird turn.
First, the three people in the rest area finished talking about the legend of the abandoned factory and began to be at a loss. They started chatting awkwardly for no reason. The serious makeup artist also performed women's self-defense skills, which was completely confusing;
Then, the plot suddenly changed, and real zombies attacked, but the zombies were weak and grunting, and there was no scary effect at all;
Director Beard also came back, insisting on conducting "the most realistic shooting" and inexplicably forcing the actors to fight their way out. While he was there passionately, the sound engineer became strange again and had to rush out with a very painful expression.
Don't care at all that there are zombies outside the door;
Just like that, in the midst of the weirdness, the actors really started to run for their lives together, and the camera did not stop as the title said. The pseudo-documentary shooting technique was so shaky that it made people feel dizzy and nauseated, but then the female makeup artist showed off her skills.
Shenwei, the level of female self-defense is super high. One person can defeat the zombies to a rout. It's hard for people to understand why they want to run away - with this kind of fighting power, the zombies should run away, right?
During the scene on the rooftop, the round-faced girl strangely began to scream in terror at the camera. She screamed for more than a minute and was almost out of breath. However, people could not feel what she was conveying. On the contrary,
I find it very weird, even funny.
The laughter in the theater also started to get louder, half amused, half laughing - this is really an epic bad movie, and it is garbage among independent movies.
Iida Tomohito also laughed and shook his head. There are countless mistakes in this film. The plot can't even be logically coherent. It can only be said to be extremely shoddy. And just as he thought, some people started to leave the meeting rudely, probably thinking that
Even watching this kind of movie at half price in an independent theater is too insulting to one's intelligence and is really unacceptable.
Iida Tomohito didn't leave, he continued to watch with a smile, but his head shook more and more violently, and he couldn't help but want to laugh at it - in the end, the shot was even more outrageous. This movie was shot without even a crane?
It shakes so badly but it still needs to be shown?
Amateur videographers are not like this!
But what surprised him was that the boss of "betweentake" usually has a bottom line when selecting films. Independent films that are so rough should not be released even if the principle of "betweentake" is to support the independent film industry. But this one
"The Camera Can't Stop" really doesn't have any highlights. It was simply shot by a bunch of amateurs. Could it be a personal relationship?
He was still confused. The video, no, it should be said to be a short film, had come to an end, and subtitles began to appear. He was about to applaud in an encouraging manner, but the tone of the picture suddenly changed, becoming a distant view of Tokyo, with perfect composition and bright colors.
Looking at this still picture makes people feel happy.
The picture stayed like this quietly for a few seconds, as if it was making some kind of separation from the previous one, and then a line of words appeared: One month ago.
There was a chuckle in the theater, and Tomohito Iida straightened his back as he watched the movie unexpectedly continue.
This... is completely different from the two movies just now. It was an amateur-level bad movie just now. Although I still don’t understand what’s going on, from the composition, tone, photography, scheduling and even the performance of the actors, it is absolutely amazing.
It can be said that it is well-made and is definitely the work of a professional.
He also became more focused. The more he watched, the more he felt that the director was great. The pictures were simple but the narrative was very clear. While explaining why there was a bad movie of more than 30 minutes before, the story between Higurashi's father and daughter unfolded.
There is a lot of information, without any direct expression, and the audience quickly understands what kind of people Higurashi and his daughter are - the father is an unknown director who has been crushed by reality, while the daughter is admired since she was a child.
My father embarked on the same career path as his father, but felt disdain and contempt for his "cheap, fast and so-so quality" shooting methods.
The same goes for the rest of the supporting characters. In just a few scenes and a few lines, the characters have a concrete image. It gives people the impression that the screenwriter and director are extremely mature veterans and should not be making low-cost independent films at all——
If he were really a newbie, he could only be called a genius!
The movie was still going on, but Tomohito Iida didn't feel the passage of time. Soon the plot reached its climax. The filming of the drama within the drama officially began. However, a sudden change disrupted all the previous arrangements, and the filming went straight to failure.
He went there and couldn't stop him, but Higurashi Takayuki shouted: The camera can't stop!
Everything began to change again, and the atmosphere became tense and fanatical.
Outside the "camera", everyone is in a very embarrassed state, but no one will find fault, act like a big star, or feel dirty or tired, because this is a live broadcast from the end to the end, and you can't ruin the program or ruin it just because of yourself.
Everyone’s hard work.
The relationship between father and daughter has also improved. The daughter seems to have discovered another side of her father. From watching idols, she has transformed into trying her best to help her father complete the filming.
The protagonist Takayuki Higurashi has completely entered the role, or revealed his original self, completely fanatical, enjoying the filming process - loving his own work, no matter how bad it is, never giving up, never compromising, and doing his best
effort.
This is the creator's obligation and the creator's original intention.
For a moment, Iida Tomoji was stunned, as if he saw himself in college - at that time, he was also making bad movies, had no money, and no professional skills, but he and his friends were really working hard.
When I saw the crew, the actors used the method of stacking Arhats to act as "human rockers". When shooting the overlooking panoramic scene, everyone tried their best and stabilized their bodies to act as stepping stones. My daughter even rode on it.
The father's neck, hand-held camera, finally captured the perfect end shot - the audience will not think it is perfect, they will still think it is a bad movie, but for them, this is the most perfect shot.
After watching this set of shots, Iida Tomohisa quietly breathed a sigh of relief, slowly loosened his clenched fists, savored the first third and last third of the film, and couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of the previous ridicule.
.
Yes, Higurashi and the others did make a really bad movie, but it was so bad that it made people relate to it, and it was so bad that it made people’s eyes warm.
After comparing it before and after, I understood why it sucked and why it didn't suck. The whole movie suddenly seemed meaningful. Ordinary viewers would find it interesting. A few people with creative experience would be moved after watching it. In the final stage, Higurashi Takayuki didn't want his daughter to see it.
He cried, claiming that he had used eye drops, and taking photos in response to his daughter's disdain for his abuse of eye drops during the filming, which gave the movie a warmer color.
When the movie ended, Tomohito Iida looked at the end credits and was stunned for a while. He couldn't help but start clapping vigorously, and soon there was a burst of applause in the theater.
This is not an independent film in the ordinary sense, this is an independent film beyond imagination!