"James Bond’s action scenes are nothing more than flowery fists and fancy footwork compared to this. The car chases in Fast & Furious 4 feel like kindergarten kids playing bumper cars in comparison."
No one knew who had said this in English, but when Guan Yadi heard it, he couldn’t help but agree from the bottom of his heart. If it were up to him to give a score, he would definitely give Duke’s new film one hundred and twenty points!
In the jury seats of the Palais des Festivals, Natalie Portman’s expression didn’t look too good. As the screening approached its end, she had already realized just how outstanding—no, even great of a female role she had missed out on. To describe such a role as extremely rare in Hollywood was not an exaggeration at all.
Furiosa was more dazzling than the male lead that much was obvious even to a fool. Everything she did wasn’t for some ridiculous reason like finding love, nor did she need to rely on a man. She fought for her own survival and had the ability to keep fighting.
Those sharp eyes under the smoky eye makeup clearly carried a ruthless killing intent as well as compassion for life. Natalie hadn’t seen such a truly compelling female character in years not one who relied on delicate looks, sheer outfits, or tight bodysuits, but one who earned everyone’s respect through sheer ability.
That bastard’s Fury Road might be the best portrayal of a female character among all films in recent years full of flesh and blood, emotion and meaning.
She even believed that the detestable Charlize Theron might once again receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress!
In a movie that relied entirely on action scenes to drive the plot, with very little dialogue, filled with bloodthirsty men and overflowing with masculine hormones, Charlize Theron still managed to portray the best female traits delicacy, resilience, inner conflict, and compassion without being overshadowed by the overwhelming action. Not even the steampunk settings or the screen full of brutal violence could drown her out. It was truly rare.
Hollywood’s feminists would definitely hail her as a banner figure!
In recent years, the feminist movement in Hollywood had been steadily rising and had become a major force. Gaining their support would only bring benefits in the future...
Yet this opportunity had passed her by!
Natalie Portman turned to look at the front row and saw that tall "vase" of a woman. She firmly believed that if she had played Furiosa, she would’ve been even more stunning!
But now, all of that belonged to Charlize Theron.
Even she had to admit that once again working with Duke, Charlize Theron had brought a fierce and cool female hero to the summer season. When those bright eyes of hers, gleaming with light, looked directly into the lens, you couldn’t help but be drawn in.
And even more captivating than her appearance was the strength, wisdom, courage, and love she exuded through the character. In an era when screens were increasingly filled with weak, delicate female figures and effeminate male ones, she injected a potent dose of energy, like a flaming engine roaring to life.
Charlize Theron and Fury Road would become an unforgettable surprise of this summer.
Natalie Portman could easily reach this conclusion from the audience’s reaction.
Sitting right next to her was the president of this year’s Cannes Film Festival jury, Isabelle Huppert. From an angle where no one else could see, there was a peculiar smile on her lips.
Because the people from Warner Bros. hadn’t lied to her because this film’s portrayal of women had already exceeded her highest expectations!
Isabelle Huppert was a feminist!
Yes, the film indeed had this and that kind of shortcoming when it came to women, but in today’s global film scene, it was already very rare.
The protagonist of the film was a one-armed woman, and the film fully embodied feminism!
That was Isabelle Huppert’s view.
What is feminism in film? Giving the audience a sexy super-heroine in a tight outfit, letting her slaughter enemies in the sexiest way while saving the world—but in real life, the actress is still mostly asked about how she keeps fit and who she’s romantically linked with. No matter how hard she tries, her male colleagues still "joke" that her character is just a pretty face.
Most films featuring warrior-type female roles would revert to traditional, seemingly immutable tropes at key moments where the man defeats the main villain, and the woman goes off to deal with some side henchmen.
An even more basic example would be something like Jurassic Park. Sure, it had a female lead too, but a two-minute trailer already tells the audience it’s a classic story of a muscular, intelligent man saving a theoretical, aloof academic woman whose fate must be saved by him and the two of them must watch the sunset together at the end.
That’s not feminism. In Isabelle Huppert’s heart, it doesn’t contribute much to raising feminist awareness. For origınal chapters go to 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
That alone was enough. Enough for Isabelle Huppert to buy into Warner Bros.’s pitch and decide to support the film.
Furiosa led a legion of women to seize Immortan Joe’s stronghold. The male lead Tom quietly departed, preventing the audience from imagining whether he might become the next tyrant and build his own harem and the film ended there.
The entire audience rose to their feet. Thunderous applause rang out. Many guests walked toward the section where the film crew was seated, offering the usual congratulations.
But Quentin Tarantino did not.
He and Duke were somewhat familiar, and he knew Duke wouldn’t care about any of this.
He just wanted to find a place to be alone—that was his first instinct after watching Fury Road.
After watching this film, every car chase movie from the past, even those by Duke Rosenberg himself, suddenly turned into something like Driving Miss Daisy in his mind slow and plodding...
Standing up, Quentin walked out. He needed a quiet environment. Inside the Palais des Festivals, over two thousand spectators had packed the theater, yet he moved unhindered, because apart from a few individuals, over ninety percent of the crowd was still standing in place, vigorously applauding Fury Road, with no intention of leaving.
"Duke Rosenberg must’ve really done something this time, he may have directly created an entirely new film genre,"
Quentin muttered to himself while walking out, "It’s called... uh..."
He tapped his forehead, "I haven’t thought of a name yet."
However, he was sure that because Duke Rosenberg had infinitely magnified countless details in the film, he formed a brand new aesthetic of violence, delivering action sequences of historical proportions. This film proved that a director’s work can still unleash terrifying creativity even within an assembly-line model.
"If those are just ordinary viewers, going back to the theater for a second and third viewing wouldn’t be too much..."
Just before stepping out of the theater, he looked back. He could almost hear the breathing of the 2,000 spectators inside the Lumière Hall of the Palais, "This is a goddamn mesmerizing and maddening movie!"
Park Chan-wook didn’t stay much longer either. Taking advantage of the not-yet-crowded festival palace, he left the Lumière Hall with a few friends. He felt as if he’d been repeatedly punched in the face his mind was dazed. From the theater back to the hotel where he was staying, he said nothing to his companions.
Because he didn’t know what to say he couldn’t find the right adjectives...
The film left him shaken. Truly deranged and furious every pore of the film exuded a perverse, furious energy, and yet it was so charming!
The very first long take of the film stunned him an endless desert, shot with a sense of desperate beauty. Just last month, he had completed a 250-kilometer weighted run across the Sahara Desert, so seeing the endless expanse of yellow instantly gripped his mood.
The key was that the car chases were unheard of brutal, frenzied, hysterical but the beauty emerged through the protagonist’s steel-cold willpower as a foil, leaving him utterly dumbfounded in the end...
His palms hurt from clapping. Jiang Xiaojun, who hadn’t even walked the red carpet, still didn’t stop applauding. His seat was inconspicuous and way in the back, so barely anyone noticed him.
He didn’t actually want to be noticed anyway. He didn’t have a film in this year’s festival he came just to see the latest trends in world cinema, unlike those shamelessly thick-skinned people like Bingbing, who show up without any film, role, or invitation from the organizers, dragging a photographer and PR team along just to leech off Cannes’ red carpet.
Especially when they loiter around and get driven off by the organizers it really disgraces the national film scene on an international stage...
No, calling her a "filmmaker" is wrong. She doesn’t deserve that title at all.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiaojun tossed away those messy thoughts and continued staring at the big screen, slightly dazed as the end credits rolled.
If he had to describe this film, two words were most fitting badass!
What other word could better describe Duke Rosenberg’s film?
Fury Road left an extremely deep impression on Jiang Xiaojun. He felt like he’d never forget it.
Sharp editing, tense atmosphere, exhilarating rhythm, impactful music, coupled with high-quality visuals and clear storytelling the whole viewing experience felt like being in the speeding truck driven by Charlize Theron: thrilling all the way, pure enjoyment, no dull moments.
But more impressive than the filmmaking techniques was this it constructed a cruel yet convincing post-apocalyptic world and delivered a fresh and innovative worldview.
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