Reactions

Lu Yan felt the hand clasped with his was pulling him tightly, with great force, the kind that was exerted unconsciously.

Lu Yan turned his head to look over. Su Mo’s eyes were still fixed on the movie screen. In the dim light, he could see that he was pursing his lips. The expression on his face was not obvious. He was as restrained and self-controlled as always. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled strength in his hands betrayed his inner unrest.

After the movie ended, the two of them lowered their heads and mixed in the crowd, slowly sneaking out of the theater through the dedicated passage to the parking lot. Fortunately, there were many people watching the premiere today, and every screening was full. Because of the premiere, there were also many people in suits.

The crowd was pushing and shoving each other, and most people were still immersed in the movie, so no one noticed that they were huddled together, holding hands tightly and never letting go.

After returning to the car, Su Mo still didn’t say anything, but suddenly leaned over and hugged Lu Yan, as if he wanted to rub him into his body, with his fingers still trembling slightly.

Lu Yan recalled that when he saw him finish shooting the last shot a few months ago, Su Mo had the same reaction, and even stronger today. Of course, that was because the emotions following the film would be much stronger than the emotions diluted on the set.

Lu Yan patted his back gently and whispered to him, “I’m here, don’t be afraid, I’m Lu Yan, not Ji You. I’m here, don’t worry, I’m here.”

After a long while, Su Mo slowly came to his senses, stood up, and smiled a little embarrassedly, “The movie is great!”

Lu Yan reached out and touched his cheek, “Next time if I have a scene like this again, I won’t show it to you.”

Su Mo lowered his head and remained silent for a while, then raised his head and said, “Although it will be a little uncomfortable, I don’t want to miss anything about you.”

Lu Yan was somewhat helpless and joked, “Blame me, my acting is too good.”

Su Mo laughed. The heavy feeling just now gradually dissipated under Lu Yan’s deliberate prank. “Of course, Movie King Lu.”

The two had just exchanged a few words when Lu Yan’s phone rang. It was Wang Yi calling to ask him where he was. They had originally agreed to get together after the premiere. Lu Yan looked at Su Mo, who was still in a low mood. It was not convenient to bring him to such an occasion, so he had to apologize and refuse on the grounds that he was not feeling well.

Wang Yi smiled and said, “Could it be that the movie has affected your mood?”

Lu Yan smiled and said, “Yes, because Director Wang’s movies are so touching.”

Wang Yi laughed so hard that his chest shook, and he said “as if you were not the main actor. Okay, I’ll let you go this time, but when the official celebration banquet comes, you can’t refuse again.”

“Don’t worry, I will definitely go” Lu Yan assured him as he hung up the phone.

Su Mo looked at him and said, “Actually, you can go ahead. It’s fine with me.”

Lu Yan leaned over and touched the corner of his mouth, “You are more important than anything else. At this moment, I just want to be with you.”

Su Mo shook his hand and said nothing more.

At nearly twelve o’clock in the evening, Lu Yan received another call from Wang Yi, telling him that the attendance rate of today’s movie premiere was over 90%.

Wang Yi’s tone was quite calm. As one of the most famous directors in the country, this kind of result was not the first time for him, and it was not even the best result on the first day.  But there was definitely excitement. No matter how much success had been achieved in the past, every movie was a new beginning. Moreover, as the first homosexual-themed movie to be released in mainland China, “Uncontrollable” had a special meaning.

They had expected such results before, so Lu Yan was happy but not very surprised.

That night, Weibo and forums were filled with fans’ tears.

“I thought it was just a pure love movie, and I walked into the theater with a relaxed and happy mood. However, I didn’t bring any tissues with me, so I cried and soaked my clothes. My eyes are still swollen now.”

“I thought it was a pure love drama, but it turned out to be a heart-wrenching drama. I was so stupid and naive that I actually thought there would be a happy ending in this gay film.”

“I fainted in the toilet. It was so refreshing and beautiful at the beginning, but there was a sudden twist at the end. It was so cruel.”

“It was a predictable ending. Given Director Wang’s character, there was no way he could keep it fresh all the way to the end. What was unexpected was that I thought I had experienced all kinds of sadomasochistic dramas, but I couldn’t resist that look at the end.”

“I couldn’t stop crying. Ji You’s last look was so heartbreaking.”

“When Chen Yao started crying, I couldn’t hold back my tears. I thought of my first love that ended in vain…”

“The actor acted so well. Ji You’s eyes are so attractive. Anyone would fall in love with him if they were looked at by such eyes.”

“It’s a pity that it ended in BE. I couldn’t help crying when I saw Teacher Zhuang crying like that.”

“Is it really that cruel? I didn’t want to watch it at first, but now I’m a little curious.”

“Although it’s very sad, I strongly recommend watching it. It’s a masterpiece by a famous director and two movie kings. You will definitely regret it if you don’t watch it.”

…

In the following days, the box office of “Uncontrollable” maintained a good momentum. Although it was released on Thursday, it still won the box office championship this week. There was no sign of slowing down in the following days.

All the fans who had seen the movie had been promoting it to their friends, especially on major campuses, where everyone was discussing the love between Ji You and Zhuang Wenxuan. If you hadn’t seen the movie, you would be embarrassed to chat with your friends.

Major media outlets also paid close attention to the first same-sex film to be screened in mainland China, with some reporters going directly to major cinemas to conduct interviews.

It had been a week since the release of “Uncontrollable”. Although the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television had granted the film permission to be shown, it could not be shown at 7pm due to the sensitive subject matter. All major cinemas had scheduled the film after 9pm. Depending on the size of the cinema, there were usually two or three theaters showing the film.

When the reporter arrived at the cinema at around nine o’clock, the lobby was already packed with people, mostly young people, mostly girls.

The reporter randomly interviewed two girls, “What movie did you come to see today?”

One of the girls answered, “‘Uncontrollable’, this is my second time watching it, I came here with my friend.” She patted her friend’s shoulder and the girl smiled shyly.

The reporter interviewed another boy, “Are you also waiting to watch ‘Uncontrollable’?”

“Yeah,” the boy smiled helplessly but also a little sweetly, “My girlfriend insisted that I come with her to see it.”

After interviewing several boys who all gave similar answers, the reporter asked another boy directly, “Are you also here to watch “Uncontrollable” with your girlfriend?”

“Oh, no,” the boy said frankly, “I don’t have a girlfriend yet. I’m a fan of Lu Yan.”

Almost everyone in the hall was waiting to see “Uncontrollable” so the reporter asked another question, “Why do you want to watch “Uncontrollable”?”

The girl who was asked seemed surprised by the question. “Needless to say, it’s the first gay film to be released in mainland China. Of course I have to watch it and show my support.”

“Oh, I like Han Yuan and Lu Yan. How could I not watch the movie they made together?”

“Haha, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television finally agreed to release a gay film. This time they really made the best decision. I will never complain about them again.”

The most interesting thing is that when the reporter asked a boy if he knew what kind of movie “Uncontrollable” was, his answer was, “I don’t know. I heard my classmates talking about this movie. I said I haven’t seen it, and they didn’t want to talk to me. But it’s a bit strange, why is there only a male lead but no female lead on the poster? Which one is the female lead’s name, Ji You or Zhuang Wenxuan?

In the second and third weeks, “Uncontrollable” continued to sing triumphant songs and won the weekly championship for several consecutive weeks.

Faced with this phenomenon, some film critics scoffed, thinking that this was just a phenomenon movie and that there was nothing praiseworthy about “Uncontrollable”.

Some film critics even directly criticized Wang Yi for flattering the public and being ignorant of what he was saying, and for using homosexual themes as a gimmick, which was really low-level.

Of course, there were also film critics who gave “Uncontrollable” high praise. The famous film critic Zhu Huayu directly wrote a film review of several thousand words titled “Reality and Ideal” to express his appreciation, in which the analysis of the two main characters was particularly insightful.

“Zhuang Wenxuan is a real person with flesh and blood, emotions and pain, who seems to live next to you and me. He is contradictory. On the one hand, as a homosexual, he longs for a pure love, so he is attracted to Ji You’s purity, and even unconsciously has a bit of seduction in their interactions; but on the other hand, he is an experienced adult after all, and he knows very well what their relationship means, so he considers, he hesitates, he is uncertain. Many people may be angry and dissatisfied with his final retreat, but it is understandable. It is not that he is ruthless, but that he does not have enough courage. Even at the beginning, he was unwilling to let Ji You bear it alone, but Ji You was more decisive than him. Such a character is realistic and rich. I should say that Actor Han has grasped the character’s personality to the utmost, whether it is the lovable side or the hateful side, it is so real. Especially the last crying scene, which shows the character’s inner regret, despair, and pain vividly. This can be seen from the crying in the room at the end of every screening (laughs).

If Zhuang Wenxuan represents reality, then Ji You is undoubtedly much more idealistic. In the relationship between the two, Zhuang Wenxuan was the guide at the beginning, and Ji You became the protector later. He was so pure, passionate, persistent and courageous, especially the final commitment and sacrifice, which were extremely shocking. This was originally a simple role, but the performance of Lu Yan made it not simple at all. Many people say that Lu Yan became the Best Actor at Cannes purely because of luck, but I totally disagree. Friends who are interested can start studying from his first movie. As a newcomer who just debuted, he was able to perform such a complex role so well, which is something that many veteran actors cannot do. I really want to ask, are you really a newcomer? I don’t believe it! Okay, no more jokes, let’s get back to the point. Lu Yan’s eyes are very dramatic, and I really like to look into his eyes. His eyes make Ji You become a living person, with flesh and blood. To be honest, if I were a girl and ten years younger, I would also fall in love with him.

I don’t deny that I have a preference for Lu Yan, and I also prefer the role of Ji You. He made me believe that there is such pure love and such pure emotion in the world. I believe that many people will be like me and like him so much. I am very optimistic about the role of Ji You, and I hope that Lu Yan will be crowned the best actor again at the Golden Bell Awards next year. If this comes true, I will be very proud of it. “

This review by Zhu Huayu was widely reposted by fans of Han Yuan and Lu Yan. As he said, no matter how realistic and rich the character of Zhuang Wenxuan is in the eyes of critics, it cannot stop the fans’ love for Ji You.

For a long time afterwards, whenever Lu Yan attended various events, his fans would call him not only Lu Yan, but also Ji You. In some of the on-site signboards, Ji You appeared as many times as Lu Yan.

Whenever fans cried and shouted “Ji You, I love you” to him, Lu Yan would have a sense of time travel that made him laugh and cry.

Anyway, the release of “Uncontrollable” in mainland China was very successful. By the time the film was finally taken off the screen, it had already grossed 1.1 billion yuan at the box office, not including screenings in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas.