Learning acting

In the past, Hugo learned acting by watching movies. When he watched a movie for the first time, he just enjoyed it. But when he watched it again and again, he gradually began to analyze the plot, shooting techniques, and the actors' performances. Among them, he would imitate the actors' performances to understand the characters, and even fantasize about being a member on the big screen, standing in the actor's position to interpret the role.

During the process of imitating acting skills, Al Pacino is a figure that cannot be ignored. Hugo not only imitated Al's performance in "The Godfather", but also did not miss the famous "Scent of a Woman". Al's performance in this movie, after years of precipitation, exploded with tension. His outstanding acting brought to life the complex character of Lt. Colonel Frank Slade, who was violent, arrogant, depressed, lustful, upright, and sympathetic, and was enough to leave a mark in the river of history.

Relatively speaking, the space left for Charlie's character to perform was relatively narrow, and many critics even believed that "Scent of a Woman" was Al Pacino's solo show. However, in fact, the young actor Chris O'Donnell, who played Charlie in the movie, also won a lot of praise. At that time, he was a newcomer and contributed a green but brilliant performance. Of course, what really made Chris O'Donnell stand firm in the entertainment industry was the TV series "NCIS: Los Angeles" which would air more than twenty years later.

Therefore, for Hugo, "Scent of a Woman" was not only an opportunity but also a challenge. It was not easy for Hugo to perform Charlie's character and not lose himself in front of Al Pacino's powerful aura, because Charlie's character was not naturally charismatic, let alone comparable to the independent and principled Lt. Colonel. However, on the other hand, Hugo also had the opportunity to act opposite Al, and the close contact allowed him to further learn acting skills.

After the filming of the movie began, almost every scene required Hugo and Al to be on stage at the same time. Hugo could clearly see how easily Al mastered the pace of acting. This was a feeling that could not be expressed in words. When he acted, he would unconsciously follow Al's pace, and his emotions would be triggered by Al's words, gestures, and actions, and then present the required shots for the director.

This feeling was very strange. On the one hand, it seemed like Al was guiding him hand in hand, but on the other hand, it seemed like he was losing himself in front of Al, which made Hugo struggle a bit.

However, this struggling state brought out Hugo's best performance, because the relationship between Charlie and Frank in the movie was like this. Invisibly, it allowed Hugo to quickly enter the state, and the filming progress continued to be pleasing.

For Hugo, while filming was important, exploring his acting skills was equally important. At this moment, he was carefully pondering Al's performance in the scene they just filmed. Today, the whole crew was filming in the lobby of the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue. This scene was one of the most classic scenes in "Scent of a Woman." Colonel Slade and Donna, who have just met, dance a sexy tango in the hotel lobby. This scene was also one of the most unforgettable scenes in film history: a blind man dancing the tango was already rare, and Colonel Slade also displayed the elegance and sexiness of the tango to the fullest, making it even more remarkable.

The actress who played the fleeting beauty in the film was Gabrielle Anwar, a British actress who only entered Hollywood last year. Actually, Hugo was not familiar with Gabrielle because although she had a high exposure rate in the 1990s, Hugo hadn't watched most of her works, and her most famous work was "Scent of a Woman". But this did not prevent Hugo from admiring Gabrielle when he saw her. Her delicate features, smooth long hair, and soft lips made people adore her at first sight.

Although there were only three people in the scene that had just finished filming, Hugo, Gabrielle, and Al, the pace of the performance was still firmly in Al's hands. Hugo tried to find his own rhythm, but it was not easy. This made Hugo review every detail of Al's performance in his mind again and again, trying to find a clue.

When Al was acting, there was an instinctual feeling that it wasn't deliberately crafted or carefully designed. Everything was so natural as if Colonel Slade should be exactly like this at this moment. How did he do it? Even if Hugo tried to imitate it, he could even imitate up to 80%, but the essence of the whole performance was still not attainable. It was really elusive.

Hugo's thoughts were interrupted by the elegant tango music in the hall. He knew that the next scene was about to start filming. At this moment, Hugo realized that he couldn't even achieve the similarity, but he had already started thinking about the similarity as if imagining his running style when he couldn't even walk. Hugo couldn't help but smile, temporarily putting away his complicated thoughts, and looking up to watch the filming of this classic scene.

The music chosen for this scene is the tango masterpiece "Por Una Cabeza", which was released in 1935. Because of its noble and touching melody, it was known as one of the ultimate representatives of tango. The smooth and flowing melody presented the joy and passion of tango akin to a lover's whisper.

At this moment, the rehearsal had ended and Al led Gabrielle to the end of the dance floor. At Martin's command of "action", the Colonel gently took Donna into his arms, placing his left hand on her waist and his right hand on her shoulder. They then began to move gracefully to the elegant melody.

The major moved cautiously and smoothly, with small but confident steps that put Donna at ease. As they danced, Donna's face lit up with a smile, and the major's expression became increasingly focused and occasionally beamed with a brilliant smile. He was fully immersed in the music as if it were the most beautiful moment in the world.

The major secretly kept time with his tongue, which was imperceptible to those who didn't know him well. However, his slightly awkward steps hinted at the fact that he was in total darkness. Nevertheless, this did not hinder his tango steps. With the music's ebb and flow, his steps flowed like water on the small dance floor. The perfect blend of dance and music allowed Donna to relax completely, and her laughter rang like silver bells through the stringed music. The major's stiff face showed a subtle tenderness.

Watching this scene, Hugo's eyes welled up with tears of emotion at the Colonel's focused happiness. He remembered how much Frank longed for someone to accompany him and how his obsession with women betrayed his loneliness. But at this moment, Gabrielle's scent of Ogilvy Sisters soap and her purest laughter had brought a smile to the Colonel's serious face. Happiness was so simple, and Hugo felt a sudden surge of indescribable emotion in his heart.

At the same time, Hugo's smile widened because the Colonel's light but slightly difficult steps were so beautiful. He may not have been an outstanding tango dancer, but at this moment, he was the most infectious dancer, holding Donna's soft body and enjoying the beauty of the music. He carefully protected Donna, who was experiencing her first tango, and his tenderness released her deepest happiness. Tango was said to be a secret dance between lovers, imbued with a tacit understanding between the dancers. At this moment, even though the major was blind and had just met Donna, this tango was so beautiful that it intoxicated everyone.

After the dance ended, Martin yelled "cut" and walked over to Al and Gabriel to begin discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the scene that had just been filmed. The shooting of the scene wasn't over quickly, but Hugo was still completely immersed in Al's outstanding performance.

Al not only perfectly portrayed the blindness of the character, with a nervous, cautious gait that conveyed the message without others' notice, but also brought Gabriel into the acting state with her dance, perfectly meeting the director's requirements with her smile, voice, and movements, even stunning the whole audience. In addition, Al's delicate expressions had no traces of artificiality, and Hugo could feel the complexity of his emotions just by watching him, the joy, happiness, worries, and concentration all merged together, bringing the character to life.

It was hard to imagine the impact that this scene brought, and even after Martin yelled "cut", Al still hadn't come out of his "blind" state, which was the real acting skill that made it impossible to separate the character from the actor and influenced other actors to be drawn into the drama.

Seeing Al's performance up close and experiencing the perfect tango performance on the scene, Hugo's inner shock was unparalleled, which was the highest goal for an actor and the direction that Hugo had been striving for.

So, Hugo's eyes were moist, and his mouth curved upwards. When Martin yelled "cut", Hugo stood up without hesitation and vigorously applauded with his hands, expressing his excitement, which was a tribute to the outstanding tango and also to the great actor, Al Pacino.