A scene from HK crime thriller Cold War Photo: Global Times
A scene from Back in 1942 Photos: CFP
November cinema schedule reads like the holiday season is here
Christmas, New Year, Spring Festival - the end and beginning of every year in China is cram-packed with festival surprises. This season promises to be especially "hot" in the cinemas, and film lovers can get warmed up just looking at all the big-name stars on movie posters. You could even say the celebration is starting early since November has already served up a full plate of sensational celluloid.
But there is one famous director that perhaps doth protest too much. "November is a usual schedule. Why do you all call it a New Year season?" Feng Xiaogang, director of the upcoming Back in 1942, wrote on his Sina Weibo a few days ago. He was responding to the fact that many press reports have referred to November as a pre-New Year season.
But what movie fan isn't already salivating with anticipation? With Chinese directors Feng Xiaogang, Ang Lee and Lu Chuan all premiering films alongside imports from Disney and DreamWorks, the coming feast is being served up like a buffet full of variety.
Return of the HK crime thriller
It's been a long time since the last arrival of a really memorable Hong Kong crime thriller. Infernal Affairs in 2002 was probably the most renowned one and was acknowledged by international audiences after the release of its American version The Departed.
Going back a bit farther, there was Running out of Time (1999) and The Mission (1999) by Johnny To, Jackie Chan's Police Story trilogy. And several of Chow Yunfat's early works contributed to the genre's development. They are known for breath-taking narrative, a blurring of the lines of justice and impressively detailed scenes of Hong Kong. But all good things come to an end, and in recent years, many of the directors and actors that built the genre migrated to the mainland to seek their fortune and pursue other opportunities. Audiences were left pining.
No more! Cold War, released over the weekend, is an old-school Hong Kong crime thriller with an A-list cast led by Tony Leung and Aaron Kwok.
Art-house enjoyment
For several reasons, China limits the number of films imported from overseas. The vast majority of these are Hollywood blockbusters. This year, however, Chinese audiences are being offered an exception within an exception: Iranian film A Separation directed by Asghar Farhadi. The picture won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2011 before going on to win a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film, then crowned its amazing run with an Oscar in the same category. No wonder it became one of the most talked about foreign films of last year. Introducing it to the Chinese cinemas will provide a chance for moviegoers who are not accustomed to seeing art house films to experience this uniquely ethnic story with its universal meanings.
Feng Shui is probably the only film that might become a black horse hit at the box office this month as it has been recommended by a number of celebrities including TV hosts Cui Yongyuan, Ni Ping and sociologist Li Yinhe. Directed by Wang Jing, Feng Shui features a woman who decides, after her husband commits suicide, to make her living carrying heavy baggage in markets.
In October, Dong Wenjie, producer of Feng Shui, expressed publicly that they gave up the chance to be the only Chinese film to attend this year's Tokyo Film Festival for political reasons. The move stirred up a lot of discussion among netizens about art and politics.
Masters' latest work
Last week, Huayi Brothers Media Group, the production company of almost all of Feng's films, announced that Back to 1942 has finally made it past the censors and will debut on November 29. The news means that toward the end of this month, three renowned directors Ang Lee, Feng Xiaogang and Lu Chuan will release their latest work.
First out will be a 3D adventure from Ang Lee, Life of Pi. The story is adapted from Canadian writer Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002. In the story, an Indian boy named Pi is on the way to Canada with his family when the freighter they are on sinks in a storm, leaving him alone on a lifeboat, together with a Bengal tiger. For over 200 days, he drifts in the Pacific Ocean, while trying to stay alive with the tiger.
Feng Xiaogang is famous for releasing his works during the most competitive time of year - either the New Year or Spring Festival season. In fact, many domestic audiences have developed a habit of watching Feng's films as a part of their holiday activities. The humorous dialogue, diverse characters and often a happy yet tearful ending in Feng's early works left a strong impression. However, Feng has been going through a transition since 2006, trying different genres and stories with various historical backgrounds, and so far, he has yet to match the success he achieved in those early days.
Feng's Back to 1942 is an adaptation of Liu Zhenyun's book of the same title, which recounts the history of a terrible famine in 1942. As it touches sensitive issues and history, it has attracted attention from the outset. The film boasts a 210 million yuan ($35 million) production budget and an eye-catching cast including: Adrien Brody; Tim Robbins; Zhang Guoli, who played Chiang Kai-shek in The Founding of a Republic; Xu Fan from After Shock; and Chen Daoming, who starred as the emperor Qin in Hero. With all that could be said, Feng's description was only one line: "no laughter, no loud (noises), no crowds, only the truth of history."
Historical film The Last Super by Lu Chuan was also a controversial work as it was being produced. The film features the first emperor of Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) Liu Bang and his friend, Xiang Yu, who later became his enemy. The story of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu has been told in many films and television series. But Lu cast his girlfriend Qin Lan as the leading female role in the film to play the wife of Liu Bang, and this version is so far the only film that presents the famous story from a woman's perspective.
Options
If you are not quite up for two hours of tragic history, don't worry. A pair of animated productions is poised to paint a Hollywood smile on your face during November: Wreck-It Ralph and Rise of the Guardians.
And just in time for the end of the world - according to the ancient Mayan calendar - the 3D version of 2012 is coming particularly targeting Chinese market. (And if you've seen it already, you know why.) And there's more to come with Wong Karwai's new film in early December, and Jackie Chan's CZ12 (or Twelve Animals of the Chinese Zodiac) is due on 12-12-2012.
So if you're a movie fan, you have lots of ways to start your New Year season early... no matter what Feng Xiaogang calls it.