Chinese director Jiang Wen's latest film, "Gone with the Bullets," will compete at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February.
The controversial movie will have its international premiere, and has been selected for the festival's competition program.
Jiang Wen's studio applauded the selection by the Berlinale on Thursday, saying "Everything is in the best arrangement by fate." His studio also noted that two films with Jiang starring as lead role won Berlinale awards -- "Red Sorghum" directed by Zhang Yimou won the Golden Bear at the 1988 Berlin International Film Festival and "Black Snow" directed by Xie Fei won the Silver Bear at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.
"Gone with the Bullets," which once claimed to be the best Chinese film of the year, expecting to fetch 2 billion yuan (US$322 million) at Chinese box offices, fell far short of anticipation.
The film suffered from a backlash, with waves of criticism after its China premiere and the final box office revenue standing at a disappointing 513 million yuan (US$82.79 million). The film has to gross over 700 million yuan (US$113 million) in order to break even due to its expensive budget and promotion.
The movie provoked heated discussion online as to whether the film is a misunderstood high-quality work of art or the director's narcissism gone out of control. The discussion reached a climax when the son of China's richest man Wang Sicong blasted the film as "an insult to audiences." Ironically, Wang's father Wang Jianlin owns Wanda Media Co. Ltd., one of the studios that produced "Gone with the Bullets."
Jiang Wen's studio conceded on Thursday that the box office result is disappointing, saying:"Although it falls short of expectations, it makes people think about the nature and genre of film. More and more people are gradually realizing that it has great value for the current Chinese film industry and it is the maximum box office result for an art-house film in China."
Films confirmed in the Berlinale competition program also included "45 Years" by Andrew Haigh, "As We Were Dreaming" by Andreas Dresen, "Knight of Cups" by Terrence Malick, "Body" by Malgorzata Szumowska, "Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories" by Di Phan Dang, "Taxi" by Jafar Panahi and more.
The complete competition program will be announced next week.
The 65th Berlin International Film Festival will open on Feb. 5 with the world premiere of "Nobody Wants the Night," the most recent work by Spanish director Isabel Coixet, which will enter the international competition. The festival will run from Feb. 5 - 15.