The screening of the highly anticipated movie, White Deer Plain, scheduled for today, had been postponed due to "technical issues." As of yet, no future date has been planned for its screening. A number of cinema chains, including Wanda and UME, posted the announcement on their official Sina Weibo yesterday morning.
Wang Quan'an, director of White Deer Plain, told sohu.com yesterday that he had no further information.
"I was not officially informed about this news," Wang said. "We have already waited for a long time [for the film to screen]. It's not a problem to wait a few more days."
According to ent.163.com, preparation for White Deer Plain began nine years ago. The film, finished last year, did not get final approval to screen in China until early this year.
In January 2012, White Deer Plain was selected as one of the in-competition films at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival.
Adapted from Chen Zhongshi's novel of the same title, White Deer Plain tells the story of the Bai and Lu families, living on the central Shaanxi plain. Time spans from the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949.
In an interview with ent.ifeng.com, Wang Le, producer of White Deer Plain, said that the film contains various local dialects; adjustments needed to be made for several subtitles, thereby causing delays.
Insiders speculate that the delay could be due to sexual scenes in the film. Similar, recent cases have occurred with films like Mystery, directed by Lou Ye, and Dangerous Liaisons, directed by South Korean director Hur Jin-ho.