For the love of films....
I've been watching alot more Chinese cinema lately, and feeling all the more better for it. Last night, my boyfriend and I bravely faced Jia Zhangke's epic coming of age story Platform, a film which tells the story of a young troupe of performers from Shanxi Province plowing through the developing years of post-Cultural Revolution China. Though I know that this title almost always comes up in 'Must See Film' lists related to China, the desperately slow pace and unrelated vignettes that come up in the film makes for some hard watching; it is not so much a traditional story as it is a series of observations, which may not suit those with lesser attention spans. Also, Jia Zhangke favours alot of long or medium range shots and doesn't give his audience much of a chance to see his characters close up, and this is something that caused us more confusion than necessary. What did you think?
I'm not much of a Chinese theatre buff, but I have noticed a trend in certain films by Chinese directors. Forgetting about the all too familiar 'peasant does well through determination' cycle, it's that the story lines are often drawn out to the point of exasperation. Long, drawn out shots of girls running after trucks, (while I loved Zhang Yimou's 'Not One Less', I felt it could have done much more if there wasn't interminable periods of waiting between dialogue and movement) obviously have their merits, as do laborious, wide angle shots of heartbreakingly beautiful landscapes, but to have a film that bases solely on this while disregarding a story seems almost too self serving for my liking.
What are your favorite Chinese films? Must watch films?
A few of mine are... The Wedding Banquet - Ang Lee To Live - Zhang Yimou Beijing Bicycle - Wang Xiaoshuai Eat Drink Man Woman - Sihung Lung Happy Together - Wong Kar Wai Chungking Express - Wong Kar Wai Not One Less - Zhang Yimou Farewell My Concubine - Chen Kaige
On an added note - where are your favorite places to buy DVD's? Mine is the much coveted Tom's Shop over in the Lido area, a few doors down from Jenny Lou's and S.I.T Cafe.
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Definitely check out the Hong Kong action flicks, Wu Bai is great in Tsui Hark's Time and Tide. Speaking of HK, Fruit Chan's Durian Piao Piao is also pretty great. My favorite Hou Hsiao Hsien is Shanghai Hua ... That's actually one of my all time faves of any genre. I haven't been so high on mainland cinema lately, perhaps because I still haven't gotten over Zhang Yimou's giving up his beautiful art to make terrible Wuxia films with propaganda messages ... His early work, however, is all ace.
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Thanks for the tippy tips, Mr. Stone Banks and Mr. Mack. Will check these out as soon as I get a chance. I've never been huge on the Hong Kong action flicks, I think the years growing up and trying to watch them with my dad has made me shy away. Still, I'll give them another shot - my dad was right about David Bowie and the Clash, he's probably going to be right about these movies as well.
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Very good question Ms Wong! You gotta throw Rebels of Neon God, Tsai Mingliang's first big movie, on the list, as well as A Brighter Summer Day by Edward Yang, and Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite. Oh yeah, Jiang Wen's In the Heat of the Sun and Lou Ye Suzhou River. Then there are Hong Kong action movies! How can John Woo's A Better Tomorrow not be on there? Also check out Sammo Hung's The Magnificent Butcher for real deal martial arts comedy and Taoism Drunken for pure unadulterated weirdness.