A dash through Beijing's top cinemas just in time for the summer movie season

Going to the movies should be an escape, a time when you are pulled from your couch to be swallowed by the biggest screen you can find. That's what I'm looking for in a movie theater. I love movies, and it wasn’t until CW called me up and asked if I wanted to check test drive Beijing’s theaters that I remembered why seeing a film on the big screen, instead of an 8 kuai DVD, is such a great experience. And so I headed out to hit five of Beijing’s hottest screens.

As I walked through Oriental Plaza talking to one of my editors on the phone, I glanced up at the fluorescent lighting. "I hate malls," I said. "Yeah," she said, "but Oriental Plaza has a couple really good gelato places." As I walked to Star City's entrance, I also passed a Crystal Jade, several sushi joints and even a Beard Papa, the Japanese chain of cream puff bakeries. Though Star City is a beautiful, high-end theater that shows a number of English-language films, its screen size and numbers fall behind Beijing’s newest theaters. Of course, other cinemas don't have Oriental Plaza's one kilometer of shopping or the food that comes with it. It's the perfect place for dinner, a movie and a pair of Versace slacks.

The next day, the sky was grey and dusty. A three meter-high mechanical digger was being loaded on to the back of a truck in the middle of the Wangjing Mall's public square. But once inside, Wangjing Stellar was slick and black. There was a cafe, amazing, envelop-your-ears sound and free Playstations set up in the lobby to celebrate the release of Forbidden Kingdom. This is how Stellar makes its money, my guide told me. They have events all the time, half-price tickets two days a week, and all-you-can-watch, all-night movie marathons. She handed me a brochure from last year's May holiday: the first 51 customers for Spiderman 3 paid only ￥5.1. Too bad they don't have a working website to tell you about the deals.

In the late afternoon I arrived at Xidan's Joy City, the mall where Capital Cinemas is located. Capital Cinemas opened in February, and they have everything: 13 screens (four more than their nearest competitor), a subway station nearby, three stories of restaurants below them, shopping and a great arcade on the eighth floor. Their PR manager told me they're setting aside one of the screens for art movies. Best yet, all tickets are only ￥49 until the end of the summer. The Capital is the future. UME, on the other hand, would seem to be the past. Long considered Beijing's best theater, UME had Beijing’s first IMAX, first VIP room and first five-star rating. Their manager likens them to a 2002 Audi A8. Of course the 2008 model is going to be nicer in many ways. UME has kept up with the times by adding two new gargantuan screens, but there's only so much you can do to soup up the old car. Seven screens puts them tied for third in screen number, they don't have a great place to hang out, and they're out on the northwest third ring road. Still, there is the IMAX.

Walking around Wanda, I went over my little checklist. How many stars? Five. Concessions? Stocked and pretty good. Arcade? Yep. Even better than Capital Cinemas. Bar/cafe? Check. I was wanting to get home and start the article, when the manager led me into room number eight. The 8 by 18 meter screen dusted anything else I had seen. "Now this is a theater," I mumbled to myself, staring. Later, I stumbled back out into the real world, dazed and slightly giddy, natural light burning my eyes. Exactly how one should leave the movies.

Michael Armstrong

Beijing’s Blockbuster Summer

The four must-see flicks heating up Beijing screens this summer

July 10

The Battle of Red Cliff
Action director John Woo burned through US$80 million to create China's biggest film production to date. Based on the classic Chinese novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms and whipped into film shape by Crouching Tiger screenwriter, Wang Huiling, Red Cliff is set in the final days of the Han dynasty at the start of the war that wrought the Three Kingdoms period. But this is no history lesson. Director Woo's credits include The Killer and Mission Impossible II. Historians reckon 1 million soldiers took part in the original battle, and by the looks of the trailer John Woo used nearly that many extras for China's ultimate blockbuster.
Recommendation: See The Battle of Red Cliff at Wanda, where you can get pumped for the premiere on the Three Kingdoms arcade game.

July 18

Batman Begins 2: The Dark Knight
Those of us who spent the last 15 years thinking the golden days of Tim Burton's Wonka-infused Gotham were over can finally embrace the return of an appropriate director to the Batman legacy. After making his mark as an auteur with the plot-twisted Memento, Chris Nolan delivered Batman Begins with a beautifully casted Christian Bale in the Batmobile seat and a fresh injection of personal style into the comic book epic. Those thirsty for high-tech weapons and costumed deviants won't want to miss this follow up, starring Gary Oldman and the late Heath Ledger as the Joker.
Recommendation: Start at The Whale's Belly, where waiters in night vision goggles serve in pitch black, then head to UME to see it on IMAX. After, try Ichikura, Beijing's darkest whiskey bar.

August 11

Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Brendan Fraser returns to Asia this summer, but this time, he's not taking on the Viet Cong, as he did in The Quiet American, but a much greater force: Jet Li. This mega production was shot with a team of Chinese culture advisors, over 700 visual effects and locations across China. It's a sure hit for the Dragon Emperor's kingdom. Mummy star Fraser trained in a martial arts school called Krav Magah, a fighting system developed by Czech Jews, to prepare for the final fight scene with Li. Seeing the Encino Man put his new martial art skills on the line against China's greatest wushu master is well worth the ￥50-￥100 ticket price.
Recommendation: Before the Mummy, try getting into the Arabian fantasy mood with belly dancing and dinner at 1001 Nights on Gongti.

August 15

Dragon Ball
Young Shibuya wannabes will pour from the shops of Xidan into theaters this summer, when Stephen Chow, the witty Hong Kong filmmaker behind Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, brings a live action version of the famed anime series to the big screen. Dragon Ball, created by Akira Toriyama, was one of Japan's most successful cartoons of all time, with a massive following across the globe. Chow, who is said to be a long-time Dragon Ball fan, is only signed on to produce the picture. Whether Chow is really involved in the process or just lending his name to sell to the Asian market is still up in the air.
Recommendation: Discover your inner Chinese teen in Xidan with dinner at Wuge Wings. After, see the flick at Capital Cinemas aside throngs of teenagers born and raised on Dragonball.

Risky Business

Subheading Johnny Liu brings independent films to Beijing’s screens
Spending half the year previewing films at festivals like Cannes, Johnny Liu seems to have a cinephile's dream job. The reality, however, is nowhere near as flashy as it seems.

“If you want to turn a billionaire into a millionaire overnight, throw him into China’s film business” says Liu, president of Beijing-based film distributor Songlei Avrio Films. “It’s a very risky business." Liu’s Avrio Films is one of a handful of private companies permitted to handle independent film imports. China imports 20 foreign Hollywood-style blockbusters and another 20 indies each year. Each film Liu’s company distributes faces a long, arduous test before it ever hits Beijing’s silver screens.

“After we buy a movie, we send it to the China Film Group. If they approve it, we submit it to the Film Bureau censors,” explains Liu. More daunting is the fact that China’s political climate can change drastically in the year between buying a film and releasing it. “Once a movie hits that wall, we don’t get our money back,” Liu says.

So what are the key topics to avoid this year? “The Olympic year is about ‘harmonious society,’ so any film about a conflict between nations or culture is not advised.” It’s no surprise that foreign hits like 300 and Apocalypto never had a shot at a Beijing screening.

Other films are pulled for market reasons. “With only 20 films a year, everyone wants to make as much money as possible,” Liu says. Action and fantasy films, he points out, are safest politically and financially. But for art films, it’s difficult to predict which will succeed. Introducing Alejandro Inarritu’s Babel is one of Liu’s recent achievements. “Foreign dramas are never popular, but I bet on it and pushed the limits of Chinese audiences.” Liu bet right: Babel brought in a ￥15 million take, a respectable sum for a foreign art film.

“In China's film business, you face new challenges everyday,” Liu says laughing. “It’s a headache, but it’s also my passion.”

Luna Lin

Art House

Catching indie and art films in The Jing

Those who cringe at the word "Hollywood" won't sit home alone this summer with daoban copies of last year's Cannes winners. With the opening of the Iberia Art Center in 798 this month and the New Beijing International Movie Week (May 29-June 8), there are more soulful cinematic offerings in the city from local and international filmmakers.

"We show fascinating movies that otherwise would never make it to China," says New Beijing International Movie Week organizer Peter Sallade, "We try for a good mix of narrative, documentary, and all out artistic weirdness!" The festival receives movies made by local producers and international submissions and includes screenings at D-22, Obiwan and Yugong Yishan. Riskier selections will be shown out in Song Zhuang under the careful curation of http://www.baerxiu.com's coordinators. The New Beijing International Movie Week begins May 29 at Obiwan. (Check next issue's events listings or our website for all event listings.)

A more permanent addition to the Beijing independent film scene is the Iberia Art Center, which opened on April 12, located in the buzzing environment of 798. "Film will be one of the main directions of the art space," says Zhang Yaxuan, director of Iberia's independent film archive. "We want to show independent film as another genre of art, particularly documentary film because it is a representation of real life that can be examined with our own eyes, it's a very important and powerful medium." The art center will showcase a video library of collected works dedicated to Chinese independent film and provide help in production and promotion of these films. The Iberia Art Center will be inviting filmmakers for lectures in the future and plans to build a new cinema space later in the year.

Bradford Kessler

Iberia Art Center (Tel: 6436-3997. Add: 798 Art District. Web: http://www.iberiart.org), Yugong Yishan (Tel: 6404-2711. Add: 3-2 Zhangzizhong Lu. Web: http://www.yugongyishan.com), New Beijing International Movie Week (Web: http://www.beijingfilmfest.org)