It’s not gone quiet suddenly because you’re here, SiteNoise, but a man’s got to sleep sometime! When Onderhond and Eight Rooks are back in the forum together I surely hope they’ll continue this exchange. The very density of interesting titles (most of which I seriously need to check out) makes this a special thread indeed.
As for Zhang Yibai, you said back in December:
Still not the greatest scriptwriter, but the direction is solid and he pulls outstanding performances from the small cast and Karen Mok’s legs.
That is a quote for the ages. When Visualist sent us his “Lost Indulgence” masthead (this one here) I sort of noticed the truth of part of that statement.
SiteNoise, what do you consider to be his best film so far? And which would you recommend as a starting point?
I think without a doubt Lost, Indulgence is his best work. So start there if you like starting with the best.
I enjoyed my path which started with “The Longest Night in Shanghai” which is kinda pop-creepy but I love the cross-cultural/language thing, the film clearly demonstrates a director’s skill, and it’s got the peace offering in all her wonderful starring self. Then I watched “Lost, Indulgence” and thought “Holy Crap!” It was fantastic to see a director go from beautiful Shanghai at night to Chongqing in the daytime. Zhang knows how to shoot a city, I think. Then “About Love” where Zhang first explored the cross-cultural/language theme in his contribution to that trilogy. Then “Curiosity Kills the Cat” disappointed me. Skilled but messy. Finally “Spring Subway” and I enjoy looking at it and thinking all that I’d seen before started there.
When Onderhond and Eight Rooks are back in the forum together I surely hope they’ll continue this exchange.
In all honesty, I’m quickly running out of interesting titles to mention. China isn’t my main focus, although from time to time I run into some great films coming from there.
Electric Shadows is still a good title to check out (and Pk.com.cn too I think, but still need to see that one)
I can also not contribute much, but I’m learning a lot in here!
I have a question though. In 2003 I saw Yuan Zhang’s “Wo ai ni” (I Love You) and wrote about it on Aint-It-Cool-News. Harry Knowles commented that the film seemed interesting to him but that he doubted that it could hold a candle to Zhang Yibai’s “Spring Subway”, as he loves that movie dearly.
Has any of you seen both, and can you tell me how (or even IF) they compare?
Whoops, I just knew that film as “I Love You” so I missed the earlier references to it.
Eight Rooks hasn’t seen it and Onderhond found it to be “slightly disappointing”. Their IMDB-scores match… (slight advantage to “Wo ai ni” but small differences don’t mean anything in polls like that).
I’ve seen both, and imo they are quite hard to compare.
Wo Ai Ni is a more typical Chinese drama. Visually there is not much happening, and the biggest part of the film sees a couple arguing over the most trivial of things. The idea of two people not able to live with and without each other is nice enough, but I grew tired of all the arguing that was going on in the film. It’s that typically noisy Chinese nagging too
Spring Subway is way more stylized. Also a lot more sensual, playful and sporting a more modern look and feel. I guess if you like a more realistic drama, Wo Ai Ni might suit you better, but as a film I believe Spring Subway has way more to offer. I’ll always remember Spring Subway for the scenes where little details lead to mis or non communication, and how painful these scenes are. You watch two people drifting apart, who think and feel the same, but are afraid to find out otherwise.
Long story short, Wo Ai Ni was easily forgotten, Spring Subway is one that will linger for some time to come.
Oh, Vicki Zhao is a much, much better actress than facile first impressions might suggest, but she’s not right in the top flight. Zhou Xun’s one of the best in Asian cinema, flat. She’s had her hiccups - Little Chinese Seamstress, The Banquet - but when she’s on form, my God. Stolen Life is shockingly good, an absolute masterpiece centred around one of the best performances I’ve ever seen by anyone, and Equation Of Love And Death is elevated for the most part by her acting (certainly not the plot).
EDIT: And Suzhou River. Can’t forget that. Two career-defining performances right there.
I just watched The Longest Night In Shanghai for the first time off the back of this thread, actually. It’s… it’s not as good overall as gold standards like Daiteiden No Yoru Ni - the first twenty minutes or so are a pain to sit through, and Naoto Takenawa’s frantic mugging had me cringing every time he turned up, like his 20th Century Boys cameo stretched out to an entire supporting role. But after that it started getting better. A lot better. I agree, the man knows how to shoot a city, and while Vicki Zhao might be somewhat limited, Christ, she knows how to play to her strengths - got a whole lot of sniffles out of me. Good to see Masahiro Motoki in something I actually enjoyed, too - I felt Departures was massively over-rated.
About Love is an overlooked gem, on the whole. The Chinese section is the weakest, but it’s still fun. I’m actually struggling to remember - Zhang Yibai did the Taipei section, right?
About Love is an overlooked gem, on the whole. The Chinese section is the weakest, but it’s still fun. I’m actually struggling to remember - Zhang Yibai did the Taipei section, right?
Yes. Same Chinese/Japanese language theme as “Longest Night.” Taiwan Girl wants Japanese guy to talk to her old BF for her. Remember the scene with the couple sitting on the rock by water’s edge: Japanese guy comes back and struggles to say “He said ‘Lie no, Light it glow’”. Girl asks (without knowing what the hell that means), “Is it good when a guy says that? Did he smile when he said it?” Wonderful scene.
It’s hard to be a mainland film fan. Not much there. That’s why the Zhangs (Yibai & Yuan) are exciting (yeah, Yimou too).
I thought “Balzac, The Little Chinese Seamstress” was pretty good. One of the better ‘about that cultural revolution’ films. The Balzac result on Zhou Xun’s character was a brutal punch. Ouch.
I’ll add “In Love We Trust” to the hit list. After watching it, it came as no surprise to learn director Wang Xiaoshuai studied painting before becoming a director. Methinks Onderhond would like it.
Added to my queue from reading this list:
Suzhou River
Stolen Life
In the Heat of the Sun
Suffocation
Where Have All the Flowers Gone
What’d I miss?
Zhou Xun.
Just to say ... Liked “Equation of Love and Death” very much. Very much.
“Ming Ming” not so much. A great example of style clobbering substance. But the double Zhou Xun hit was nice.
Eh, there’s more great mainland cinema than you might think, and the good stuff - if you’re into the artsier end of the spectrum - is very good. I read a lot of debate about the way people have certain pre- and misconceptions about censorship for my university course, and you can certainly argue that one advantage of the state’s beady little eyes peering over everybody’s shoulders is these people make some amazing films as a result, the like of which they would not produce under more liberal conditions. Obviously that’s not an argument to be made lightly, but it does have some weight.
If you’re going to watch In The Heat Of The Sun, as far as I’m aware the official DVDs are long out of print. I think I saw the Japanese DVD on YesAsia once, but I don’t remember whether or not that has subtitles. Might also want to look up Jiang Wen’s other two films, Devils On The Doorstep and The Sun Also Rises; neither as good as In The Heat…, but they come damn close. The man is a superb director - I’m fairly pleased with my City Of Life And Death review but I wish I’d mentioned Devils by way of holding up the kind of wartime reportage SARFT do not care for one bit. If you’ve got to get thrown out of Chinese domestic cinema production you might as well do it in style.
It’s… it’s not as good overall as gold standards like Daiteiden No Yoru Ni - the first twenty minutes or so are a pain to sit through, and Naoto Takenawa’s frantic mugging had me cringing every time he turned up, like his 20th Century Boys cameo stretched out to an entire supporting role. But after that it started getting better. A lot better. I agree, the man knows how to shoot a city, and while Vicki Zhao might be somewhat limited, Christ, she knows how to play to her strengths - got a whole lot of sniffles out of me. Good to see Masahiro Motoki in something I actually enjoyed, too - I felt Departures was massively over-rated.