Music from the films of zhang yimou by christopher coleman. One of the challenges of foreign movies is to determine how they would play on their native soil. Zhang yimou is one of my favorite directors, matt damon told the hollywood reporter at the premiere of the great wall. Zhang yimou biography, movie highlights and photos. Zhang and the staff altered the screenplay, and the films final. One of the famed fifthgeneration directors of chinas growing film history, director zhang yimou has been delighting audiences for over twenty years. Zhangs father, zhang bingjun, a dermatologist, had been an officer in the national revolutionary army under chiang kaishek during the chinese civil war. To live is a simple title, but it conceals a universe.
Hero was released in north america two years after its chinese release and became one of the few foreign language films to top the u. It is about a group of unemployed men who build a fake room in an abandoned factory, move a blind girl into it, tell her it is in a hotel, and become her clients for daily massages, paying her with blank. Apparently some of the first japanese films allowed into china after the culural revolution were yoji yamada ones starring takakura. May 09, 20 zhang yimou seven children claims trigger anger in china this article is more than 7 years old. Yimou zhang was born on november 14, 1951 in xian, shaanxi, china. Zhao, honglei sun, yimou zhang, zhang yimou, qinglong yang, weiping zhang. Film director behind opening ceremony for beijing olympics faces up to. He also produced the spectacular opening ceremony of the 2008 olympics in beijing, for which he is justly revered in china. Zhang yimou who has always used the traditional chinese ordering that places the family name first, then the given name was born in xian, in chinas shaanxi province, on november 14, 1950, shortly after the defeat of chinas nationalist government by the communist armies of mao tsetung. The two central characters zhao zhao benshan and little fu biao fu feel passed by in a. Zhang and his wife, chen ting, admitted she gave birth to two sons and one daughter in 2001, 2004 and 2006, respectively, before they officially got married in 2011.
He has been married to ting chen since december 2011. Zhang was born zhang yimou in xian, the capital of shaanxi province. November 14, 1951, xian, the peoples republic of china. Zhang yimou seven children claims trigger anger in china. He graduated in the fifth class of the beijing film academy in 1982, along with classmates such as chen kaige and tian zhuangzhuang. Chinese film director zhang yimou has made some of my favorite chineselanguage films. Filmmaker zhang yimou to receive honorary degree bu today.
Some great character posters for zhang yimous upcoming wuxia film, shadow. Happy times a modernday character comedy with a touching edge, chinese helmer zhang yimou s happy times spins loads of lowkey charm from the simplest, everyday materials. Zhang yimou seven children claims trigger anger in china this article is more than 7 years old. Known for his intense period pieces, director zhang yimou takes a turn toward modernday china in the touching comedy drama happy times. But zhang s thematic and stylistic range has always been relatively broad, and over the years he has demonstrated his skills across a wide spectrum of film genres. His notable movies included red sorghum, ju dou, hero, and house of flying daggers. Zhang yimou s new film, happy times xingfu shiguang, explores the many costs of modern times. An aging factory worker who has recently lost his job hopes to revitalize his life by marrying a fat middleaged divorcee. It is about a group of unemployed men who build a fake room in an abandoned factory, move a blind girl into it, tell her it is in a hotel, and become her clients for daily massages, paying her with.
And through all of their fierce struggles with fate, all of the political twists and turns they endure, their hope is basically one summed up by the heroine, a wife who loses. Upgrade to a letterboxd pro account to add your favorite services to this listincluding any service and country pair listed on justwatchand to enable oneclick filtering by all your favorites. Damon, the star of yimous fantasy monster movie, has long wanted to. Zhaos best friend li hatches the idea to raise the money by refurbishing an abandoned bus, which they will rent out by the. A straight synopsis may make zhang yimous film sound similar to the blue kite, or even, perhaps, farewell my concubine. Zhang yimou is an internationally acclaimed director working in the peoples republic of china. Uschina tension heated when the us bombed the chinese embassy in belgrade. Dec 01, 2004 noting how the sensitivity to othernessbe it in the form of mass culture, gender, or racehas often been accompanied by iconophobia, a fundamental distrust and rejection of images, the author offers an analysis of the contemporary chinese film happy times, directed by zhang yimou, as an instance of a kind of ethical film practice in which. Filmmaker zhang yimous journey to becoming one of chinas leading directors has been filled with unusual, often dramatic twists. The state continued to control what could be shown and restricted imports. Drawing from the depths of the cultural heritage and ingenuity of the chinese people, showcasing ancient chinese inventions paper, printing, gunpowder, ceramics and the compass that have shaped civilization and channeling the sensibility and spirit that unite. Zhang yimou great director profile senses of cinema. Zhaos best friend li hatches the idea to raise the money by refurbishing an abandoned bus, which they will rent out by the hourthe happy times hotelto young couples starved for privacy.
He is part of the fifth generation of chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with red sorghum zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with best foreign film nominations for ju dou in 1990, raise the red lantern. Noting how the sensitivity to othernessbe it in the form of mass culture, gender, or racehas often been accompanied by iconophobia, a fundamental distrust and rejection of images, the author offers an analysis of the contemporary chinese film happy times, directed by zhang yimou, as an instance of a kind of ethical film practice in which. His films, which include raise the red lantern, house of flying daggers, and the great wall, have won prizes at the cannes film festival, the venice film festival, and the berlin international film festival, and six of his films have been nominated for. Add to that list zhang yimous shadow, a historical fantasydrama that. It is about how many things that are rejected are not always broken. Happy times 2000 the film is loosely based on the short story, shifu. His films, which include raise the red lantern, house of flying daggers, and the great wall, have won prizes at the cannes film festival, the venice film festival, and the berlin international film festival, and six of his films have been nominated for academy. Avec zhao benshan, dong jie, li xuejian, dong lifan.
His next release, happy times, due in september, seems set to. He is a director and writer, known for ying xiong 2002, house of flying daggers 2004 and curse of the golden flower 2006. His films have won many of the most prestigious awards at the. Filmmaker zhang yimou to receive honorary degree bu. Zhang yimous actionfantasy shadow sets gorgeous action in a. Dec 17, 2008 behind it all was the creative genius of chinese film director zhang yimou. Zhao is an aging bachelor who hasnt been lucky in love. The film follows the life of one family in china, from the heady days of gambling dens in the 1940s to the austere hardship of the cultural revolution in the 1960s. Xing fu shi guang happy times by yimou zhang visual 24 editions published. Certainly it shares with these films both a mix of the personal and the. What does the chinese film industry get from hollywood. His films are gorgeous, evocative, and unforgettable.
Youll do anything for a laugh by mo yan and was coproduced by terrence malick. Happy times zhang yimou 2000 zhang yimou rose to international prominence in the early 1990s with a series of films depicting a woman always starring his partner, gong li struggling to make her way in an indifferent society. This is a video essayintroduction of chinese director zhang yimou. Zhang yimou biography life, family, name, story, history.
Zhang yimou in 1999, zhang yimou faced a number of challenges. He tends to favor stories set in ruralhistorical china, often with an emphasis on the dark side of the setting, and also has a very strong visual style. From red sorghum, raise of red lantern, hero, to live, coming home, to the. The two central characters feel left behind in a rapidly changing beijing, and when. After an astonishing 10year run that included red sorghum, ju dou, raise the red lantern, to live, the story of qiu ju, and shanghai triad, director zhang yimou appears to be walking off into the sunset, perhaps finally worn down by his constant battles with government censors. Feb 07, 2014 zhang and his wife, chen ting, admitted she gave birth to two sons and one daughter in 2001, 2004 and 2006, respectively, before they officially got married in 2011.
Zhang yimou rose to international prominence in the early 1990s with a series of films depicting a woman always starring his partner, gong li struggling to make her way in an indifferent society. An old and laidoff factory worker named zhao is set on marrying an obese girl, and to accomplish that, he has to persuade her that he is financially stable. A young woman becomes the fourth wife of a wealthy lord, and must learn to live with the strict rules and tensions within the household. Shi mian mai fu house of flying daggers by yimou zhang visual editions published between 2003 and 2014 in 9 languages and held by 2,247 worldcat member libraries worldwide. Jan 22, 2017 zhang yimou the director behind the great wall. Upcoming, new, and past yimou zhang movies, tv shows, tv movies, appearances, specials, and more plus, a biography, news, awards, and nominations. A poet of the small gesture, zhang yimou moves on from his sliceoflife dramas not one less and happy times to the more broad, operatic strokes of hero and the house of flying daggers. Zhang yimou, the preeminent filmmaker of china, was one of the more recent artists to seize this opportunity when he made hero ying xiong, 2002. But zhangs thematic and stylistic range has always been relatively broad, and over the years he has demonstrated his skills across a wide spectrum of film genres.
Now, as the lies get more complicated and the deception more difficult to. Matt damon reluctantly helps out a chinese army in this enjoyable and lavish monster yarn. Shot around the port city of dalian, yimou uses hidden cameras to capture some of the natural bustling street life in some of the wide outdoor scenes. Following a fairly prosaic plot line about a married couple during three decades of huge upheaval in china 1940s60s, the film manages to wind around you insidiously and you find yourself uncontrollably immersed. Billed as a comedy this movie is more a drama once you are past the first 20 minutes.
Dramas of desire and the power of the image zhang yimou is now the chinese filmmaker whose work is most widely known in the west, and he has clone more than any other director to give modern chinese cinema an international profile. Though his film was an immediate commercial and critical success as an actionadventure wuxia thriller, what is of interest here is zhangs rather problematic perspective on the issues raised by. Ziyus plans have been in the works for a long time. Aikido institute now, we will be happy to help you with all your requirements. He impulsively promises to provide her with a lavish wedding, then concocts a plan whereby he will raise the money he needs by transforming an old bus into a hotel appealing to.
The chunky momma, eager to get her blind stepdaughter, wu ying, out of her flat, insists that zhao get her a job at his hotel and have her. Aug 08, 2008 because of that event, i trusted zhang yimou. Happy times by zhang yimou zhang yimou, zhao benshan, dong. Born in 1951 in xian, shaanxi province, in northcentral china, zhang yimou is, along with chen kaige, the most prominent of the fifth generation chinese directors and, by extension, one of the two most famous chinese directors, period. Zhang yimou, 1951 is one of the leading lights of chinese film and is often considered one of the greatest living chinese directors. It is also more sentimental than average for zhang yimou possibly because it is a homage to its japanese star ken takakura, an idol to zy in his younger days and to the sort of films kt starred in. A straight synopsis may make zhang yimou s film sound similar to the blue kite, or even, perhaps, farewell my concubine. The breakup of the state supported studio system also meant that chinese filmmakers had to find international funding and new markets. Raise the red lantern, the story of qiu ju, house of flying daggers, hero, and more.
Director zhang yimou, who has said in interviews that the suffering and turmoil of the cultural revolution was a formative period for him, appears happy to have it both ways. The wizard behind beijings opening night the new york times. Xingfu shiguang is a 2000 tragicomedy film directed by chinese filmmaker zhang yimou, starring zhao benshan and dong jie. Zhang worked as a cinematographer on a number of significant films, including zhang junzhaos groundbreaking one and eight 1984 and chen kaiges masterpiece yellow earth 1984, which took the hong kong film festival by storm and brought worldwide attention to chinese cinema. Here, for example, is happy times, from the sometimes great chinese director zhang yimou. Zhang yimou celebrity profile check out the latest zhang yimou photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Zhang s last two releases, not one less and the road home, were well received and won awards, but the public has almost ignored them. Dearest, directed by peter chan and starring zhao wei, hao lei, zhang yi. Happy times is set in presentday china, in a modern, unnamed city, exploring the many costs of modern times. Zhang yimou, chinese film director who, as a leading member of chinas fifth generation, is known for films that explore sexual repression and political oppression. Zhangs succeeding major project was the ambitious wuxia drama hero moviehero 2002, which follows after his second film in a series about modern chinese citylife, happy times 2000. He graduated in the fifth class of the beijing film. From red sorghum 1987 to the road home 1999, zhangs forte is the period drama depicting chinese tragedies, personal and societal, up to the late 60s period, as seen in the final.