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1 | CHINA COUNCIL MOVIE PROGRAM | |||||
2 | Date | Movie Title | Emcee | Language/Subtitles | ||
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4 | 4/9/2013 | "Beijing Bicycle (2001)", aka "Shiqi sui de dan che". A young man from the country named Guei works diligently at this new job, eager to pay off the company bicycle and make it his own. But just before his last payment, the bicycle is stolen and he's fired--but if he can find it again, he'll get his job back. The emotional stakes of Beijing Bicycle become amazingly gripping: after Guei accidentally discovers that the bike now belongs to a young student who bought it used, a fight over the ownership of the bicycle becomes downright harrowing, for the student has a secret that threatens to humiliate him. Beijing Bicycle ranges from a light portrait of the kinetic poetry of a bicycle in motion to a raw examination of violence driven by envy and guilt. A beautiful, wrenching movie. | Michael Bloom | English Subtitles | ||
5 | 5/14/2013 | "Curse of the Golden Flower (2007)", a fictionalized historical glimpse into the brutally complicated politics of Emperor Ping's (Chow Yun Fat) reign during the Tang Dynasty, shows the viewer just how far a megalomaniac must go to gain and retain power in medieval China. Lavish sets, massive ceremonial displays, and perversely fascinating battle scenes impress similarly to the special effects Americans have come to love and expect from Chinese action films like Zhang Yimou's previous House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. An intricate plot involving the Emperor's wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) and their three sons, Crown Prince Xiang, Prince Jie, and Prince Cheng, most closely follows the Empress's secret plan to force abdication upon her corrupt husband as revenge for his slowly poisoning her with Black Fungus tea. Opening on the eve of the Chysanthemum Festival, 928 A.D., the Empress obsessively embroiders gold chysanthemums to adorn her army's uniforms while hatching plans with Jai to overthrow the Crown Prince for control of the throne. Meanwhile, a side plot develops as the Emperor's ex-wife and mother to Crown Prince Yu reemerges as Yu's lover. By the time the Festival occurs, family members are pitted against each other in a King Lear-ian web of lies that can only result in demise. The most sophisticated narrative aspect of Curse of the Golden Flower is that as the royal family crumbles, the Emperor's death grip on China remains unwavering. Gorgeous scenes set in the palace and costume design displaying China's upper class decadence cannot fail to entertain. The paradox between good and evil, here, is highlighted by how the Emperor successfully rules despite, and because of, his utter cruelty. | Shireen Farahi | English language | ||
6 | 6/11/2013 | "Inner Senses (2003)" is another great horror movie to come out of Asia in recent years. However, it suffers from a certain lack of originality. Its basic premise imitates that of "The Sixth Sense" i.e. psychiatrist tries to help troubled person who sees dead people. The horror scenes in the last minutes of "Inner Senses" also borrow heavily from Japan's "Ring". Such weaknesses aside, "Inner Senses" is certainly an intelligent horror movie, much more so than my other Asian favourite to come out in 2002...0 points | Michael Bloom | English Subtitles | ||
7 | 7/9/2013 | "Piano in a Factory", aka "Gang de qin" (2010) A delightful film that artfully blends music, romance, comedy and just a little social commentary; a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience! When Chens estranged wife reappears asking for a divorce and custody of their daughter, the musician girl decides she will live with whoever can provide her a piano. Chens struggle thus begins. When efforts to borrow money and even steal a piano fail, Chen concocts a preposterous plan - he'll make a piano from scratch! He persuades a bunch of reluctant, but loyal, misfit friends to help him forge the instrument in a derelict factory from a heap of scrap steel. Though crude in design and tune, the factory piano awaits its first and final performance from his little girl. | John Wong | English Subtitles | ||
8 | 8/13/2013 | "Raise The Red Lantern (1991)" Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou) directed this fascinating, visually formal 1991 film about an educated woman (Gong Li) who is sent off to become the newest wife of a feudal nobleman in 1920s China. Nearly isolated in his spooky, palatial home, she develops relationships with several of the other wives and slowly becomes aware of a hideous legacy of punishment toward more willful women. The film has a brittle and dry quality that is deliberate, but also suggestive of Zhang working through various explorations of his own style (which he resolved in his next film, The Story of Qiu Ju). Gong Li, one of the world's great actresses, is superb. | Lisa Irving | English Subtitles | ||
9 | 9/10/2013 | "Shanghai (2010)" DVD [Official Dual Language Edition]Starring all of my favorite actors from John Cusack, Ken Watanabe, Chow Yun Fatt, to Gong Li. The story of intrigue and switching loyalties unfold across the canvas that is Shanghai a week before Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. | Ann Wetherell | English Subtitles | ||
10 | 10/8/2013 | "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)" A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women. Based on novel by Lisa See. | Gloria Lee | English Dubbed- English Subtitles | ||
11 | 11/12/2013 | "Summer Palace. (2008)" Lots of sex and politics, this movie about students during the Tiananmen Square protests was banned in China and the filmmakers were similarly banned from making movies there for five years after its release. | David Kohl | English Subtitles | ||
12 | 12/10/2013 | "The Road Home (2007)." This is another flashback-filled story, but of a much different type. 1999's "The Road Home" is a heartfelt drama of a man who returns to his old village for the burial of his father. His aging mother wants ancient traditions observed, including the carrying of the deceased back to his home (hence, "The Road Home). Along the way, the tale of the young couple is recounted with beauty and elegance. | Shireen Farahi | English Subtitles | ||
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