China Through Film: 7 Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers You Should Know About

China Through Film: 7 Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers You Should Know About
Dec 03, 2014 By Sam Elliot , eChinacities.com

Cinema is a wonderfully accessible cultural outlet and it is a great way to learn about the tastes, experiences and attitudes of another society. To help you learn more about China and its popular culture, we’ve taken a look at some of the best contemporary filmmakers from Mainland China and Hong Kong today.

1) Wang Quanan
Wang Quanan is a leading figure of the “Sixth Generation” of Chinese filmmakers. This refers to largely amateur and underground auteurs in the post-Tiananmen Square era who frequently worked without state backing and funding, often only to fall foul of state censorship.

Wang is very typical of this movement; he often challenges Chinese cinematic conventions and is not afraid to court controversy. His depiction of sex has led to his films being heavily censored prior to their theatrical releases. He also acts and his cinematography is very innovative and often feels experimental.

Wang’s work has been well received at the Berlin International Film Festival, winning several awards including the “Golden Bear” prize in 2007. He is best known for films such as Tuya’s Marriage (图雅的婚事), Apart Together (团圆) and White Deer Plain (白鹿原). His work often focuses on China’s rural working class and the gritty side of provincial life in China. Apart Together is compulsory viewing for anyone living in Shanghai. The film tells the story of Liu Yansheng, a Chinese Civil War veteran forced to flee to Taiwan in 1949, who returns to Shanghai after 60 years to find his estranged wife and a son that he never knew of. The film taps flawlessly into the spirit of the city and much of it is in Shanghainese, so make sure to watch it with subtitles.  

2) Johnnie To
Johnnie To is a Hong Kong-born director and producer who has made films in a broad range of genres but is best known for his action and crime movies. Election (黑社會) and Election 2 (黑社會:以和爲貴) tells the story of a power struggle inside a Hong Kong triad. Shot in a slick, realist style akin to Infernal Affairs, the Election duology is often described as Hong Kong’s answer to The Godfather.

To is surprisingly flexible as a filmmaker. The psychological thriller Mad Detective (神探), delves into the Gothic and morbid that seems to be so often neglected in Chinese cinema. This film revolves around a somewhat macabre protagonist: Bun is a schizophrenic police inspector who has the power to see people’s ‘ghosts’ or true selves and was forced to retire after cutting off his own ear and offering it to his boss.

3) Jiang Wen
Jiang’s dark sense of humor has caused a great deal of controversy. His directorial debut In the Heat of the Sun (阳光灿烂的日子) – a critical triumph – is a coming-of-age tale that rather on focusing on the negative side of the Cultural Revolution, focuses on the blissful times of teens as they discover love and desire in the Chinese capital. Devils on the Doorstep (鬼子来了), winner of the Grand Prix in the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a Chinese villager who is forced by a mysterious figure to take two prisoners from the Japanese Army. Fearing both the mystery man and the Japanese forces, the village falls into a dilemma over what to do with the two prisoners. The film satirizes remorselessly how China has perpetuated an attitude of blaming Japan as an aggressor and depicted the Chinese people as passive victims.

In more recent times, Jiang’s reputation was propelled to new heights thanks to his hugely successful film Let The Bullets Fly (让子弹飞), the highest grossing Chinese film in Chinese movie history. A revolutionary western, the film’s true genius is the layers of political undertones and veiled critiques of modern Chinese society.

4) Jia Zhangke
Like many filmmakers from the Sixth Generation, Jia’s films are characterized by confusion and disillusionment with China's contemporary social tensions and its gravitation towards international capitalism. A Touch of Sin (天注定) tells four allegedly true stories: a disgruntled Shanxi miner who murders his corrupt bosses; a bandit from Chongqing; a young factory worker in Guangdong who throws himself from his dorm window; and a Hubei woman working as a receptionist in a seedy sauna who kills an abusive party official. Like Michael Douglas’ character in Falling Down, all of these characters have been pushed to a vengeful breaking point by the everyday injustices they face. The film speaks volumes about those who feel alienated and resentful towards modernity in China. The film makes several ironic references to the Wuxia genre and its title is a reference to the wuxia film Touch of Zen (侠女).

In general, Jia Zhangke rose to prominence in the European art house cinema circuit due to his depiction of what many call “real China”. Films like Platform (站台) and Still Life (三峡好人) follow the lives of ordinary people as they struggle in their personal lives to the backdrop of a radically changing China. Most of his earlier films were banned from official release in China due to their “realistic” take on modern China.

5) Ning Hao
Ning Hao is currently China’s most successful young director; a recurring motif in his work is a heady mix of crime thrillers and black comedy as well as an interweaving of parallel plots that is reminiscent of Amorres Perros, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Pulp Fiction.

His most recent work, No Man's Land (无人区), is set in the northwestern deserts of China and chronicles a young city slicker lawyer who helps to get a poacher acquitted of killing a police officer. When the poacher fails to pay his fees on time, the lawyer takes his car as collateral which sets a series of strange and dangerous events into motion.

6) Diao Yinan
Complete with femme fatales, jaded police officers and a bleak world view, Diao Yinan’s work is characterized by his modern take on the classic film noir genre.

His recent film, Black Coal, Thin Ice (白日焰火) includes a cynical detective, a trail of dismembered corpses and a black widow with a terrible secret. The male lead, a Byronic anti-hero, is reminiscent of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade. The film was shown in competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, and went on to win the “Golden Bear” prize. The film's leading actor Liao Fan also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.

7) Wong Kar-Wai
Wong Kar-Wai has been a groundbreaking force for Chinese film directors on the international stage. He was the first Chinese director to win the Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, for Happy Together (春光乍洩) in 1997, and was the first Chinese person to be elected President of the Jury for the 2006 Festival.

His work often centers on frustrated and unconsummated love and chance meetings are a recurring motif. Though originally Shanghainese, Wong Kar-Wai brilliantly uses Hong Kong as a backdrop to reflect the isolation and loneliness of urban living.

With In the Mood for Love (花样年华), the focus centres on the jilted neighbors Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-Zhen (Maggie Cheung) who form a strong platonic bond over their shared suspicion of their respective spouses’ infidelity.

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Keywords: Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers Chinese filmmakers China’s best filmmakers

3 Comments

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Guest2781358

will have a look around for their works

Jul 12, 2015 00:25 Report Abuse

xunliang

I really like Wong Kar-wai's work. Chungking Express is a great film.

Dec 03, 2014 10:39 Report Abuse

musicjunkiealex

I have no doubt at all that there are many talented actors, actresses and directors in China, however most people will never get to see their work because the government won't allow it. For people to push back boundaries in film, music, literature and art it's often necessary to piss people off sometimes. Lots of great Western works caused absolute pandemonium when they were made, recorded or written and if censors had their way no one would have gotten to see, read or listen. It's impossible to have a thriving cultural scene in a totalitarian regime in my opinion.

Dec 03, 2014 00:59 Report Abuse