Recent Popular Cinema of China, May 14-23, 2010

Mainstream films featuring attractive stars, high production values, and stories of good versus evil.

UCLA Film & Television Archive, Film Bureau of the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT), P.R. China, and Beauty Media (ICN of America) present

RECENT POPULAR CINEMA OF MAINLAND CHINA

Though its cinematic output represents the third largest of any country, the film industry of Mainland China is still largely known in the West for its period costume epics and art films. Less well-known are the films of China's popular cinema, the genre entries, not entirely unlike their Hollywood counterparts, that feature attractive stars, high production values and stories of good versus evil in which everyday heroes always get the girl. It is also a cinema of diverse pleasures, from subtle characterization to stylized action, and significant themes, as filmmakers address the tensions of contemporary Chinese society—ecological balance, social responsibility, conflicted definitions of success—in entertaining terms. The Archive is pleased to present this showcase of offerings from the mainstream cinema of Mainland China and to welcome in person some of the represented artists.
Additional sponsorship provided by the Edna and Yu-Shan Han Charitable Foundation.

Special thanks to: The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Los Angeles; Robert and Patsy Sung; Asia Institute Southern California; UCLA Asia Institute; UCLA Center for Chinese Studies; UCLA Confucius Institute; and the UCLA Library.

IN PERSON: screenwriter Su Xiaowei (May 14); writer-director Han Zhijun and actor Zhao Xiaoyi (May 15); director Feng Xiaoning and actor Lu Xiaowei (May 23).

Friday, May 14, 2010, 7:30PM

LI SHUANGLIANG (2008, China)
Directed by Huo Jianqi

Retiring in 1983 from decades of work in a steel foundry, Li Shuangliang still has work to do. He dreams of clearing away an enormous amount of waste slag that has built up next to the foundry, polluting the environment and affecting public health. Could this toxic eyesore become a beautiful paradise? Dazzling cinematography and sensitive performances grace this portrait of everyday heroism.
Presented in Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, 90 min.

IN PERSON: Screenwriter Su Xiaowei.

Saturday, May 15, 2010, 7:30PM

TWO WOMEN IN RED SCARVES (LIANG GE GUO HONG TOU JIN DE NU REN) (2006, China)
Directed by Han Zhijun

Novelist-turned-filmmaker Han Zhijun's simple tale concerns two rural women whose similarities, symbolized by the red scarves they both wear, are undone by fate. Widow Xi Feng harbors affectionate feelings for her neighbor, Yang Tianlong, though he hunts illegally on her land. But when Yang accidentally shoots someone, a seemingly insurmountable rift divides the two friends.
Presented in Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, 95 min.

IN PERSON: Writer-director Han Zhijun, actor Zhao Xiaoyi.

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 7:00PM*

PERHAPS LOVE (RU GUO AI) (2005, China)
Directed by Peter Chan

A prolific director and UCLA alumnus, Peter Chan crafts a stylish musical that recalls golden-era Hollywood. Movie director Nie Wen (Jacky Cheung) defends his casting of a Hong Kong actress (Zhou Xun) in his latest movie, while guarding his romantic feelings and facing down the rivalry of her co-star (Kaneshiro Takeshi). Throughout, a mysterious, omniscient character gives the protagonists magical chances to relive "scenes" from the "films" of their lives, to reconsider who they were and who they have become.
Presented in Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, 100 min.

*Please note the early start time.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 7:30PM

A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES (2004, China)
Directed by Feng Xiaogang

Professional thieves Wang Bo (Andy Lau) and Wang Li (Rene Liu) are lovers and partners in crime, but Wang Li decides to reform when she meets Fu Gen, a simple peasant traveling to Beijing with a bundle of cash for his family, naively insisting that no thief would ever rob him. Word gets out, and soon the train is crawling with thieves vying with each other for the money in this action-packed caper.
Presented in Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, 112 min.

Saturday, May, 22 2010, 7:30PM

Print courtesy of Tai Seng Entertainment

THE MESSAGE (FENG SHENG) (2009, China)
Directed by Chen Kuo-fu and Gao Qunshu

In Japanese-occupied China, the powerful Colonel Takeda learns of a double-agent in his own counterinsurgency unit, so he invites his group to a remote seaside mansion to discover which of them is "The Phantom." Accusing fingers point this way and that as the agents are eliminated one by one in this tightly-wound and handsomely produced "whodunit" mystery.
35mm, 114 min.

Sunday, May 23, 2010, 3:00PM*

SPRING SUBWAY (KAI WANG CHUN TIAN DE DI TAI) (2002, China)
Directed by Zhang Yibai

This dreamy and stylish drama centers on a young couple drifting, perhaps inexorably, apart. Ever since Liu Jianbin (Geng Le) lost his job, he's been unable to tell his wife Chen Xiaohui (Xu Jinglei), instead riding the subway each day hoping for a solution. In their isolation, each one discovers other people craving human contact and affection in this heartfelt and beautifully photographed story.
Presented in Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, 90 min.

*Please note the early start time.

Sunday, May 23, 2010, 7:00PM*

SUPER TYPHOON (CHAO QIANG TAI FENG) (2008, China)
Directed by Feng Xiaoning

Director Feng Xiaoning's action-packed eco-thriller pits the leaders of a coastal Chinese community against one another as a typhoon, brought on by global warming, draws ever closer. Mayor Xu (Wu Gang) calls for a citywide evacuation while other officials would rather avoid the cost. Lives hang in the balance as Mayor Xu turns to his childhood science teacher for advice in this delirious disaster epic.
Presented in Mandarin and English dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, 92 min.

IN PERSON: Director Feng Xiaoning and actress Liu Xiaowei.

Liu Xiaowei 刘小薇 and Feng Xiaoning 冯小宁 celebrating the 2008 opening of Super Typhoon 超强台风.