Editors' picks: issue #8 - Chinese New Year

To celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Pig on February 5th, the Film & TV Editors have each chosen one of their favourite films from the world of Chinese and Hong Kong Cinema.

Ju Dou, 1990
Dir: Zhang Yimou
Chosen by Patrick Sullivan, Film & TV Editor

An early film by one of China’s great contemporary directors, Zhang Yimou, Ju Dou features a forbidden love in a rural setting, not unlike American auteur Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978), and one of the most terrifying teenagers of cinema in Tianbai (Ji-an Zheng). Li Gong put in a powerful performance and went on to become of China’s most recognised actresses, winning Best Actress at Venice Film Festival in 1992 for another Yimou film, The Story of Qiu Ju (1992). She plays the titular character, who is abused by her cruel, impotent husband for failing to provide an heir before she claims the child she conceives with his hardworking nephew is his. Overall, the film is an insight into the familial pressures of Chinese society, and the vast spaces of rural China differ from the megacities known to many.

Kung Fu Hustle, 2004
Dir: Stephen Chow
Chosen by Luke Silverman, Film & TV Deputy Editor

Kung Fu Hustle is a martial arts gangster comedy film that follows Sing, played by director Stephen Chow, and his simple minded sidekick Bone, portrayed by Lam Chi-chung. The premise is simple: Sing and Bone are desperate to join the notorious Axe Gang to affirm their lives as gangsters and a place in society. Along the way, however, we meet a colourful band of supporting characters who fill the narrative with such brilliant performances that it makes it hard to resist the charm of this film. Of particular note is Yuen Qiu, who plays the Landlady of Pig Sty Alley - the victim of attack by the Axe Gang. Her dynamic with Yuen Wah, the Landlord, is incredibly funny throughout. The fight choreography is exceptional and at times takes on a cartoon style. If you are a fan of Jackie Chan’s filmography, check out this one too.

In The Mood for Love, 2000
Dir: Wong Kar-wai
Chosen by James Turnbull, Film & TV Online Editor

Though I enjoyed my first taste of Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai’s work - 2013’s The Grandmaster - I never expected to be so utterly entranced by this film, widely considered to be his magnum opus. In The Mood For Love delicately walks the fine line between ecstasy and despair, bringing to life the all-too-fleeting moments of romance between two neighbours (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who seem doomed to long for each other from afar. The stunning cinematography presents audiences with a glimpse at an almost dreamlike sensual limbo, and I couldn’t help but admire how frames so busy with human life could feel so desperately lonely. But it’s the music that sticks with me after all this time. ‘Yumeji’s Theme’, the film’s instantly iconic cello leitmotif, is truly unforgettable.

Spring in a Small Town, 1948
Dir: Fei Mu
Chosen by Miles Jackson, Student Film Correspondent

Widely regarded as the greatest film of pre-Communist China, Spring in a Small Town is a delicate exercise in minimalism that follows a Chinese family crippled in the wake of the Second World War. The locales - battered by war - perfectly frame a profoundly sad love triangle, brought to life by an uncompromising cinematic stillness that makes even the smallest of gestures speak volumes. The stark, black and white photography - expert in its use of shadow - as well as its profound soliloquies, make it a worthy companion piece to the desolate chamber pieces of Ingmar Bergman. Like that auteur’s films, Spring in a Small Town’s languid pace can certainly be taxing, but Fei Mu’s lushly understated compositions tell an affecting story not only about its characters but about post-war China as a whole.

Featured Image Credits: IMDb / China Film Co-Production Corporation, IMDb / Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, IMDb / Block 2 Pictures, IMDb / Wenhua Film Company
Collage via Canva

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