If we had a nickel for every time a television series written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ended up courting a significant amount of controversy...
Years after their last major production came to a divisive end, the "Game of Thrones" creators have launched their next big-budget gambit with Netflix's "3 Body Problem" (reviewed for /Film by yours truly here), yet another boundary-pushing adaptation based on a series of novels long considered to be as dense and audience-unfriendly as it gets. Yeah, that definitely sounds familiar. But unlike author George R.R. Martin's much edgier and more modern take on the fantasy genre, Chinese writer Liu Cixin wrote his alien-invasion epic "The Three-Body Problem" with much less provocative themes in mind -- or, at least, provocative in very different ways.
Many streaming subscribers received their first taste of the show's incredibly hard sci-fi trappings after its debut this past weekend,...
Years after their last major production came to a divisive end, the "Game of Thrones" creators have launched their next big-budget gambit with Netflix's "3 Body Problem" (reviewed for /Film by yours truly here), yet another boundary-pushing adaptation based on a series of novels long considered to be as dense and audience-unfriendly as it gets. Yeah, that definitely sounds familiar. But unlike author George R.R. Martin's much edgier and more modern take on the fantasy genre, Chinese writer Liu Cixin wrote his alien-invasion epic "The Three-Body Problem" with much less provocative themes in mind -- or, at least, provocative in very different ways.
Many streaming subscribers received their first taste of the show's incredibly hard sci-fi trappings after its debut this past weekend,...
- 3/25/2024
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution was one of the deadliest periods in Chinese history for those in the scientific and technological community. Fueled by the desire to remove all forms of Western influence, Mao’s Red Guards destroyed laboratories, burned scientific literature, and executed or incarcerated scientists. It was a dark and troublesome decade for many people, including for acclaimed science fiction author Cixin Liu. Liu was only three when the political upheaval began, but remembers the gunshots and the Red Guards patrolling the streets.This distressing decade plays a pivotal role in his 2008 Hugo Award-winning novel, The Three-Body Problem.
- 3/25/2024
- by Laura Sirikul
- Primetimer
One of the world’s great true-life train heist stories is set to return to the big screen in China. Filmmaker DaMing Chen and veteran producer Chris Lee have partnered to develop a feature adaptation of James Zimmerman’s acclaimed nonfiction book, The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China.
The new film, like the book, will recount the improbable saga of a 1923 incident once known as the “Lincheng Outrage,” which was sparked when Chinese bandits raided a luxury express train bound for Beijing and took over 300 international hostages — captivating the world and stirring up a six-week geopolitical showdown. A subject of popular fascination a century ago, the event inspired no less than Josef von Sternberg’s 1932 romance/adventure classic Shanghai Express, starring Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, as well as two later Paramount Pictures remakes.
Zimmerman’s book...
The new film, like the book, will recount the improbable saga of a 1923 incident once known as the “Lincheng Outrage,” which was sparked when Chinese bandits raided a luxury express train bound for Beijing and took over 300 international hostages — captivating the world and stirring up a six-week geopolitical showdown. A subject of popular fascination a century ago, the event inspired no less than Josef von Sternberg’s 1932 romance/adventure classic Shanghai Express, starring Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, as well as two later Paramount Pictures remakes.
Zimmerman’s book...
- 3/23/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This article contains spoilers for 3 Body Problem episode 1.
Netflix has relentlessly promoted its latest big budget series, 3 Body Problem, as a science fiction epic.
Based on a trilogy of sci-fi novels from Cixin Liu, the show is full of speculative ideas and a storytelling canvas of the known universe. Going into episode 1, viewers have been primed to expect aliens at the very most or some outer space at the very least. Imagine their surprise then when episode 1 “Countdown” opens with the text “Beijing, Tsinghua University, 1966.”
As that text promises, the first five minutes of 3 Body Problem take place in Beijing, 1966 at a revolutionary rally known as a “struggle session.” Through the eyes of the young Ye Wenjie (Zine Tsung) we watch as her peers parade several academics onstage and humiliate them.
“Root out the bugs! Sweep away all monsters and demons!” the teenagers cry as they raise...
Netflix has relentlessly promoted its latest big budget series, 3 Body Problem, as a science fiction epic.
Based on a trilogy of sci-fi novels from Cixin Liu, the show is full of speculative ideas and a storytelling canvas of the known universe. Going into episode 1, viewers have been primed to expect aliens at the very most or some outer space at the very least. Imagine their surprise then when episode 1 “Countdown” opens with the text “Beijing, Tsinghua University, 1966.”
As that text promises, the first five minutes of 3 Body Problem take place in Beijing, 1966 at a revolutionary rally known as a “struggle session.” Through the eyes of the young Ye Wenjie (Zine Tsung) we watch as her peers parade several academics onstage and humiliate them.
“Root out the bugs! Sweep away all monsters and demons!” the teenagers cry as they raise...
- 3/22/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
In the previous episode of 3 Body Problem, Jin and Jack play through two more levels of the VR game, solving the riddles. Through the multiple gameplays that they indulged in, Jin concluded that the planet is part of a solar system with three suns. Inherently, the planet revolves around a single sun, but because of its proximity to the other two suns, the planet suffers from chaotic periods in the form of extinction events. The planet’s position in the system is a classic example of a three-body problem in physics that has practically no possible solution.
Proceeding to level 3, Jin and Jack find out that the game’s objective is not to prevent the planet from destruction but to ensure the survival of the people. Since a three-body problem can have no solution, the only solution to ensuring the survival of the inhabitants is for them to flee.
Proceeding to level 3, Jin and Jack find out that the game’s objective is not to prevent the planet from destruction but to ensure the survival of the people. Since a three-body problem can have no solution, the only solution to ensuring the survival of the inhabitants is for them to flee.
- 3/21/2024
- by Shrey Ashley Philip
- Film Fugitives
A political science-fiction thriller based on the book of the same name, 3 Body Problem offers more than what meets the eye. It is not every day that we will come across something as thought-provoking as this series. The least it is going to do is underscore the meaninglessness of the human condition and what gives rise to misanthropy. But again, it makes me wonder about the distinction between nihilism and misanthropy. I do feel that, as of late, we need more movies and series that challenge our inflated sense of self as human beings. The way we have evolved into beings of colossal destruction, I can’t help but feel the lack of a solution to this endless cycle. As cavemen, we evolved to solve the ‘me vs. you’ problem and successfully built ourselves into a society; however, we never really learned how to adapt to the ‘us vs.
- 3/21/2024
- by Shrey Ashley Philip
- Film Fugitives
HBO’s fresh political satire starring the Oscar-winner, ever-so-charming Kate Winslet, is all bark, no bite—at least from the looks of the pilot. This didn’t have to be the case, but the fact that The Regime is playing it too safe for the dark comedy to be truly dark is rather evident. A fictional European country being torn apart in the tug-of-war between internal autocracy and external exploitation sounds like a perfect setup for the dark humor The Regime is aiming for. But as of now, Will Tracy’s show seems to be bogged down by the same flaws that doomed The Menu, and the boldness that made Succession work is sadly missing.
Spoilers Ahead
What’s Wrong With The Chancellor?
It’s been seven years since the former physician Elena Vernham overthrew her left-leaning opponent and made this fictional country in central Europe her playground. I say...
Spoilers Ahead
What’s Wrong With The Chancellor?
It’s been seven years since the former physician Elena Vernham overthrew her left-leaning opponent and made this fictional country in central Europe her playground. I say...
- 3/4/2024
- by Lopamudra Mukherjee
- Film Fugitives
On Saturday, audiences in Berlin will see the world premiere of “Above the Dust,” a Chinese-made drama that plays somewhat incongruously in the Generation Kplus section, which screens films for or about children. Whether the film plays again, and where, is moot.
The film’s director Wang Xiaoshuai, a three-time winner of Silver Bear awards at the Berlinale, is taking a considerable personal risk going ahead with the screening in the absence of approval from the mainland Chinese authorities.
With a young teen boy as the protagonist, the film depicts a hardscrabble family in a village in northwest China in 2009. While their neighbors slowly migrate to the city, the boy’s parents dig up the arid land in search of family heirlooms. Communicating with the ghost of his grandfather, the boy learns about the 1950s reforms that transferred peasant-owned land to the government and about the disastrous Great Leap Forward.
The film’s director Wang Xiaoshuai, a three-time winner of Silver Bear awards at the Berlinale, is taking a considerable personal risk going ahead with the screening in the absence of approval from the mainland Chinese authorities.
With a young teen boy as the protagonist, the film depicts a hardscrabble family in a village in northwest China in 2009. While their neighbors slowly migrate to the city, the boy’s parents dig up the arid land in search of family heirlooms. Communicating with the ghost of his grandfather, the boy learns about the 1950s reforms that transferred peasant-owned land to the government and about the disastrous Great Leap Forward.
- 2/17/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Luoluo's Youth” is the second documentary by director Luo Ziyue, also known as Luo Luo, following her debut feature “Luo Luo's Fear”, which was selected for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in 2021. Luo Luo's second work was chosen for the competition in the second edition of the Mint Chinese Film Festival, the first women-organized Chinese film festival in the UK.
Luoluo's Youth is screening at Mint Chinese Film Festival
The film opens with a peculiar sequence of a woman deciding to practice yoga on the floor of her small kitchen. Soon, the viewer realizes that she is not only the protagonist of the documentary but also its director, Luo Luo. The woman spends her life taking care of her elderly father, occasionally looking after her granddaughter, but above all, sharing her experience with the “Folk Memory Project” members. It is essential to briefly explain the nature of this project...
Luoluo's Youth is screening at Mint Chinese Film Festival
The film opens with a peculiar sequence of a woman deciding to practice yoga on the floor of her small kitchen. Soon, the viewer realizes that she is not only the protagonist of the documentary but also its director, Luo Luo. The woman spends her life taking care of her elderly father, occasionally looking after her granddaughter, but above all, sharing her experience with the “Folk Memory Project” members. It is essential to briefly explain the nature of this project...
- 2/6/2024
- by Siria Falleroni
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s a family affair for filmmaker Wang Jialai, taking a closer look at her mother and grandmother in feature debut “Paragate,” now showing at documentary festival IDFA. But she is not done just yet. She is currently also developing a new hybrid documentary under the working title “La Revenante” (“The Revenant”).
“It talks about both of my parents and about their religion: My mother is a Buddhist and my father is a Christian. They are both very spiritual and I am trying to understand how they became this way. I think they both led a very difficult life, so they needed this spiritual support,” she reveals to Variety.
“At this point, my mother couldn’t live without religion. She has nothing else. The Goddess of Mercy [known as Guanyin] and her Buddhist master are her family now.”
In the new film, she is hoping to approach religion “from the inside,” Wang says.
“It talks about both of my parents and about their religion: My mother is a Buddhist and my father is a Christian. They are both very spiritual and I am trying to understand how they became this way. I think they both led a very difficult life, so they needed this spiritual support,” she reveals to Variety.
“At this point, my mother couldn’t live without religion. She has nothing else. The Goddess of Mercy [known as Guanyin] and her Buddhist master are her family now.”
In the new film, she is hoping to approach religion “from the inside,” Wang says.
- 11/13/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Clockwise from upper left: The Departed (Warner Bros.), Martin Scorsese accepting his Academy Award for Best Director (Kevin Winter/Getty Images), Raging Bull (United Artists), The Last Temptation Of Christ (Universal)Graphic: Karl Gustafson
To generations of film lovers, it seems as if Martin Scorsese has always been with us,...
To generations of film lovers, it seems as if Martin Scorsese has always been with us,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Mark Keizer, Jen Lennon, and Cindy White
- avclub.com
Tl;Dr:
John Lennon criticized politics in The Beatles’ “Revolution.” He said the different versions of the song were not consistent. Only one recording of the track was a hit.
John Lennon explained one of the lyrics from The Beatles’ “Revolution.” He said he wrote that line from The Beatles’ “Revolution” because he was a coward. In addition, he said he used the song to criticize some of the political activists of the era.
John Lennon said The Beatles’ ‘Revolution’ reflected his political ambivalence
The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes an interview John did with Tariq Ali in 1971. Ali is a communist activist. During the interview, Ali asked John if he was “knocking politics” in The Beatles’ “Revolution.”
“Oh, sure,” John said. “There’s two versions of the song ‘Revolution.’ Of course, the underground left picked up on the one that says, ‘Count me out.’ But the original version,...
John Lennon criticized politics in The Beatles’ “Revolution.” He said the different versions of the song were not consistent. Only one recording of the track was a hit.
John Lennon explained one of the lyrics from The Beatles’ “Revolution.” He said he wrote that line from The Beatles’ “Revolution” because he was a coward. In addition, he said he used the song to criticize some of the political activists of the era.
John Lennon said The Beatles’ ‘Revolution’ reflected his political ambivalence
The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes an interview John did with Tariq Ali in 1971. Ali is a communist activist. During the interview, Ali asked John if he was “knocking politics” in The Beatles’ “Revolution.”
“Oh, sure,” John said. “There’s two versions of the song ‘Revolution.’ Of course, the underground left picked up on the one that says, ‘Count me out.’ But the original version,...
- 7/5/2023
- by Matthew Trzcinski
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
The third episode of “Tooth Pari” reveals that Ad and Amar work together to create a special blood mixture called hemalin, which is used to treat patients with incurable diseases. Meanwhile, Rumi comes to the police station to report a robbery at Roy’s clinic. Kartik and Rumi go to the clinic together, and Kartik takes Roy’s statements regarding the robbery. Suddenly, Kartik remembers Badshah and calls him to find out he has been admitted to Chittaranjan Hospital. When Kartik arrives at the hospital, Badshah attacks him, but Ora saves him at the right time. This episode ended with the possibility of Badshah being taken to the hideout, with there being a high chance that he might reveal Rumi’s secret.
In the fourth episode of “Tooth Pari,” Rumi, Meera, and David decide to keep Badshah’s condition a secret from the rest of the group, and instead, Meera...
In the fourth episode of “Tooth Pari,” Rumi, Meera, and David decide to keep Badshah’s condition a secret from the rest of the group, and instead, Meera...
- 4/23/2023
- by Raschi Acharya
- Film Fugitives
by Simon Ramshaw
There is a moment in Jia Zhangke’s “Platform” where an argument between a cynic and an idealist creates an unexpected glimpse of a bright future. One of the film’s central characters Cui Mingliang (Wang Hongwei) declares “the four modernisations: Industry, Agriculture, Defense and Science” will be embraced by China in the year 2000, and it’s no mistake that this statement is a bitterly ironic one for his little town. Taking place between 1979 and 1989, Jia’s second feature film looks at the fallout of the death of Mao Zedong and the formation of the People’s Republic of China, which leaves the performers of provincial Communist theatre troupes without the purpose they once had in Mao’s lifetime. Their stage plays are state-sanctioned propaganda that young and old alike attend in their droves, yet there is the pervasive feeling that this nostalgia will take them nowhere.
There is a moment in Jia Zhangke’s “Platform” where an argument between a cynic and an idealist creates an unexpected glimpse of a bright future. One of the film’s central characters Cui Mingliang (Wang Hongwei) declares “the four modernisations: Industry, Agriculture, Defense and Science” will be embraced by China in the year 2000, and it’s no mistake that this statement is a bitterly ironic one for his little town. Taking place between 1979 and 1989, Jia’s second feature film looks at the fallout of the death of Mao Zedong and the formation of the People’s Republic of China, which leaves the performers of provincial Communist theatre troupes without the purpose they once had in Mao’s lifetime. Their stage plays are state-sanctioned propaganda that young and old alike attend in their droves, yet there is the pervasive feeling that this nostalgia will take them nowhere.
- 1/25/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
An early promo trailer from China has debuted for the latest film from acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, who has been making at least one new film every year even during the pandemic. Yimou's latest is a historical epic thrilelr titled Full River Red, which seems to be a commentary on Communism and China. The title of his latest film comes from a poem about Yue Fei, "a military general during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), well-known for his patriotism and loyalty to his country, who was framed and executed by Prime Minister Qin Hui, one of the most treacherous officials in China's history." Mao Zedong wrote a poem about him and the film is about Yue Fei fighting the invading Jürchen barbarians. Only a few details are known at this time. Yi Yang Qianxi stars along with Shen Teng, Yue Yunpeng, Zhang Yi, and Lei Jiayin. This has some slick long takes in it,...
- 12/28/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Chinese actor Li Yifeng, whose feature credits include The Pioneer and Mr Six, has been detained by police in Beijing for allegedly soliciting prostitutes on multiple occasions.
Citing a Sunday post on the Weibo account of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Global Times reports that Li was arrested under criminal charges, and confessed to the crime. The bureau did not disclose his full name in its post, though CCTV later said it had confirmed that it was the actor, citing sources from “authoritative channels.”
Earlier, Li’s studio had issued a statement saying that some internet comments about his personal life were simply rumors. Li had also reportedly posted on Weibo, where he has over 60 million followers, saying the rumors had caused him emotional damage and affected his ongoing businesses.
Those posts were shortly deleted, and related search terms also disappeared, state-backed local media said.
Several brands including Prada,...
Citing a Sunday post on the Weibo account of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Global Times reports that Li was arrested under criminal charges, and confessed to the crime. The bureau did not disclose his full name in its post, though CCTV later said it had confirmed that it was the actor, citing sources from “authoritative channels.”
Earlier, Li’s studio had issued a statement saying that some internet comments about his personal life were simply rumors. Li had also reportedly posted on Weibo, where he has over 60 million followers, saying the rumors had caused him emotional damage and affected his ongoing businesses.
Those posts were shortly deleted, and related search terms also disappeared, state-backed local media said.
Several brands including Prada,...
- 9/12/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The question of what it means to be a Hong Konger is examined in Chan Tze-woo’s innovative and affecting hybrid documentary “Blue Island.” Artfully editing footage of the 2019-2020 protests with dramatic recreations of events that have shaped the British colony turned Chinese special administrative region since 1967, “Blue Island” . Winner of the international documentary award at Hot Docs this year, “Blue Island” will likely never be legally exhibited in Hong Kong or China, though specialty outfit Icarus Films is distributing the film theatrically in selected U.S. cities.
After capturing the street-level intensity and passion of student activists involved in the Umbrella Movement in his 2016 documentary “Yellowing,” Chan has taken a much more expansive and creative approach in this companion piece about sustained civil disobedience in his homeland during 2019 and 2020. While there is no shortage of frontline footage of arrests and protestors clashing with police, most of the running...
After capturing the street-level intensity and passion of student activists involved in the Umbrella Movement in his 2016 documentary “Yellowing,” Chan has taken a much more expansive and creative approach in this companion piece about sustained civil disobedience in his homeland during 2019 and 2020. While there is no shortage of frontline footage of arrests and protestors clashing with police, most of the running...
- 7/27/2022
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
by Cho Jinseok
In early 2021, Chinese filmmaker Zhu Rikun sent me a work-in-progress copy of his remarkable documentary “No Desire to Hide” and I provided some feedback on the film’s still-in-development subtitles and a few elements relating to its cutting. Fast forward a few months and after seeing the final version, the film was basically as I remembered it upon first viewing: an intimate portrait of the very messy love affair between two young, rather privileged, Chinese people navigating a modern China attempting to assert its own complex moral framework in which its citizens must conform.
While the two youths in focus – filmmaker Wu Haohao and his partner Ge Ningning – may or may not be typical of many of China’s wealthier younger people, Haohao is certainly an audacious presence and has his own unique filmmaking backstory. Again, full disclosure, I met Wu Haohao decades ago in Songzhuang but...
In early 2021, Chinese filmmaker Zhu Rikun sent me a work-in-progress copy of his remarkable documentary “No Desire to Hide” and I provided some feedback on the film’s still-in-development subtitles and a few elements relating to its cutting. Fast forward a few months and after seeing the final version, the film was basically as I remembered it upon first viewing: an intimate portrait of the very messy love affair between two young, rather privileged, Chinese people navigating a modern China attempting to assert its own complex moral framework in which its citizens must conform.
While the two youths in focus – filmmaker Wu Haohao and his partner Ge Ningning – may or may not be typical of many of China’s wealthier younger people, Haohao is certainly an audacious presence and has his own unique filmmaking backstory. Again, full disclosure, I met Wu Haohao decades ago in Songzhuang but...
- 2/17/2022
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Family photos, propaganda images and grainy archival footage are manipulated, re-processed and overlaid with wonderfully simple and highly effective animation in “Silver Bird and Rainbow Fish.” This imaginative documentary essay by 36-year-old U.S.-based Chinese artist-animator-filmmaker Lei Lei assembles striking imagery and deeply personal audio recordings to chart his family’s history in China from the late 1950s to the early ’70s. Though it runs a little too long, “Silver Bird” should have a bright future at general film festivals and those specializing in animation.
After basing his 2019 feature debut “Breathless Animals” on his mother’s recollections of life in 20th century China, Lei has turned this time to audio interviews he conducted with his father Lei Jiaqi and grandfather Lei Ting in China between 2012 and 2021. Their edited memories of family life begin during the Great Leap Forward (1958-62) and conclude four years before Mao Zedong’s death brought...
After basing his 2019 feature debut “Breathless Animals” on his mother’s recollections of life in 20th century China, Lei has turned this time to audio interviews he conducted with his father Lei Jiaqi and grandfather Lei Ting in China between 2012 and 2021. Their edited memories of family life begin during the Great Leap Forward (1958-62) and conclude four years before Mao Zedong’s death brought...
- 2/5/2022
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
Errors and omissions are standard features of historical dramas everywhere. It is therefore no surprise to find Korean War history being filtered to suit domestic requirements in the three-hour Chinese blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin.” Nor is it unexpected for U.S. military characters to be cardboard cutouts with excruciatingly bad dialogue. And, like many other jingoistic war epics, this prestige production co-directed by industry heavyweights Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam
The latest in a long line of strongly nationalistic films released during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” has collected almost all its $905 million revenue (as of Dec. 27) from domestic ticket sales. It is currently the highest grossing film of 2021, with only “Spider-Man: No Way Out” and “No Time to Die” as serious rivals for the top spot.
This very old-fashioned production depicts a string of military engagements during...
The latest in a long line of strongly nationalistic films released during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” has collected almost all its $905 million revenue (as of Dec. 27) from domestic ticket sales. It is currently the highest grossing film of 2021, with only “Spider-Man: No Way Out” and “No Time to Die” as serious rivals for the top spot.
This very old-fashioned production depicts a string of military engagements during...
- 12/27/2021
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
Censorship
Malaysian authorities have declined to approve the Chinese war movie “The Battle at Lake Changjin” for theatrical release after outrage emerged online that the film promotes Communism, which is banned in the country.
The film’s local distributor Mega Film Distribution said in a statement that it is considering submitting the title again for reconsideration by the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (Lpf), and expressed its regrets that the film which has grossed $890 million so far in China had not been green lit for its Nov. 18 release.
It denied that the film promotes communism, stating, according to local reports, that such accusations were “unfair [to] those who want to watch it.”
“We believe the audience can use this film to trace how the Chinese volunteer army fought in the extreme cold and harsh environment,” it said.
The three-hour-long film tells the story of a 1950 battle at the titular lake, also known as the Chosin Reservoir,...
Malaysian authorities have declined to approve the Chinese war movie “The Battle at Lake Changjin” for theatrical release after outrage emerged online that the film promotes Communism, which is banned in the country.
The film’s local distributor Mega Film Distribution said in a statement that it is considering submitting the title again for reconsideration by the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (Lpf), and expressed its regrets that the film which has grossed $890 million so far in China had not been green lit for its Nov. 18 release.
It denied that the film promotes communism, stating, according to local reports, that such accusations were “unfair [to] those who want to watch it.”
“We believe the audience can use this film to trace how the Chinese volunteer army fought in the extreme cold and harsh environment,” it said.
The three-hour-long film tells the story of a 1950 battle at the titular lake, also known as the Chosin Reservoir,...
- 11/22/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
When Chinese indie documentarian Rikun Zhu set about chronicling the struggles of a young Maoist true believer artist, who dreams of a new life in New York, he knew he was taking on a puzzling contradiction, he says.
“It interested me a lot,” the filmmaker says, “because he always says he is a communist and loves China and Mao Zedong.”
As Zhu’s subject frets and plans, his efforts take him through long nights of lecturing and teasing his girlfriend and eventually to Beijing and beyond, all in the confused fits and starts only a youthful, restless painter in a system that censors unorthodox work could manage.
The doc, “No Desire to Hide,” screening in the Opus Bonum main competition at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, is itself an unorthodox work that would be all but impossible to see in a cinema in China, says Zhu, who also...
“It interested me a lot,” the filmmaker says, “because he always says he is a communist and loves China and Mao Zedong.”
As Zhu’s subject frets and plans, his efforts take him through long nights of lecturing and teasing his girlfriend and eventually to Beijing and beyond, all in the confused fits and starts only a youthful, restless painter in a system that censors unorthodox work could manage.
The doc, “No Desire to Hide,” screening in the Opus Bonum main competition at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, is itself an unorthodox work that would be all but impossible to see in a cinema in China, says Zhu, who also...
- 10/29/2021
- by Will Tizard
- Variety Film + TV
Timed to the occasion of China’s National Day holiday, the state spared no expense in making a most lavish and expensive slab of self-congratulatory movie propaganda with The Battle At Lake Changjin. Clocking in at nearly three hours, and spectacularly presented on an enormous IMAX screen, this is a gargantuan account of how Chinese troops outfoxed the Allied brass and pushed American and United Nations forces out of North Korea near the border of China in late 1950. The ultimate result of the fighting, which included great loss of life on both sides after three years of fearsome combat, was a North/South stand-off that continues to this day. So, whether you consider the film’s finale happy or tragic depends entirely upon where you were born and grew up.
Financially, its ending is emphatically a welcome one for everyone concerned with its production. After its world premiere at the...
Financially, its ending is emphatically a welcome one for everyone concerned with its production. After its world premiere at the...
- 10/15/2021
- by Todd McCarthy
- Deadline Film + TV
A battalion of producers and stars worked the opening night red carpet of the Beijiing Intl. Film Festival Tuesday for the world premiere of their mammoth Chinese war film “The Battle of Changjin Lake,” which is expected to rank amongst China’s highest grossing films of the year.
The nearly three-hour-long historical epic is a grind through the blood, sweat and tears of the real-life People’s Volunteer Army as they fight against all odds to defeat the U.S. army at the titular lake during the Korean War. The conflict (1950-1953) is formally known in China as the “War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.”
Producer and Bona Film Group president Yu Dong said before the screening that the movie has been “meticulously crafted into a masterpiece that can be included in the annals of Chinese film history,” thanks to five years of script development, 200 days of shoots...
The nearly three-hour-long historical epic is a grind through the blood, sweat and tears of the real-life People’s Volunteer Army as they fight against all odds to defeat the U.S. army at the titular lake during the Korean War. The conflict (1950-1953) is formally known in China as the “War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.”
Producer and Bona Film Group president Yu Dong said before the screening that the movie has been “meticulously crafted into a masterpiece that can be included in the annals of Chinese film history,” thanks to five years of script development, 200 days of shoots...
- 9/22/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
In a new documentary, film-maker Yael Bridge looks back and forward to see why some people have been so repelled by socialism and how things might change in the future
Lee Carter is a US Marine Corps veteran and Lyft driver. He is also a socialist. After he suffered a workplace injury, realised the system was broken and Googled “How do you run for office?”, he stood for election to the Virginia state assembly.
A campaign leaflet from his opponent displayed the faces of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong – and Carter, who told film-maker Yael Bridge: “It’s from another era entirely. I was born in ’87, I don’t remember the Berlin wall falling, so the ‘red scare’ – anybody who uses the big scary ‘s’ word is automatically Stalin – it just doesn’t work any more.”...
Lee Carter is a US Marine Corps veteran and Lyft driver. He is also a socialist. After he suffered a workplace injury, realised the system was broken and Googled “How do you run for office?”, he stood for election to the Virginia state assembly.
A campaign leaflet from his opponent displayed the faces of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong – and Carter, who told film-maker Yael Bridge: “It’s from another era entirely. I was born in ’87, I don’t remember the Berlin wall falling, so the ‘red scare’ – anybody who uses the big scary ‘s’ word is automatically Stalin – it just doesn’t work any more.”...
- 8/26/2021
- by David Smith in Washington
- The Guardian - Film News
Cambodian director Rithy Panh has lived in Paris since he fled his country’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime in 1979, and from that distance he has movingly taken on the mission to tell and re-tell for the cinema the tales of this usually ignored if not forgotten period in 20th century history. His last feature, The Missing Picture, directly addressed the tragic lack of images of the regime during its reign from 1975 - 1979, a gap in historical vision that Panh cleverly and endearingly tried to alleviate by using dioramas and clay figures to “picture” what was experienced by millions but has subsequently gone unseen.His new film, Exile, is more of a personal essay than that documentary and covers the next stage in Cambodia's history, the subsequent communist rule of the Democratic Kampuchea. Despite Panh being abroad during this time, the film has a particularly intimate and lyrical touch, and it,...
- 5/14/2016
- MUBI
Between them, the 12 evil dictators and leaders in this list oversaw the murder of more than 200million people and ruled over each of their respective nations and empires with an uncompromising iron fist.
Despite these harrowing statistics, it is rare for the character traits of the likes of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung to be discussed. Due to the the inhumane atrocities which they perpetrated or instigated, it is often forgotten that somewhere rooted deep within their evil souls there were some “normal” characteristics. At the end of the day, they were human after all – even if it was in a savage and extreme form.
Before being elevated to their positions of power, these rulers did live everyday lives just like the rest of the human population.
But could you guess which oppressive dictator dreamed of being a cowboy in the Wild West? Which apparently cruel leader actually...
Despite these harrowing statistics, it is rare for the character traits of the likes of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung to be discussed. Due to the the inhumane atrocities which they perpetrated or instigated, it is often forgotten that somewhere rooted deep within their evil souls there were some “normal” characteristics. At the end of the day, they were human after all – even if it was in a savage and extreme form.
Before being elevated to their positions of power, these rulers did live everyday lives just like the rest of the human population.
But could you guess which oppressive dictator dreamed of being a cowboy in the Wild West? Which apparently cruel leader actually...
- 2/20/2015
- by Chris Waugh
- Obsessed with Film
Oliver Stone was characteristically outspoken on the second day of the Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff), challenging China to rethink international co-productions and start making films that examine its past.
Speaking at the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum, Stone said, “most international co-productions are bullshit”, due to their bad acting and casting, as expecting actors to use a second language usually doesn’t work.
“The international ballgame has gotten bigger and bigger with films like Iron Man 3 and Transformers,” Stone said, referring to the trend of incorporating Chinese elements into studio pictures. “I hope they use China well. But using Chinese actors in the background because you want money is not an artistic approach.”
Stone also said he’s “run into a wall” three times trying to make films in China about Mao Tse-tung, the Cultural Revolution and a documentary around the Beijing Olympics. “Three times I’ve made real efforts to coproduce and come up short...
Speaking at the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum, Stone said, “most international co-productions are bullshit”, due to their bad acting and casting, as expecting actors to use a second language usually doesn’t work.
“The international ballgame has gotten bigger and bigger with films like Iron Man 3 and Transformers,” Stone said, referring to the trend of incorporating Chinese elements into studio pictures. “I hope they use China well. But using Chinese actors in the background because you want money is not an artistic approach.”
Stone also said he’s “run into a wall” three times trying to make films in China about Mao Tse-tung, the Cultural Revolution and a documentary around the Beijing Olympics. “Three times I’ve made real efforts to coproduce and come up short...
- 4/17/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Oliver Stone was characteristically outspoken on the second day of the Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff), challenging China to rethink international co-productions and start making films that examine its past.
Speaking at the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum, Stone said, “most international co-productions are bullshit”, due to their bad acting and casting, as expecting actors to use a second language usually doesn’t work.
“The international ballgame has gotten bigger and bigger with films like Iron Man 3 and Transformers,” Stone said, referring to the trend of incorporating Chinese elements into studio pictures. “I hope they use China well. But using Chinese actors in the background because you want money is not an artistic approach.”
Stone also said he’s “run into a wall” three times trying to make films in China about Mao Tse-tung, the Cultural Revolution and a documentary around the Beijing Olympics. “Three times I’ve made real efforts to coproduce and come up short...
Speaking at the Sino-Foreign Film Co-production Forum, Stone said, “most international co-productions are bullshit”, due to their bad acting and casting, as expecting actors to use a second language usually doesn’t work.
“The international ballgame has gotten bigger and bigger with films like Iron Man 3 and Transformers,” Stone said, referring to the trend of incorporating Chinese elements into studio pictures. “I hope they use China well. But using Chinese actors in the background because you want money is not an artistic approach.”
Stone also said he’s “run into a wall” three times trying to make films in China about Mao Tse-tung, the Cultural Revolution and a documentary around the Beijing Olympics. “Three times I’ve made real efforts to coproduce and come up short...
- 4/17/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
This story first appeared in the Oct. 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Agency Assistant (Don't Go Crazy) As Mao Tse-tung (and Ari Emanuel) says, "The longest journey begins with the first step." You've pounded the pavement and secured your first job in entertainment. Now you need to pay the rent. Living in Los Angeles on an assistant salary is no easy feat, but you can make it work by controlling costs (meaning lunches at Walter's, not The Grill), minimizing debt (i.e. Vegas trips) and starting good habits like building a 401(k) or Ira with frequent and
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- 10/2/2013
- by Jeff Runyan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Title: Our Nixon Cinedigm/ CNN Films Director: Penny Lane Cast: Richard Nixon, H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Dwight Chapin, Barbara Walters, George McGovern, Walter Cronkite, Henry Kissinger, Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon, Chou En-lai, Mao Tse-tung Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 6/27/13 Opens: August 30, 2013 Even if you don’t know much about history, you may remember some U.S. presidents by their famous quotes. Lincoln: “Fourscore and seven years ago…” Roosevelt: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Clinton: “I did not have sex with that woman.” Bush 41: “Read my lips. No new taxes.” Bush 43: “Mission accomplished.” But one quote blows the others away; the awesome statement by Nixon [ Read More ]
The post Our Nixon Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Our Nixon Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/29/2013
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
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