By Andrew Loh
Director Chen Kaige is one of China’s most prominent and influential directors. Born Chen Aige in Beijing, he was the son of noted director Chen Huaiai, who directed a number of popular films during the 1950s and 1960s. He is also one of the central figures of the China’s Fifth Generation of filmmakers. These are the bunch who have gone through some of the most tumultuous time in China’s modern history: the chaotic Cultural Revolution, Great Famine, and some even joined the notorious Red Guard, where Chen once publicly denounced his own father.
He debuted with “Yellow Earth”. A visually impressive propaganda film that not many wanted to watch, but captured the attention of producer Hsu Feng (a veteran Taiwanese actress herself). Hence, they collaborated their next effort, “Farewell to My Concubine” (霸王别姬 ,1992). Perhaps this is the Chinese film most well-known to the Western audience.
Director Chen Kaige is one of China’s most prominent and influential directors. Born Chen Aige in Beijing, he was the son of noted director Chen Huaiai, who directed a number of popular films during the 1950s and 1960s. He is also one of the central figures of the China’s Fifth Generation of filmmakers. These are the bunch who have gone through some of the most tumultuous time in China’s modern history: the chaotic Cultural Revolution, Great Famine, and some even joined the notorious Red Guard, where Chen once publicly denounced his own father.
He debuted with “Yellow Earth”. A visually impressive propaganda film that not many wanted to watch, but captured the attention of producer Hsu Feng (a veteran Taiwanese actress herself). Hence, they collaborated their next effort, “Farewell to My Concubine” (霸王别姬 ,1992). Perhaps this is the Chinese film most well-known to the Western audience.
- 1/29/2020
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
China’s foremost screenwriter, Yan Geling, has teamed with Italian director and producer Cristiano Bortone to adapt Yan’s novella “The Secret Talker.”
Set during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the film is a romantic thriller centering on a Chinese woman, married to an American college professor, who thought she had found freedom and peace of mind until she suddenly starts receiving emails from a mysterious stalker. The obsessive relationship begins to reveal dark secrets of her past life in China.
“The Secret Talker” is expected to go into production in 2019 with a major Chinese actress as female lead and an American star as male lead.
Yan, who is both an author and screenwriter, was recently responsible for the novel “Youth,” a bittersweet, nostalgic tale of a military entertainment troupe. The book sold close to 1 million copies, and director Feng Xiaogang’s film adaptation was the biggest hit of the Christmas period,...
Set during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the film is a romantic thriller centering on a Chinese woman, married to an American college professor, who thought she had found freedom and peace of mind until she suddenly starts receiving emails from a mysterious stalker. The obsessive relationship begins to reveal dark secrets of her past life in China.
“The Secret Talker” is expected to go into production in 2019 with a major Chinese actress as female lead and an American star as male lead.
Yan, who is both an author and screenwriter, was recently responsible for the novel “Youth,” a bittersweet, nostalgic tale of a military entertainment troupe. The book sold close to 1 million copies, and director Feng Xiaogang’s film adaptation was the biggest hit of the Christmas period,...
- 5/11/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Berlinale has always been known for its diplomacy, for better or for worse. After last year's entry of Chen Kaige's Mei Lanfang (Forever Enthralled), here comes the last opus of the Prc's official filmmaker (and ceremony choreographer), Zhang Yimou. The once powerful director delivers his fantasy "ancient" (imperial) China remake of Coen brothers' Blood Simple. The setting: a country inn in a digitally colored desert; the characters: the young and exuberant wife of the inn's owner (an elderly man with a bitter temper), her lover (the cook), two cooks/waiters, a fat servile guy, and a matter of fact girl. The first visitor to the inn is a foreign merchant (with a pirate look and exotic assistants) who sells her a gun (a never seen object in these remote regions of ancient China), and then along comes a cunning and greedy soldier, the inevitable killer. The married couple + the...
- 2/15/2010
- MUBI
Maggie Cheung alert!
She walked the Taiwanese red carpet today in this white number to your left. She was presenting Best Picture at the Golden Horse Awards. The Golden Horse is Taiwanese in origin but it's for Chinese language films regardless of country of origin so it's very competitive now. Warlords and Lust, Caution, which both had international releases, were recent winners of Best Picture.
This year, Maggie handed the trophy to No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti which, if we ever see it in the States, might be called I Can't Live Without You or Not Without You. That's Taiwan's submission for this year's Foreign Language Film Oscar race. The film is from actor/director Leon Dai and it's about a poor man who loses his daughter once the government learns of their illegal living conditions.
No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (2009) from Taiwan
Winners
Best Picture: No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti
Best Director: Leon Dai,...
She walked the Taiwanese red carpet today in this white number to your left. She was presenting Best Picture at the Golden Horse Awards. The Golden Horse is Taiwanese in origin but it's for Chinese language films regardless of country of origin so it's very competitive now. Warlords and Lust, Caution, which both had international releases, were recent winners of Best Picture.
This year, Maggie handed the trophy to No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti which, if we ever see it in the States, might be called I Can't Live Without You or Not Without You. That's Taiwan's submission for this year's Foreign Language Film Oscar race. The film is from actor/director Leon Dai and it's about a poor man who loses his daughter once the government learns of their illegal living conditions.
No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (2009) from Taiwan
Winners
Best Picture: No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti
Best Director: Leon Dai,...
- 11/30/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Taipei, Nov 28 (Dpa) Two Chinese actors Saturday won awards at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Festival, dubbed the Oscars for Chinese-language films.
Yu Shaoqun, who portrayed opera singer Mei Lanfang in “Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang)”, won the Best New Actor award in the 46th edition of the festival, held at the Taipei County Government Auditorium outside Taipei.
Wang Xueqi, who played Mei Lanfang’s rival opera singer in the film, took the Best Supporting Actor award.
This is the first time purely Chinese films freely competed in the Golden Horse Festival. In recent years, only Chinese films which were partially invested in by Taiwan producers were allowed at the festival.
About half of.
Yu Shaoqun, who portrayed opera singer Mei Lanfang in “Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang)”, won the Best New Actor award in the 46th edition of the festival, held at the Taipei County Government Auditorium outside Taipei.
Wang Xueqi, who played Mei Lanfang’s rival opera singer in the film, took the Best Supporting Actor award.
This is the first time purely Chinese films freely competed in the Golden Horse Festival. In recent years, only Chinese films which were partially invested in by Taiwan producers were allowed at the festival.
About half of.
- 11/28/2009
- by realbollywood
- RealBollywood.com
From Albania to Vietnam, 65 countries are hoping that their film entries will get picked to fill one of the five slots for Best Foreign Language Film for the 82nd annual Academy Awards.
Five slots, 65 countries, the competition is fierce! Our friends from Variety gave us this list, is your country of choice one of the 65 hopefuls?
I'm happy that my home country, the Philippines, has a fighting chance with the dramedy "Ded na si Lolo" ("Grandpa is Dead"). Take a look at the complete list.
Albania
Alive!
(Artan Minarolli)
Synopsis: A carefree Albanian student gets drawn into an ancient blood feud when he returns home for a funeral, only to find himself a wanted man.
Awards: Belgrade Film Festival B2B development grant
Sales: Wildart Film
Argentina
El secreto de sus ojos
(Juan Jose Campanella)
Synopsis: An ambitious, complex work that combines two generation-spanning love stories, a noirish thriller, some...
Five slots, 65 countries, the competition is fierce! Our friends from Variety gave us this list, is your country of choice one of the 65 hopefuls?
I'm happy that my home country, the Philippines, has a fighting chance with the dramedy "Ded na si Lolo" ("Grandpa is Dead"). Take a look at the complete list.
Albania
Alive!
(Artan Minarolli)
Synopsis: A carefree Albanian student gets drawn into an ancient blood feud when he returns home for a funeral, only to find himself a wanted man.
Awards: Belgrade Film Festival B2B development grant
Sales: Wildart Film
Argentina
El secreto de sus ojos
(Juan Jose Campanella)
Synopsis: An ambitious, complex work that combines two generation-spanning love stories, a noirish thriller, some...
- 11/7/2009
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Best Foreign Language Film Baaria, Giuseppe Tornatore (Italy) An autobiographical tale set in the director’s Sicilian hometown Forever Enthralled, Chen Kaige (China) Biopic chronicling the life of Mei Lanfang, China’s greatest opera star. I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan (Canada) A young gay man has some serious issues with his mother. A Prophet, Jacques Audiard (France) Prison drama in which a young hood learns what it takes to reach the top of that small (and nasty) world. The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke (Germany) As a prelude to both World War I and World War II, a German village unexpectedly becomes the setting of numerous acts of cruelty. Quality (much like fairness) is in the brain of the judge. (Of course, if we’re lucky enough to have a judge [...]...
- 10/18/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
"Forever Enthralled" has been selected by The People's Republic of China to represent the country's Oscar bid at the next Academy Awards, China's Film Bureau announced on Saturday. Chen Kaige's ("Farewell My Concubine") biopic of China's famous Peking opera performer Mei Lanfang stars Leon Lai as well as Zhang Ziyi. It is a co-production of CHina Film Group as well as China Magnetics Corp. Co. The film marks Chen's third representation of China at the Oscars, the others being "Farewell My Concubine" and "The Promise."...
- 9/28/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
After the critical mauling he received for his shabby wuxia would-be epic “The Promise”, it’s easy to see Chen Kaige’s return to Peking Opera and “Farewell my Concubine” territory as going back to the well. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, as he certainly has a fascinating subject in the form of Mei Lanfang, a legendary figure known for his portrayal of female roles who toured the world and defied the Japanese during the Second World War. Given that he was the real life inspiration behind Leslie Cheung’s character in “Concubine”, his experiences seem a natural, if perhaps a little unimaginative choice for the director as he attempts to return to his glory days. The film follows Mei Lanfang during three phases in his life – his early teenage years when he first rose to prominence by challenging and defeating a renowned traditional opera king (then...
- 4/12/2009
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Berlin -- Richard Loncraine's "My One and Only," a '50s-era comedy starring Renee Zellweger and Kevin Bacon, was squeezed into the competition lineup for this year's Berlin International Film Festival, barely a week before the event kicks off.
Zellweger plays a glamorous single mom on the hunt for a rich man to foot the bill for her and her sons' lifestyle. Produced by Merv Griffith Entertainment and Ray Gun Prods., "My One and Only" will have its world premiere in Berlin. Essential Entertainment is handling international sales.
Berlin also added Lone Scherfig's Sundance favorite "An Education" with Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson and Davis Guggenheim's music documentary "It Might Get Loud" for its Berlinale Special Galas, ensuring the films will get the red carpet treatment without any of the pressure of competition.
All three films should give an added boost of star power to...
Zellweger plays a glamorous single mom on the hunt for a rich man to foot the bill for her and her sons' lifestyle. Produced by Merv Griffith Entertainment and Ray Gun Prods., "My One and Only" will have its world premiere in Berlin. Essential Entertainment is handling international sales.
Berlin also added Lone Scherfig's Sundance favorite "An Education" with Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina and Emma Thompson and Davis Guggenheim's music documentary "It Might Get Loud" for its Berlinale Special Galas, ensuring the films will get the red carpet treatment without any of the pressure of competition.
All three films should give an added boost of star power to...
- 1/27/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Berlin -- Stephen Frears' period epic "Cheri," rap biopic "Notorious" and the omnibus project "Deutschland 09," featuring a who's who of German directing talent, have made the cut for next month's Berlin International Film Festival.
As the Berlinale rushes to close its competition lineup, director Dieter Kosslick has secured several high-profile titles for the race for the 2009 Golden Bear.
These include Francois Ozon's "Ricky"; "Storm," from German art house favorite Hans-Christian Schmid ("Requiem"); and "Happy Tears," Michael Lichtenstein's hotly-anticipated follow up to his breakthrough debut, "Teeth."
The fresh faces will be joined by several old masters including Andrzej Wajda, who returns to Berlin with "Sweet Rush"; Bertrand Tavernier, whose Civil War drama "In the Electric Mist," starring Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman, will have its world premiere in Berlin; and Costa-Gavras, who will close the festival with his out-of-competition entry "Eden Is West."
Other competition titles include Danish director Annette K.
As the Berlinale rushes to close its competition lineup, director Dieter Kosslick has secured several high-profile titles for the race for the 2009 Golden Bear.
These include Francois Ozon's "Ricky"; "Storm," from German art house favorite Hans-Christian Schmid ("Requiem"); and "Happy Tears," Michael Lichtenstein's hotly-anticipated follow up to his breakthrough debut, "Teeth."
The fresh faces will be joined by several old masters including Andrzej Wajda, who returns to Berlin with "Sweet Rush"; Bertrand Tavernier, whose Civil War drama "In the Electric Mist," starring Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman, will have its world premiere in Berlin; and Costa-Gavras, who will close the festival with his out-of-competition entry "Eden Is West."
Other competition titles include Danish director Annette K.
- 1/15/2009
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- A little bit of fluff (Harald Zwart’s Pink Panther II), an Oscar hopeful (Stephen Daldry’s The Reader) and some prestige titles from master filmmakers who might have lost their touch and offerings from less-seasoned directors are among the world preems that have been announced in the Berlin Film Festival’s Competition and Out of Competition section). Some long-awaited films from the veterans in Sally Potter, Theo Angelopoulos and Chen Kaige (see pic) are being paired with filmmakers such as Moodysson, Bouchareb and Rebecca Miller. Along with Miller and Moodysson’s films, I’m looking forward to seeing Oren Moverman’s directorial debut – which will be soon a couple of weeks earlier at Sundance. Here is the complete ten list of films announced. The fest begins on the 5th of February. Alle Anderen Germanyby Maren Ade (The Forest for the Trees)with Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Hans-Jochen Wagner,
- 12/13/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
While we eagerly await more info (and trailers) for the films playing at Sundance (and hopefully news on where Cory McAbee's Stingray Sam is going), the first competition and out of competition titles have been announced for one of the other biggest fests on the planet, the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, and all I have to say is Wtf? Pink Panther II is playing out of competition?! Who's running this menagerie? They redid the entire program this year, so I hope they're still going to have the genre goods.
You can check out the real short list after the break or you can read the press release.
Alle Anderen Germany
by Maren Ade (The Forest for the Trees)
with Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Nicole Marischka
World premiere
Rage Great Britain / USA
by Sally Potter (The Tango Lesson, Orlando)
with Dame Judi Dench, Jude Law, Dianne Wiest,...
You can check out the real short list after the break or you can read the press release.
Alle Anderen Germany
by Maren Ade (The Forest for the Trees)
with Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Nicole Marischka
World premiere
Rage Great Britain / USA
by Sally Potter (The Tango Lesson, Orlando)
with Dame Judi Dench, Jude Law, Dianne Wiest,...
- 12/12/2008
- QuietEarth.us
Cologne, Germany -- War, terror, violence and a bumbling French detective will be some of the highlights of the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.
Richard Bouchareb's "London River," Lukas Moodysson's long-awaited "Mammoth," "Forever Enthralled" from Chinese director Chen Kaige, Sally Potter's "Rage," "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" from Rebecca Miller and "Alle Anderen" (Everyone Else) from Germany's Maren Ade will debut In Competition at next year's Berlinale (Feb. 5-15, 2009).
Stehen Daldry's "The Reader," an adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's bestseller and "The Dust Of Time" from Greek master Theo Angelopoulos, will have Out Of Competition slots. As will "Pink Panther 2," the comic relief entry for the 59th Berlinale, starring Steve Martin as the hilariously incompetent Inspector Clouseau.
Tom Tykwer's action thriller "The International" will open the 2009 Berlinale Feb. 5.
Richard Bouchareb's "London River," Lukas Moodysson's long-awaited "Mammoth," "Forever Enthralled" from Chinese director Chen Kaige, Sally Potter's "Rage," "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" from Rebecca Miller and "Alle Anderen" (Everyone Else) from Germany's Maren Ade will debut In Competition at next year's Berlinale (Feb. 5-15, 2009).
Stehen Daldry's "The Reader," an adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's bestseller and "The Dust Of Time" from Greek master Theo Angelopoulos, will have Out Of Competition slots. As will "Pink Panther 2," the comic relief entry for the 59th Berlinale, starring Steve Martin as the hilariously incompetent Inspector Clouseau.
Tom Tykwer's action thriller "The International" will open the 2009 Berlinale Feb. 5.
- 12/12/2008
- by By Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Eight years ago, Zhang Ziyi soared into public consciousness as the tempestuous heroine in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She's continued to score in sumptuous epics like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and The Banquet, as well as off-beat pleasures such as Seijun Suzuki's Princess Raccoon. (Let's all try to forget Memoirs of a Geisha, shall we?) In her latest film, which opened in China last week, she plays a Peking Opera singer.
Forever Enthralled is the English title of Mei Lanfang; the name of a real-life, internationally-recognized opera star well-known for playing female roles over the course of a career that lasted more than 50 years. Leon Lai, a veteran Hong Kong actor and pop singer, takes on the challenging assignment to play the legendary character, while Zhang plays fellow performer Meng Xiaodong, who was known for playing bearded men (?!). The two singers met, married, became parents, and divorced,...
Forever Enthralled is the English title of Mei Lanfang; the name of a real-life, internationally-recognized opera star well-known for playing female roles over the course of a career that lasted more than 50 years. Leon Lai, a veteran Hong Kong actor and pop singer, takes on the challenging assignment to play the legendary character, while Zhang plays fellow performer Meng Xiaodong, who was known for playing bearded men (?!). The two singers met, married, became parents, and divorced,...
- 12/11/2008
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Let’s be honest and call Chen Kaige’s previous film The Promise what it is: a pretty to look at, entertaining in bursts great big failure of a film made by a talented man who did not at all understand the genre he was dabbling in. Hence there has been a great deal of anticipation for Kaige’s new film, Forever Enthralled, a biopic of famed Chinese opera singer Mei Lanfang starring Zhang Ziyi and Masanobu Ando. This sort of thing is the type of sumptuous relationship drama that made Kaige’s name in the first place and fans are rightly happy to see him return to it. The one possible hiccup? Kaige initially cast Hong Kong pop star Gillian Chung in a key role. Shot her role, too, and then the whole Edison Chen scandal broke and Chung’s nude photos were spread all over the Hong Kong tabloids,...
- 11/30/2008
- by Todd Brown
- Screen Anarchy
Chen Kaige is a busy man. Oh yes. Apparently.
What’s for sure is that director Chen of 霸王别姬 (Farewell My Concubine), 荊柯刺秦王 (The Emperor and the Assassin) and Killing Me Softly fame (gee, that’s like going from a Pagani Zonda to an Aston Martin DB9, to end up with a 1970s tractor carrying cow manure) is currently working on 梅兰芳 (Mei Lanfang). About the life of qingyi legend Mei Lan (film title was his stage name), the Us$ 15 Million period epic will have a huge cast, with Zhang Ziyi, Leon Lai, Chen Daoming, Ando Masanobu, Sun Honglei and Gillian Chung. Now, what could become his next work is slated to be an adaptation of famous Yuan Dynasty play 趙氏孤兒 (The Orphan of Zhao). But now the interesting bit: TV stars (and real life couple) Zhang Guoli and Deng Jie were raising funds already for their own version of the film,...
What’s for sure is that director Chen of 霸王别姬 (Farewell My Concubine), 荊柯刺秦王 (The Emperor and the Assassin) and Killing Me Softly fame (gee, that’s like going from a Pagani Zonda to an Aston Martin DB9, to end up with a 1970s tractor carrying cow manure) is currently working on 梅兰芳 (Mei Lanfang). About the life of qingyi legend Mei Lan (film title was his stage name), the Us$ 15 Million period epic will have a huge cast, with Zhang Ziyi, Leon Lai, Chen Daoming, Ando Masanobu, Sun Honglei and Gillian Chung. Now, what could become his next work is slated to be an adaptation of famous Yuan Dynasty play 趙氏孤兒 (The Orphan of Zhao). But now the interesting bit: TV stars (and real life couple) Zhang Guoli and Deng Jie were raising funds already for their own version of the film,...
- 8/12/2008
- by X
- Screen Anarchy
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