Zhang Yimou. The story of a famous Chinese director in Hollywood. "Showcase of Chinese cinema"

"Showcase of Chinese cinema"


Zhang Yimou has not left China and has not shot a single film abroad. Nevertheless, in his homeland, his work is commonly called the "showcase of Chinese cinema", since his films are more popular in the West than in China. The director himself does not like this definition, because he believes that he works exclusively for the Chinese public.

However, there is certainly some truth in this metaphor. In many of Zhang's films, the Chinese authorities found a political context, hence the frequent bans at the national level. While the West worshiped the image of China in Zhang Yimou's work, awarded him various titles and prizes at festivals, the motherland rejected the master. It took a long time for the Chinese government to accept the director's work.

Still, sometimes Zhang Yimou's films also earned the favor of the authorities. This was the case with his early painting "Qiujiu Sues," which told about a pregnant villager trying to restore justice and her husband's honest name. In the plot, the authorities saw the praise of an active civic position and were happy to release the film. In 1998, the film "Not one less" received the full support of the government, huge box office receipts and was able to restore Zhang Yimou's reputation in the eyes of his compatriots.

Despite all these twists and turns, the director is absolutely not interested in politics. He said that the revolution had a great impact on him, but did not make him want to talk about political topics. He is attracted by what human qualities manifest themselves in difficult situations, how people behave within the framework of totalitarianism. Whatever his films are about — the ancient Chinese rulers, the gangsters of the 1920s, the people of today - Zhang Yimou is trying to figure out only one thing: what is a "man". This is the reason for his international fame: you don't need to understand the mastery of Chinese calligraphy to understand his films.

This was his path to five Oscar nominations and two wins at the Venice Film Festival. The Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival and other awards. Zhang Yimou directed the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008; in 2007, he was elected president of the jury of the Venice Film Festival. He himself is not inclined to talk at length about his work.: "It is said that the fifth generation of directors has made an irreplaceable contribution to the development of Chinese cinema. Of course, it's nice to hear that, but all I do is make films." Here are the special 1xBet Pakistan bonus code and promotions available for sports betting bonuses by using exclusive 1xbet promo code pakistan enter our bonus code for 1XBET in the registration form and claim exclusive bonuses for casino and sports betting. Players in Pakistan can use this code when opening your account to get a bonus of up to 36,000 PKR or $/€130.