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Xu Shaoli Movies

1989  
 
This very commercial Chinese action drama is based on a popular novel Storm on the Tong River by Sima Wensen. In the story, set in Fujian province in the 1930s, the area suffers from the chaos brought from three rival gangs as they compete for control of the region. The nationalist government has sent someone from Beijing to sort things out: instead, he has joined one of the gangs, hoping to help it wipe out the others. A communist man returns from a stay overseas, only to find that his father hopelessly addicted to opium, and that his wife has given birth to another man's child. All sorts of intrigues and complex subplots swirl throughout the film, as the battles rage. This film has a sequel titled Yingyang Jie, or Realm Between the Living and the Dead. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Starring:
Tao ZeruXu Shaoli, (more)
 
1989  
 
Hainu is a Chinese soldier who is stranded on a desert island in the Pacific. There, as perhaps its only other occupant, he discovers the equally stranded Japanese woman Fusako, who was brought to the Pacific as a "comfort woman" (prostitute) for Japanese troops. Though he considers killing her, the two strike up an acquaintance, then a relationship, and finally a romance, complete with child. All goes well until the planned-for Japanese troops arrive. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Starring:
Xu Shaoli
 
1987  
 
Add Woman, Demon, Human to Queue Add Woman, Demon, Human to top of Queue  
Three different women play three periods in the life of a successful actress in modern-day classical Chinese theater, whose hallmark role is as a male demon, Zhong Kui. Flashbacks take place as she applies the makeup for this role, and bring the story of her life (from the 1950s to the 1980s) to light, beginning with the sacrifice her loving peasant father made to ensure that she got the attention she needed to be a success on the stage. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Starring:
Xu ShaoliLi Baotian, (more)
 
1986  
 
Originally titled Ye Shan, In the Wild Mountains was filmed on location in the Northern China province of Shaanxi, where the story takes place. The central characters are a pair of brothers, Hehe and Huihui. Huihui is satisfied with his austere existence as a farmer, but Hehe is eager to improve his lifestyle. When Hehe heads to the City to make his fortune, he leaves his young wife Quirong in Huihui's care. Huihui's own wife Guijan, fascinated by the returning Hehe's tales of the wonders of the City, leaves Huihui to join Hehe. The two erstwhile lovers are later ostracized by Huihui and by the rest of the village. Out of this family crisis grows the film's satisfying denouement: Hehe is paired with Guijan, while Huihui finds the mate of his dreams in Quirong. The most winning aspect of In the Wild Mountains is its equanimity; we are invited to empathize with everyone in the story, rather than pass judgment over their occasional human frailties. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Du YuanYue Hong, (more)