Tian Zhuangzhuang Movies
Tian Zhuangzhuang is one of the most prominent filmmakers of China's Fifth Generation, along with Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. He was born in Beijing in 1952, to a family that was a part of the Communist elite. His father was Tian Fang, a noted actor from the 1930s and a director for the Beijing Film Studios after the Communists gained power. His mother was popular 1950s film star Yu Lan, who later became the head of Beijing's Children's Film Studio. While his elevated status during the relatively stable 1950s was a blessing (Tian was even allowed to sit in on censorship screenings as a child), it proved a serious liability during the mayhem of the Cultural Revolution. At age 16, he was sent to labor in remote Jilin province and later he joined the People's Liberation Army. As society began to calm down at the end of Mao's reign, Tian managed to get an apprenticeship with the government's Agriculture Film Unit, where he served as an assistant cinematographer on several education films and documentaries. In 1978, Deng Xiaopeng set about undoing many of the destructive policies of Mao's final decade, which included reopening the country's schools and universities. As with all of the other major figures of the Fifth Generation, including Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, Tian entered the first class of the Beijing Film Academy since the Cultural Revolution.He co-directed Our Corner (1980), the children's film Red Elephant (1982), and a number of television episodes until he attracted critical attention with On the Hunting Ground (1985), a documentary-style film about the hunting customs of Inner Mongolia. Like Chen Kaige's Yellow Earth (1984), Tian's movie presents the audience with a visually stunning treatment of a remote region of China, told in a challenging, enigmatic style. Unlike Yellow Earth, which was widely praised, this film's experimentalism and ethnographic subject matter failed to gain an audience. Only four prints of the movie were sold. Tian's next endeavor, Horse Thief (1986), commissioned by Xi'an Studio head Wu Tianming, featured a similar fascination with exotic minorities and cinematic experimentation. Ostensibly about a deeply religious man who has to steal the odd horse in order to provide for his family, the film is also a keenly observed meditation on the religious rites and customs of Tibetan society. Both films proved controversial, as older Communist cadre members argued that Tian's work neglected the tastes of the masses. These films have come to be considered some of the finest mainland Chinese films of the 1980s. Bowing to pressure, Tian directed a trio of mainstream films that proved popular domestically: Drum Singer (1987), Rock 'n' Roll Kids (1988), and Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch (1991).
After Zhang Yimou's international success with such strongly narrative films as Red Sorghum (1987) and Ju Dou (1990), other Fifth Generation directors, including Tian and Chen Kaige, turned away from pure art films and began producing works directed to the tastes of international film festival audiences. Chen produced his wildly popular Farewell, My Concubine (1992) and Tian produced his masterpiece, The Blue Kite (1993), a heart-wrenching account of contemporary Chinese history from the perspective of a young boy. While Tian's earlier art films had dealt obliquely with the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, this film was one of the first Chinese films to confront it directly. Shot in a neo-realistic style, The Blue Kite shows how a family endures successive tragedies as Mao's state ideology exerts greater and greater control over private life. Instead of sweeping vistas of the Tibetan Plateau, the audience is presented with claustrophobic interiors punctuated by a omnipresent icy white light reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's later works. The film caused quite a controversy, both because of its politically sensitive subject matter and because Tian submitted the film for overseas exhibition before getting permission from government censors. As a result, he was prohibited from making movies until 1996. In spite of that restriction, The Blue Kite received rave reviews from critics worldwide, winning an award from the New York Society of Film Critics and the 1993 Grand Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Since then, Tian Zhuangzhuang has produced a number of young Sixth Generation-directors' films, such as Wang Xiaoshuai's Zhangda Chengren (1998), in which he also acted. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 2009
A man is torn between his compassionate nature and the warrior's philosophy that has been drummed into him in this historical action adventure from director Tian Zhuangzhuang. During the era of the Warring States, Lu Chenkang (Joe Odagiri) is a Chinese shepherd who is strong but gentle, a man who loves animals and keeps a wolf cub as a pet as well as looking after his flocks. General Zhang Anliang (Tou Chung-hua) is leading his troops through the Kunlun Mountains, and when he meets Lu, he's convinced the shepherd has the potential to be a first-class soldier. Lu is wary, but is persuaded to join the General, and is indoctrinated into his philosophy of "Kill or Be Killed." A skirmish that goes wrong leads to the General being sent home, and Lu, who has become one of his most powerful fighters, becomes commander in his absence. As winter comes to China, Lu's army takes over an abandoned village in the mountain, and Lu finds a woman (Maggie Q) hiding in a makeshift shelter dug into the earth. Lu's initial reaction is brutal, but the woman, who had lost her husband in the war, refuses to be intimidated by him, and in time her beauty reawakens the kindness of his spirit. However, as Lu falls in love with the widow, she warns him that she is a member of a spirit tribe that can be transformed into wolves at a moment's notice, and he thinks he may have found a connection to a world in which he truly belongs. Lang Zai Ji (aka The Warrior and the Wolf) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2006
The material and spiritual sides of one man's life are reflected in a game that allowed him to become a hero in this historical drama from Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang. Wu Qingyuan (Chang Chen) was born to a wealthy family in China, and as a boy he revealed a remarkable talent for the centuries-old game known as Go. Wu's skill for the game was so great that in the 1920s he was given the opportunity to travel to Japan, where he would learn from the grand masters of Go and compete with champions from around the world. Wu spent most of the rest of his life in Japan, where his life was bordered on one side by Go and on the other by his study of Zen; however, Wu was also a Chinese man living in Japan during a time that the two nations were often in violent conflict, and he found himself viewing some of the most crucial and traumatic events of Japanese history through the eyes of an outsider. Wu Qingyuan received its American premiere at the 2006 New York Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chang Chen, Sylvia Chang, (more)
- 2004
The Tea Horse Road is a path that winds through the mountains of China near Tibet; it is one of the most perilous and forbidding routes on Earth, but also a place where one can see a remarkable amount of natural beauty. A road that has been in use for centuries, the Tea Horse is being made obsolete by a newer and more easily navigable route, and Chinese documentarian Tian Zhuangzhuang brought a camera crew along as a team of mules hauled a load a supplies for the new road along the old route. Delamu explores the Tea Horse Road and the people who travel on it and live near it, and the film not only documents a side of Chinese culture that is slowly but surely fading away, but visits people living a simple lifestyle that is a throwback to another age. Delamu received its North American premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
For his first feature since 1993's acclaimed The Blue Kite, director Tian Zhuangzhuang chose to remake a classic 1949 Chinese film, Springtime in a Small Town. The film takes place in 1946. Yuwen (Hu Jingfan) lives on a country estate with her sickly husband, Dai Liyan (Wu Jun), and his rambunctious teenage sister, Dai Xiu (Lu Sisi). They are waited on by the family's longtime servant, Lao Huang (Ye Xiaokeng). Yuwen cares for her husband and she's kind to him, but she doesn't seem to love him. Frustrated with his inability to give her a child due to his constant illness, she sleeps in a separate room. For his part, Liyan feels guilt and shame over his inability to properly care for his wife. Their lives are disrupted by the arrival of Liyan's childhood friend, Zhang Zhichen (Xin Bajqing), a well-traveled doctor. Liyan soon learns that his old friend was once his wife's neighbor, but he doesn't know that they were also in love, and had at one time planned to marry. Tensions swirl about the household as Yuwen and Zhichen try to reconcile their lingering feelings for each other with their responsibility to Liyan. Springtime in a Small Town won the San Marco Prize at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, and was selected for the 2002 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hu Jingfan, Wu Jun, (more)
So Close to Paradise was filmed by director Wang Xiaoshuai in 1994, but was not publicly shown until 1998; the film reportedly went through re-editing and re-shooting after running into interference from government authorities before finally being approved for release. The film concerns two friends living in Wuhan, a major point of commerce along the Yangtze River. Dongzi (Shi Yu) works as a "pole carrier," an errand boy who lugs heavy loads from one place to another; he's convinced one gets ahead in life through hard work and determination. Gao Ping (Guo Tao), on the other hand, avoids physical labor and is trying to scam his way through life. One night, the two visit a shabby nightclub where they meet a sultry singer named Ruan Hong (Wang Tong). Gao recognizes Ruan as the girlfriend of a gangster who owes him money; he approaches her to try to find the mobster's whereabouts, but an attraction develops and soon Gao and Ruan are lovers. However, Dongzi also feels drawn to her, and a bitter triangle begins to form while Gao finds himself more at odds with Ruan's former lover. So Close to Paradise received its first screening outside China at the 1998 Mainland-Hong Kong-Taiwan Film Festival where it went by the title Vietnam Girl. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1998
The Chinese title translates as "Growing to Manhood." Lu Xuecheng, a 1990 graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, filmed several shorts before embarking on his feature directorial debut drama. The symbol of Chinese culture, the Great Wall, is viewed with awe by two boys. One is the film's adult narrator Zhou Qing (Zhu Hongmao), who reflects on his life: The story opens in Beijing of 1976 when shantytown youth Zhou reads a comic book, The Making of Steel, adapted from the popular 1932-34 novel by Russian author Nikolai Alekseyevich Ostrovski (1904-1936). Praised as a peak of early Soviet literature, this autobiographical story traced the life of crippled Pavel Korchagin, who overcame handicaps to become a successful teacher and writer. In his rundown neighborhood, Zhou and his pal Xiao team with guitarist Jiwen to form a music group featuring Jiwen's girlfriend Fu as the lead singer. Zhou develops a crush on Fu, but no sexual relationship materializes. When Zhou finds work in a bathhouse for railway workers, train driver Zhu, who owns a copy of the original Ostrovski novel, becomes his spiritual mentor. Jumping from the early '80s to later in the decade, Zhou returns to Beijing from Germany, discovers that he no longer feels a bond with his musician friends, and seeks out his mentor who gave his life direction and purpose. Accompanying the film's tapestry of life in contemporary China is a soft score of guitar music composed by lead actor Zhu Hongmao. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zhu Hongmao, Zhu Jie, (more)
Tian Zhuangzhuang, a charter member of China's politically beleaguered, so-called Fifth Generation of Directors (along with Ju Dou's Zhang Yimou), made this film about the gradual disintegration of an entire family targeted by Mao's political reformation movements of the '50s and '60s. Told in a series of three stories, the audience sees the little boy Tietou and his mother try and try again to rebuild their lives from the ashes left them by the madness of the era. Director Tian works from a palette of primary colors on widescreen images that are often fixed in an icy-white Kubrickian glare of omnipresent paranoia. Yet much of The Blue Kite is resplendent with palpable signs of ordinary life: noisy kids, happy weddings, loud mealtimes. Tian amplifies the human element of these heady days, so that viewers may genuinely feel the humanity ripped from this story as events overtake and shatter all hope. ~ Tom Keogh, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lu Liping, Pu Quanxin, (more)
- 1992
The news that his first wife was pregnant with a child when they separated some ten years ago comes to official photographer Cao Depai (Li Xuejian) like a thunderbolt out of the blue. Now she is dead, and the son that he never knew was found wandering the streets. He is afraid to tell his new wife about this extra mouth to feed, and at first he attempts to house the lad at his darkroom. However, the boy sneaks visits to his father's current home frequently in order to play with his step-siblings, and eventually they are discovered together. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Li Xuejian, Song Dandan, (more)
- 1991
In the twisty, labyrinthine world of politics, the word "Byzantine" conjures up an especially subtle world of shady alliances, betrayals, intrigues, murders and treachery. However, there should be some special word to describe the politics of late Imperial China, which multiplied the complexities we attribute to the Byzantines many-fold. Among the players of the game, no group of men were better versed in its intricacies than the Imperial Eunuchs. In this story, Li Lianying (Jiang Wen) is a confidential advisor to the feisty, but very narrow-minded, dowager empress (Liu Xiaoqing) at the time of the Boxer Rebellion. His goal is to help her keep her throne and to ensure the continuation of Imperial rule. At one point, the haughty empress must flee the palace and take refuge incognito in an ordinary person's home, enduring unpleasant comments about the royal family in the process. By her manners and her grooming, it was evident to her hosts that she was some sort of noblewoman, but they would have been appalled to know she was the empress herself. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jiang Wen, Liu Xiaoqing, (more)
Life on a String is Chen Kaige's most philosophical and enigmatic work to date. The film depicts the life of two blind musicians, a master and a disciple, as they wander through rural China. Liu Zhongyuan stars as the older, banjo-playing musician who believes that his sight will be restored after wearing out his 1000th string. While the master regards music as a means to a higher level of wisdom, his disciple views music as a thoroughly sensual experience to be enjoyed in the present. As the film progresses, the young musician falls for a village girl, resulting in tragedy, while the old musician reaches his final string, only to find himself in for a shock. The result is a thought-provoking fable on the nature of art and the artist. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liu Zhongyuan, Huang Lei, (more)
- 1988
Set during the twilight of the Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaige's third film, King of the Children, concerns a young man who is sent from the city to the country for his scheduled tour of farm labor. Upon arriving in this remote mountain area, he -- much to his surprise -- is asked to become a teacher even though he lacks all the customary qualifications. Confronted with the apathy of his students, the young man decides to throw out the Maoist textbook, which includes such tedious exercises as copying all the characters out of the dictionary, and teach his students to think about the world around them. Just as he begins to connect with his pupils, the authorities catch wind of his pedagogical departures and severely reprimand him. Shot on-location in the Yuan province, King of the Children features some beautiful landscape photography of the region's forested mountains and precipitous river valleys. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Xie Yuan, Yang Xuewen, (more)
- 1986
The vast panoramas of Tibet serve as backdrop for the exquisitely photographed Horse Thief. The titular character plies his underhanded trade in order to support his family. He is released after a long incarceration, while his family nearly starves to death. They wander the countryside in search of honest work, but can only survive when the father reverts to thievery. The film is quite revelatory in delineating a Chinese social structure that virtually forces those with no discernible skills to be criminals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
This poorly-made docudrama about a dispute in Inner Mongolia between two hunters comes from mainland China, which has regularly been accused of human rights abuses. In this film, animals such as deer are shot through with arrows and torn apart by hunting dogs, their fear and agonizing deaths caught for the camera. The director Zhuangzhuang Tian, scriptwriter Hao Jiang) and others responsible for this film appear to take these killings in stride. With underpar acting thrown into the bargain, there is not much to recommend Liechang Zhasha. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
