Du Peng Movies
- 2002
A romance born of a tragedy follows a tragic path of its own in this drama from Chinese auteur Zhang Yuan. Wang Yi (Tong Dawei) is a young man whose best friend is soon to marry a beautiful woman, Du Xiaoju (Xu Jinglei), to whom Yi finds himself attracted. When Yi's friend tragically dies shortly before the wedding, Yi becomes friendly with Xiaoju, and in time he confesses his love for her. Yi and Xiaoju soon marry, but while they're quite happy together at first, clouds soon appear on the horizon; she enjoys teasing him about his past lovers, while he becomes angry when she wears makeup or shows physical affection toward him in public. Yi and Xiaoju begin quarreling often, and he becomes moody and distant. One night, she confronts him while he's drinking with friends, and he responds with violence. Yi asks Xiaoju for a trial separation, which upsets her greatly; he decides to give their relationship another try, and all seems well on the surface. However, in time Xiaoju becomes convinced Yi no longer loves her, while she has become more emotionally dependent on him than ever, and her desperation begins to manifest itself in dangerous emotional instability. Wo Ai Ni received its American premiere at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A family's differences are reflected in the changing face of China near the turn of the millennium in this drama. In a decaying neighborhood in Beijing, a local bathhouse serves as a meeting place for the elderly men of the community; the house is run by Liu (Zhu Xu), assisted by his son Erming (Jiang Wu), who is mildly retarded and tends to live in a world of his own. Liu's other son, Daming (Pu Cunxin), who now lives in the Southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, arrives for a visit after hearing that Liu had died. Daming is happy to hear that the news of his father's death was greatly exaggerated, but as part of a younger generation that has adopted a Western-influenced lifestyle and business sense (including favoring showers over baths), he feels out of place in his father's world and there's a great emotional distance between the two. But when Erming disappears, the crisis brings Liu and Daming closer together, and Daming decides to extend his visit when he and Liu get word that the bathhouse is scheduled to be torn down in a few weeks. Veteran Chinese actor Feng Shun made his final screen appearance as a man who trains fighting crickets. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1982
"Go" is a complex, brain-racking "game" of military strategy, somewhat resembling chess. Chinese Sun Dao-Lin is sent to Japan to study Go under master Rentaro Mikuni. Rising to national champion, Sun is coerced into swearing allegiance to Japan at the outbreak of World War II. Having lost his son in the war, Sun vows to have his revenge on Mikuni, thereby launching a 32-year-long game of Go. Beginning the game in the heat of anger in 1946, Sun has learned the value of forgiveness at game's end in 1978. Filmed in 1982, the vastly popular Go Masters (Mikan No Taikyoku) was the first-ever Chinese/Japanese co-production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rentaro Mikuni
