Lu Yue Movies

Legendary Hong Kong action specialist John Woo and international superstar Tony Leung reunite for their first feature film together since 1992's Hard-Boiled with this historical drama set during the decisive 208 A.D. battle that heralded the end of the Han Dynasty. Adapted in part from the beloved Chinese tome Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Red Cliff opens in the year 208 A.D., just as prime minister-turned-general Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) seeks permission from Han Dynasty emperor Xian (Wang Ning) to organize a southward-bound mission designed to silence troublesome warlords Liu Bei (You Yong) and Sun Quan (Chang Chen). As the expedition gets under way, Cao Cao's troops rain destruction on Liu Bei's army, forcing the latter to retreat and convincing Liu Bei's military strategist Zhuge Liang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) that their only hope for victory is to form an alliance with Sun Quan. Increasingly aware of the monumental struggle ahead, both sides begin preparing for the battle that will ultimately shape the future of an entire nation. Originally envisioned as a single film, Red Cliff was eventually split into two parts due to an excessive running time that approached five hours. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1970s -- in which urban intellectuals were relocated either by choice or through force to rural areas in the interest of educating the poor or aiding farm labor -- provides the backdrop for this romantic drama from filmmaker Lu Yue. Ye Xingyu (Shu Qi) is an idealistic young woman who lives in the Yunnan province, where she teaches language classes and is pledged to marry Yuan Dingguo (Fang Bin), who works on a rubber plantation. Xingyu's father is seriously ill, and she wants to move to Kunming to be with him, but getting permission from local and federal authorities proves all but impossible. One day, Xingyu meets Liu Simeng (Liu Hua), who has moved from Beijing to Yunnan to work in an educational program. While Xingyu is initially put off by Simeng's big-city ways, she comes to admire his sincere dedication to duty, and he is clearly infatuated with her. But a scuffle between locals and Simeng's fellow transplants from Beijing leads to a simmering rivalry, which comes to a boil when Dingguo becomes fiercely jealous of Xingyu's blossoming friendship with Simeng. Meiren Cao was written for the screen in part by Shi Xiaoke, whose novel Chulian provided the basis for the story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Gong Li stars in this low-key drama about a single mother who will do anything to provide for her son. Sun Liying (Li) struggles to care for her hearing-impaired child Zheng Da (Gao Xin) after her taxi driver husband divorces her. After Zheng Da gets his hearing aid smashed in a fight with classmates, Sun Liying sets out to raise 5,000 yuan (a small fortune) to buy him a replacement. A friend helps her set up an unauthorized bookstall, which soon gets raided by the police. Later she splits her time delivering newspapers and cleaning house for a rich businessman. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Meili Xin Shijie is a low budget, independent production shot by a first time director, dealing with modern themes in an urban setting. It is quite revealing in its portrayal of contemporary China where society is changing rapidly, leaving some with fortunes and others with empty dreams. The changes occur too quickly for even those who experience it to understand. The effect these changes have on common men and traditional social values and morality is the main message of the film, which is ironically narrated in the manner of Suzhou Pingtan, a traditional style of southern Chinese storytelling which has been disappearing from common use. The story revolves around a country boy, Bao Gun, and his not-so-pleasant introduction to city life. Winner of a newspaper contest for a two-bedroom apartment in Shanghai, he arrives in the big city to claim his prize only to discover he must wait a year and a half for the apartment to be built. He meets an array of cosmopolitan characters whose way of life contrasts sharply with his values and dreams. His aunt, who is about the same age as him, owes money to everyone and thinks only of easy ways of making money. The subway musician he befriends has lost his dreams in the hustle of the city. Bao Gun has only his own common sense and moral values to guide him through this journey. The film ends with a Hollywood style happy-ending. Bao Gun is played with lots of energy by Jiang Wu, the younger brother of China's leading actor Jiang Wen, whereas Tao Hong, winner of China's Best Actress in 1998, plays the scheming aunt. The subway musician is played by Wu Bai, Taiwan's top-selling rock artist and Ren Xian Qi, China's best selling pop musician, appears as a boy who steals young girls' hearts with the expensive car he drives -- until they find out that he is only a chauffeur. The film features a soundtrack produced by Asia's top alternative label, Music Stone. Meili Xin Shijie was screened as part of the International Forum of Young Cinema at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Utilizing a hand-held camera to create a frantic, off-balance effect that is radically different from the techniques with which he made his films best known to Western audiences Raise the Red Lantern and Ju Dou, Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou has made a fast-paced modern comedy that serves as an allegory for the state of China in the late 1990s. The story's protagonist is Xiao Shuai, a bookseller who falls in love with the seductive, free-spirited An Hong. To learn her address, Xiao follows her, but An spurns his advances. He refuses to give up; eventually she caves in and invites him to her home for some quick love. Unfortunately they start, but are interrupted at a crucial moment. Later Xiao is accosted by the burly henchmen of An's new lover, a sleazy nightclub owner. They are beating him like an old rug when Lao Zhang, an old researcher, intervenes. During the scuffle, his prized laptop computer is smashed and later, he demands that Xiao replace it. But Xiao cares nothing for the destroyed laptop; he only wants revenge upon his attackers. Together he and Lao arrange to meet the villains in their club for a showdown. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Zhang Yimou, often regarded as China's leading contemporary filmmaker, directed this drama chronicling the ebb and flow of one family's fortunes, set against the backdrop of China's tumultuous history between the 1940s and the 1970s. Fugui (Ge You) is the father of a once-wealthy family whose addiction to gambling and chronic bad luck causes him to lose his home in a game of dice with Long'er (Ni Dabong). Fugui's wife Jiazhen (Gong Li) abandons him, and he finds himself working as a peddler, until the man who now owns his home gives him a pair of shadow puppets. Fugui learns the art of puppetry and travels as a performer; while on the road, he is arrested by Nationalist forces, until he is liberated by advancing Red Army factions, and he comes him home to his wife and children as they adapt to the nation's new leadership. While once a lazy spendthrift, Fugui vows to change his ways, and he struggles to become a better worker and citizen. But Fugui and his family soon realize that there is adversity waiting for them around every corner, and the onset of the Cultural Revolution makes it clear that China's new regime can be as corrupt and callous as the old order. While a Grand Prize winner at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and recipient of the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 1995 BAFTA Awards, Huozhe did not fare well in its homeland. Chinese censors objected to the film's commentary about political abuses in China's past, as well as Zhang Yimou's attempts to present the film at several international festivals. As punishment, he was forced to write a formal apology and was not allowed to make another film for two years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide