Jiang Wu Movies
- 2007
As the local rivers swell and the urban population is evacuated, a retired policeman escorting three dangerous convicts to another institution finds a simple transportation job complicated by the rapidly worsening natural disaster. The local riverbanks are about to burst, and in order to ensure that three prisoners don't face a watery demise, retired cop Lao Ma is asked to transport the men to safer surroundings. Among Lao Ma's charges is a convicted killer currently awaiting execution, a notorious embezzler rumored to have hidden his fortune before serving his time, and a stone faced thief whose parole date is just on the horizon. When the waterlogged countryside roads prove impassable and the four men are forced to work together to make it through the night alive, the nervous lawman realizes that his gun is the only thing keeping him in charge, and he's only got five rounds of authority left. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
An innocent is drawn into a life of crime by a woman's wiles in this drama from China. Wang (Jiang Wu) is a naive truck driver who while hauling freight one day gives a ride to Molly (Karen Mok), a pretty girl who works at a beauty salon. What Wang doesn't know is that Molly's boyfriend is a professional thief. Through his generosity he is drawn into a heist planned by Molly and her significant other; when the crime attracts the attention of the police, Wang finds himself sinking deeper into hot water. All the Way also features Chang Cheng-yu, Guan Yue, and Qi Zhi. ~ 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
- 1998
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
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
- 1993
Old man Ge (Li Baotian) has been left in a hospital to die by his well-to-do grandson (Jiang Wu). It is true that he is sick, but he isn't dead yet, and he isn't about to stay idle when there is something he has yet to do in life. Despite the fact that it is winter, he walks out of the hospital and begins gathering and reselling people's junk in order to raise the money to visit the village he grew up in. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Li Baotian, Jiang Wu, (more)
