Sun Haiyung Movies
The tumultuous relationship between a father returning home after years in a labor camp and the nine-year-old son who doesn't quite know what to make of this new man in his life lies at the heart of director Zhang Yang's heartfelt drama addressing the nature of change and the importance of family in Chinese culture. Chairman Mao has died and the Gang of Four have fallen, leaving former painter Gengnian (Sun Haiying) to return home to his wife, Xiuqing (Joan Chen), and the pair's nine-year-old son Xiangyang (Zhang Fan). His hands permanently damaged by the ravages of hard labor, Gengnian cannot return to painting, though his young son has shown an abundance of artistic promise. Troubled by the sudden presence of a father he has never known and rebelling against the path laid before him, Xiangyang ignites a firecracker in his hand in hopes that it may derail his artistic career. In the years that follow, Xiangyang's reputation as a talented artist grows while his relationship with his father remains forever troubled. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Chen, Sun Haiyung, (more)
- 2003
Peng Xiaolian's Jiazhuang Mei Ganjue (Shanghai Women) is a drama about a mother and daughter. A teacher (Lu Liping) takes her daughter (Zhou Wenqian) and moves in with her mother (Zheng Zhenyao) after discovering that her husband has been having an affair. The teacher tries a second marriage, but that falls apart as well. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lu Liping, Zhou Wenqian, (more)
- 2003
Yang Yazhou's drama Pretty Big Feet is about a pair of very different women who become friends. Xia Yu (Yuan Quan) is a big city teacher who takes a job in a small-town school led by Zhang Meili (Ni Ping). While the two butt heads initially, Zhang soon realizes that everything Xia does is to help Zhang's students. Xia's marriage is going through a very rough patch, and Zhang attempts to strike up a romance with a local projectionist. The film concludes when the two women make a trip to Beijing. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
As Goddess of Mercy begins, Yang Rui (Liu Yunlong) is a callow womanizer in Beijing. He's always looking for action, which eventually leads him to An Xin (Vicki Zhao), who works at the local tae kwon do school. The more she spurns him, the more adamant he becomes. One rainy night, he goes too far, grabbing for her as she tries to enter her home, and she delivers a roundhouse kick to his head. He wakes up in her apartment, and apologizes to her. An Xin won't talk about her past. They begin a fragile courtship. He learns that she has a young son. A jealous ex gets wind of his new relationship, and arranges to have him brought up on embezzlement charges. An Xin helps him get out of jail, but then runs run off, leaving a long note. The film flashes back to An Xin's past as a gung-ho policewoman engaged to a journalist, Tienjun (Chen Jianbin). Assigned to a dangerous and remote district, she was forced to spend months away from him. Eventually, she met a brash young man, Mao Jie (Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse), and the two had a brief affair. Later, on a drug sting, she found out that Mao was a criminal. She took part in a deadly raid to bring down his family. An Xin reunited with Tienjun and they were married, after which she found out she was pregnant. Mao was released from prison and took vengeance. An Xin has left town because she believes that she's a destructive force, but Yang sets out to find her. Based on a popular novel by Hai Yan, Goddess of Mercy was directed by Ann Hui and had its U.S. premiere at the 2004 New York Asian American International Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Tse, Vicki Zhao Wei, (more)
- 1995
The romantic travails of a plucky Chinese widow living on the beautifully photographed northern steppes of Mainland China provide the basis for this drama. She is "Sweet Grass" (Gancao in Chinese) and earns just enough money with her shoemaking business to support her young son. Dim-bulbed but kindly Niu Er, a gentle peddler, takes pride in watching over her. Sadly for him, Gancao is in love with the handsome but taciturn Ba Dun, a hard-drinking gambler who spends his time throwing knives at his opponents and playing Mah Jong with Ma Jiu, the area's great landowner. Ba Dun frequently loses to Ma Jiu. Eventually he moves in with Gancao and their conservative neighbors are utterly scandalized by their open displays of affection. The film won the grand prize at the 1995 Prague festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
