Lou Ye Movies
- 2009
Two men discover desire takes them places they didn't intend to go in this independent drama from China. Lin Xue (Jiang Jiaqi) is a teacher who is married to Wang Ping (Wu Wei), but she's convinced he's being unfaithful to her, and she hires Luo Haitao (Chen Sicheng) to trail him and find out what he's been doing. It turns out that Lin's hunch is correct and Wang is having an affair with another man, Jiang Cheng (Qin Hao); Luo provides Lin pictures of them having sex, and one evening Wang brings Jiang home to dinner, telling his wife that he's an old friend he hasn't seen in years. While Lin plays it cool at first, in time Wang discovers she knows about his lover, and she angrily confronts both Wang and Jiang. As Lin and Wang's relationship crumbles, Luo discovers he's become disinterested in his girlfriend (Tan Zhuo) and is increasingly obsessed with Jiang. Chunfeng Chenzuide Yewan (aka Spring Fever; the original title translates as "A Night Deeply Drunk on the Spring Breeze") was the first feature film in three years from director Lou Ye, who found himself at odds with Chinese authorities after his previous feature, Summer Place, and shot this feature in defiance of government censure. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chen Si Cheng, Jiang Jiaqi, (more)
A romance takes place against some of the most turbulent events in recent Chinese history in this epic-scale story from filmmaker Lou Ye. Yu Hong (Hao Lei) is a beautiful 17-year-old girl who is soon to leave the small border town where she was born and raised to attend college at Beijing University. Shortly before Yu Hong leaves for school, she gives her virginity to her longtime boyfriend, Xiao, and pledges to remain faithful to him. At Beijing University, Yu Hong makes friends with Li Ti (Hu Ling), another girl dealing with a long-distance relationship, and meets Zhou Wei (Guo Xiaodong), a handsome student who soon steals her heart. Yu Hong leaves her relationship with Xiao behind to commit herself to Zhou Wei, and she's swept up by her feelings for him as they embrace the new social and economic freedoms which are being felt on campus. The empowerment felt by the students in Beijing comes to a head during a series of demonstrations in Tiananmen Square; the protests have tragic consequences, and the excitement of new possibilities gives way to a feeling of defeat. Yu Hong and Zhou Wei are separated and the heavy hand of the state is brought to bear on the rebellious students. The first Chinese film to feature full-frontal male and female nudity, Yiheyuan (aka Summer Palace) received its world premiere as an official selection at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hao Lei, Guo Xiaodong, (more)
Directed by Lou Ye, Zi Hudie revolves around the underground faction of anti-Nipponese fighters in 1930s Shanghai, just prior to the onset of the Sino-Japanese war. It's only the beginning when Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi), a young Chinese woman, learns the news of her lover Itami's (Toru Nakamura) rapidly approaching return to the military. In a second and even more devastating blow, Cynthia's brother, a contributor to an anti-Japanese newspaper, is killed by a Japanese activist. Three years later, switchboard operator Tang Yiling (Li Bingbing) and Situ (Liu Ye), her fiancé, are introduced to Cynthia after inadvertently heading into a protest held by a resistance group code-named Purple Butterfly, of which Cynthia (who has since changed her name to Ding Hui) has become a part. Ultimately, a botched assassination attempt leaves Situ with a mysterious briefcase; now a suspect himself, Situ is arrested by none other than Itami, who, after reuniting with his old flame, has no idea of her role in a complicit plan to have his boss (Kin Ei) assassinated. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zhang Ziyi, Liu Ye, (more)
- 2000
Recalling both Vertigo (1958) and Chungking Express (1994), Chinese director Lou Ye spins this riveting tale of obsession and love. The film opens with shots of the Suzhou River, which is clogged with the detritus and pollution of a rapidly expanding Shanghai. Narrated by an unseen freelance videographer, the film focuses on motorcycle courier Mardar (Jia Hongsheng), who specializes in black marketeering and is asked by a shady alcohol smuggler to shuttle his young attractive daughter Moudan (Zhou Xun) to her Auntie's every day while the thug entertains his latest sexual conquest. Though at first the youth resists his precocious passenger's advances, the two soon fall for one another. In spite of this, Mardar reluctantly agrees with a group of sleazy associates to a scheme to kidnap Moudan and extract a ransom from her father. When Moudan learns of Mardar's betrayal, she runs to throw herself into the Suzhou river -- apparently to her death -- cursing Mardar and saying that she will come back as a mermaid and haunt him. A few years later, Mardar is released after a stint in prison and returns to Shanghai, where he encounters Meimei (also played by Zhou), a nightclub dancer who performs in an aquarium as a mermaid and who is dating the videographer/narrator. Haunted by his past and unnerved by her resemblance to Moudan, Mardar soon becomes obsessed with Meimei. At first, Meimei brushes off Mardar's advances, until he tells her of his sordid past. Soon, she dumps the videographer in favor of her ardent pursuer, while Moudan and Meimei fuse in Mardar's fragile psychology. This film won the top prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zhou Xun, Jia Hongshen, (more)
- 1995
The romantic rivalry in this often violent Chinese melodrama is a thinly veiled metaphorical commentary on the sad condition of Shanghai's youth, a wounded generation moving aimlessly towards a bleak future. Though made in 1994, it was not released until the end of the following year. A Xi has just been released from prison and goes looking for his former lover Li Xin, whom he has not seen since he was sentenced to nine years after killing a fellow teen. Unfortunately, Li Xin has fallen in love with La La. Both young men begin competing for her love. That rivalry becomes increasingly tense as the story progresses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Dong (Liu Xiaodong) and Chun (Yu Hong) have been married for a while, but they are still fairly young. Nonetheless, the sap has drained out of their marriage, and they are like an old couple. Part of it, of course, is that Dong's career and his art are going nowhere. It doesn't help that Chun gave up her own artistic work in order to keep house. Things have gotten to the point that Chun is thinking about moving to America to join her parents there, and leaving Dong behind. Before that can happen, her husband asks her to join him on a trip to his home of origin in Manchuria. This black and white drama is one of the few Chinese films to focus on the internal psychology of its subjects rather than larger social issues. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liu Xiaodong, Lou Ye, (more)
