Hou Yong Movies
A man stretching the truth for his own sake soon begins doing the same for someone else, with increasingly complicated results, in this gentle comedy from China. Zhao (Zhao Benshan) is a guy in his early fifties who's out of work but still wants to marry his girlfriend (Dong Lifan). However, his often cranky sweetheart thinks he runs a hotel, and Zhao is trying to keep the illusion alive with the help of his pal Li (Li Xuejian) by turning an abandoned bus into a "love hotel" for couples who lack privacy in their homes. But business isn't all that good, since the old-fashioned Zhao asks unmarried couples to keep their doors open to ensure nothing untoward happens. As Zhao tries to convince his girlfriend to walk down the aisle with him -- and struggles to raise the money she demands first -- she introduces him to Wu Jing (Dong Jie), the blind teenage stepdaughter she inherited from her marriage to her now-deceased first husband. The woman insists that Zhao give Wu Jing a job in his hotel; since the bus/hotel has been towed away, this isn't a practical possibility. Zhao and Li put Wu Jing through a fake job interview to keep up appearances, and when she breaks down in tears talking about her deadbeat father, he decides he has to do something for her. Zhao moves Wu Jing into his home, and with the help of his friends, sets up a phony massage therapy center where Wu Jing works with the "clients" -- actually Zhao's friends, most of whom are also unemployed. But the bigger and more complex the illusion becomes, the harder it is to maintain, though Zhao feels compelled to do so for the sake of the girl's feelings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zhao Benshan, Dong Jie, (more)
Following on the heels of director Zhang Yimou's Not One Less (1999), which won the top prize at the 1999 Venice Film Festival, comes this sensitively-wrought portrait of a young woman's unshakable love. The film opens in the present, shot in gritty black and white, as businessman Luo Yusheng (Sun Honglei) returns to his hometown in the rural Hebei province to attend the funeral of his father. When Luo suggests that the coffin should be brought home from the hospital on a tractor, his aging mother Zhao Di (Zhao Yuelin) rebuffs him, insisting that they conform to custom and have it carried home by local men. Later, as Luo recalls his parent's courtship, the film switches to color and travels back in time about 40 years. A young, beautiful Zhao Di (Zhang Ziyi) find herself falling for the village's handsome new teacher Luo Changyu (Zheng Hao). As the males in the village join together to build a school for the burg, Zhao Di helps the other women prepare food, waiting patiently to meet the strapping educator. Just as their romance begins, Luo is suddenly ordered to leave by the Communist authorities. As Luo packs up and leaves the village, Zhao Di races hither and thither carrying his favorite steamed dumplings, hoping to catch him before he departs. Though the odds of reunion seem slim, Zhao Di steadfastly holds vigil for her lover until miraculously, Luo returns under the cover of the night only to be once again ordered to the city where he has been commanded to stay. The pair are forced to wait another two years until they can be together. This film won the prestigious Silver Bear at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival and the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival; the victories were all the more sweet for the director, as The Road Home was rejected outright from the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, prompting Zhang to angrily withdraw his Not One Less from competition. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zhang Ziyi
In a village in China mired in poverty, Gao (Gao Enman) is the lone teacher in a school so threadbare he must ration chalk to make sure he has enough for the day. The destitution of the village is not limited to the school; some of the children sleep in the schoolhouse because they have nowhere else to go, and many students have already dropped out to go to work to help feed their families. Gao is forced to leave town for a month, and no one in the village is able to take over for him except a 13-year-old girl, Wei Minzhi (Wei Minzhi), who possesses only the most rudimentary education herself. What she lacks in educational credential, she makes up for in determination -- she needs money, and teaching is an honest job that pays, and since she'll get a 10 yuan bonus if all 28 students are still attending when Gao gets back, she is determined that no one will drop out on her watch. So when one student turns up missing, and word has it he's been sent to the city by his mother to work, she travels to the city to look for him. In a place where thousands of children are working in the underground labor force or begging on the street, one boy hardly stands out from the crowd, and she has little luck. However, she's able to persuade a sympathetic TV station manager to let her make an announcement in hopes someone knows where he has gone. Despite its serious and often grim theme, Yi Ge Dou Bu Neng Shao is often light in tone and draws on the strength and humor of its characters; the film won the Golden Lion at the 1999 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wei Minzhi, Zhang Huike, (more)
- 1998
L.A.-based Chinese director Sherwood Hu made his English-language feature debut with this fantasy thriller shot in Hawaii and mainland China. The wedding preparations of local policeman Turner (Angus MacFadyen) and native Hawaiian Jenny (Carlotta Chang) are intercut with a bank robbery led by Bong (Chris Tashima). When Turner stops at the bank, he encounters the robbers and chases them out of town to the farm where the wedding guests are gathered. Jenny and the guests are slaughtered during a shootout. The emotionally distraught Turner ignores the suggestion of police captain Kenny (Ray Bumatai) that he take a vacation. Driven by revenge, he begins an investigation and embarks on a search for the killers. Shown at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angus MacFadyen, Carlotta Chang, (more)
- 1997
The events leading up to Great Britain's take-over of Hong Kong provide the basis of this epic Chinese historical drama that distinguishes itself from similarly themed films by presenting a relatively balanced view of each side's position during the war, though China ends up looking a little better in the end. The conflict began in 1838 during the Qing Dynasty when British traders were selling mass quantities of opium to the population, thereby rendering them weak and malleable. The royal court assigns viceroy Lin Zexu the task of negotiating with the East India, Co. traders. Denton is the primary offender and the undiplomatic Lin promptly imprisons him. To help Denton, Charles Elliot, a foreign trade representative, is dispatched. Elliot solves the problem by having tons of opium poured into the sea while guaranteeing the British government will refund the trader's money. When the political leaders back in London learn of his rash action, they angrily send troops to attack China. In this way the complex struggle begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
This ensemble piece from China is set in a tenement building in the title city where a group of workers at a local publishing company live, love, bicker and try to cope with the foibles of their appalling, run-down building. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
A would-be warrior finds his career hindered by his phenomenal good looks in this Chinese adventure. Lanling is the good-looking leader of the Phoenix tribe. He is first seen standing naked during an initiation rite facilitated by his mother. Later he embarks upon a major battle with the Black Hawk tribe, but is considered to be so beautiful by his arch rival General Big Beard, that the general will not fight him. Lanling is utterly humiliated and decides to end his life, but then the beautiful Ying Ying, changes his mind. Lanling then becomes determined to never suffer such embarrassment again and so creates a hideous mask to wear in battle. Unfortunately, once it is on his face, it never comes off and worse yet, he comes to be as ugly within as he is without. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
The whole idea of a modern China governed according to modern political principles and embodying the best Western standards of science and culture was exemplified and given power by the life and example of Dr. Sun Yatsen (1866-1925). Born to a Christian family in Canton, he gained a medical diploma but devoted himself to the overthrow of the Manchu (Ching/Qing) dynasty and was elected the first president of the Chinese Republic in 1911. Curiously, his work and Christian faith also made him very popular among Americans interested in "the China situation," especially such influential figures as media mogul Henry Luce. His political teachings and life work are still revered by both mainland and Taiwan Chinese. This laudatory documentary of this exemplary national hero was lavishly produced and does not explore any of the problematic areas of his life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The vast panoramas of Tibet serve as backdrop for the exquisitely photographed Horse Thief. The titular character plies his underhanded trade in order to support his family. He is released after a long incarceration, while his family nearly starves to death. They wander the countryside in search of honest work, but can only survive when the father reverts to thievery. The film is quite revelatory in delineating a Chinese social structure that virtually forces those with no discernible skills to be criminals. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
The winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, Evening Bell is set during World War II. A tiny unit of Chinese soldiers has bottled up a larger group of Japanese fighters. The Chinese have the advantage, and hope to persuade the Japanese to surrender. This is not to be, thus the film becomes a tense nine-reel standoff. Produced by the official studio of the Chinese Army, Evening Bell was originally released as Wa Zhong. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tao Zeru, Liu Ruolei, (more)
