Wang Zhonglei Movies

A veteran of China's Civil War rails against modern bureaucracy in hopes of finally receiving recognition for his bravery and to honor the memory of his fallen comrades in director Feng Xiaogang's big-budget war drama. The year was 1948, and the fighting between the Nationalist KMT and the Communist PLA is raging. In a small, northeast China town, Captain Gu Zidi (Zhang Hanyu) leads the Ninth Company in a fierce skirmish against the a rapidly weakening KMT unit. His blood boiling over the death of a political officer in battle, Captain Gu vengefully kills a KMT soldier despite the fact that the leader and his unit have just surrendered. Imprisoned for a few short days as a sort-of token gesture, Captain Gu makes the acquaintance of imprisoned political officer Wang Juncun (Yuan Wenkang, who has just been accused of cowardice and will likely receive the death penalty. Later, when Captain Gu is ordered to take the Ninth out on a dangerous mission, he requests that Wang join the brigade in battle. Unfortunately for the majority of the squad, the KMT forces are much more substantial this time around, and though a few men claim to have heard the signal for retreat, Captain Gu commands them to stand their ground: In the aftermath of the slaughter, Captain Gu is the last man standing. Still, the valiant soldier stages a remarkable recovery, and goes on to save the life of North Korean Er Dou (Deng Chao) during a battle against the Americans and South Koreans. A few years later, Captain Gu enlists the aid of Er Dou and Wang's widow in regaining his honor, and ensuring that his fellow soldiers didn't die in vain. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A World Without Thieves director Feng Xiaogang shifts his focus from modern-day con artists to tenth century intrigue with this tale of internal turmoil in the age of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms starring Zhang Ziyi, Daniel Wu, and Ge You. Her empire on the verge of a massive revolution as storms begin to brew both within the royal court as well as in the outlying kingdoms, the entrancing Empress Wan (Zhang) gazes upon her stepson, Prince Wu Luan (Wu), with the eyes of a forbidden lover rather than a caring mother. When the emperor dies an unexpected death and his younger brother Li (Ge) ascends to the throne, Empress Wan marries the newly appointed sovereign as a means of both protecting her beloved Wu Luan and cementing her position within the royal court. When assassins dispatched by Emperor Li fail in their attempt to silence Wu Luan and his majesty subsequently announces a lavish banquet, Empress Wan and Wu Luan realize that the time has finally come for them to take action against the murderous despot. The film demonstrates tremendous influence by Shakespearean plays, specifically Hamlet and Macbeth. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Chinese filmmaker Chen Daming's ensemble comedy drama One Foot off the Ground opens with the plight a celebrated opera company, buckling under the weight of financial difficulties. When the troupe collapses for good, Daming cross-cuts between the lives of the laid-off performers, each of whom desperately attempts to pull in extra income with a "substitute job": one sells phony pure-bred dogs, another becomes implicated in questionable, underhanded business practices, a third shoots professional photographs for a living. Meanwhile, the dream of the opera company's reestablishment and reemergence lingers in all of their hearts. When a con artist turns up with the funds necessary to reestablish the ensemble, his cruel manipulation and willingness to quickly build up the hopes of everyone in the company throws the performers into a state of unbridled confusion, agony and despair. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A lone hero comes to the rescue of a village about to be overrun by a marauding army in this historical epic from Hong Kong. In the year 370 B.C., China has been torn apart by a handful of warring factions, and the Zhao State has set out on a long march to invade and conquer the Yan State. En route, the ten thousand-strong Zhao army will pass through the town of Liang City, home to four thousand souls. Led by Lord Liang (Wang Zhiwen), an ineffectual and alcoholic leader, the people of Liang City fear the worse, and beg the warriors of the Mozi clan to come to their aid in protecting the city. As Zhao general Xiang Yanzhong (Ahn Sung-ki) and his men loom on the horizon, a single Mozi fighter, Ge Li (Andy Lau), arrives in Liang City; while the townspeople are certain the battle is already lost, Li is a brilliant strategist, and convinces the handful of Liang soldiers that they can indeed fend off the Zhao invaders. With the help of Liang cavalry woman Yi Yue (Fan Bingbing) and Zi Tuan (Nicky Wu), a master of the bow and arrow, Li is able to fight the Zhao soldiers to a standstill; however, Lord Liang is humiliated by the success of the interloper, and his right-hand man (Wu Ma) plants seeds of doubt in the villagers' minds about their new champion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Lu Chuan, who wrote and directed The Missing Gun, traveled to the remote border of China, Tibet, and Uygur, to make his next feature, Kekexili. Lu based the film on a true story about a reporter from Beijing, Ga Yu (Qi Liang), who traveled to the barren, frigid, high altitude region of the movie's title. Ga Yu had heard about volunteer patrols that were trying to protect the endangered Tibetan antelope from the poachers who were selling their pelts to be made into expensive, fashionable shawls. The cold-blooded murder of one of the patrol members at the hands of the well-armed poachers draws Ga Yu to a small village, where the leader of the patrol unit, Ritai (Tibetan actor Duobuji), agrees to take him out on a patrol, in the hopes that a story in the paper will spur the Chinese government to take stronger action to protect the animals. Ritai is determined to find the gunman responsible for slaughtering the animals, and for killing his comrade. His determination gradually becomes a deadly obsession. Lu shot his movie on location under dangerous conditions, with a cast of mostly nonprofessional actors. Though the film is from Mainland China, it won Hong Kong's Golden Horse Awards for Best Cinematography (Cao Yu) and Best Picture. It was also shown by Subway Cinema as part of the 2005 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A beloved -- but unlicensed -- family pet is confiscated by Beijing authorities, leaving its owners scrambling as they attempt to recover the critter before it is set free outside the city limits in director Lu Xuechang's 2003 comedy drama Kala shi tiao gou (Cala, My Dog). Working class patriarch Lao Er (Ge You) is left with a large licensing fee as well as a fine after his wife mistakenly walks their unlicensed family dog Cala. The dog is taken away by the police, leaving the family with a deadline of 18 hours to pay the bill before the dog is cast out of town. As the family income cannot support such an exorbitant sum of money, they resort to other means in order to retrieve the canine -- ranging from attempting to coerce family members with connections into aiding them to convincing a neighbor to pulling a scam on the police with the license for Cala's mother. Cala, My Dog had its first official screening as part of the Forum program for the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Ning Ying returns to her favorite theme -- the gradual decay of traditional Chinese values and culture at the dawn of the 21st century -- in this low-key drama. Desi (Yu Lei) is a cab driver who has recently broken up with his wife. Lonely, Desi is searching for a new love, and as he drifts through Beijing in search of fares and a girlfriend, he sees a city that is increasingly bending to the influence of the West, with traditional pastimes and customs forced to make way for the onslaught of the free-market economy. Xiari Nuanyangyang has been screened on the international film festival circuit in two different versions; the cut shown at the 2001 Rotterdam Film Festival ran 99 minutes, while the film was only 79 minutes when it appeared at the Berlin Film Festival that same year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide