Film Friday
Latest Posts
‘Snipers’: Zhang Yimou’s Korean War film misses its mark
Zhang Yimou’s “Snipers,” which Zhang co-directed with his daughter Zhang Mo, is basically last year’s Korean War blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin” on a smaller scale — less bombastic, but employing more or less the same formula.
More Posts
‘Return to Dust’: A love story in rural China
An interview with director Li Ruijun.
‘A New Old Play’: 20th-century China depicted through film and theater
“A New Old Play” is acclaimed Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s first fiction film. In it, he shines as a theater and film director in equal measures, balancing the honesty of the stage with an ambitious technical refinement that has made the film a festival favorite over the last year.
‘B for Busy’ challenges the male gaze, wins Chinese audiences
Shao Yihui’s romantic comedy set in idealized Shanghai was the highest-rated movie in 2021 on Douban.
‘Burning Ice’: Beijing kids with big hockey dreams
Following three middle-class Beijing families and their kids’ enthusiasm for ice hockey, Liu Hanxiang’s documentary is a meditation on the role of parents in today’s China.
Joseph Kuo and Taiwanese kung fu at the Old School Kung Fu Fest
Eight kung fu classics from Taiwanese director Joseph Kuo are scheduled for screening this week as part of the 9th Old School Kung Fu Fest in New York. The films have been restored in 2K.
Shock Wave 2: Andy Lau returns in explosive blockbuster
Herman Yau’s blockbuster begins with a mini-nuke blowing up the Hong Kong airport. In case you weren’t aware what you were watching, this is a film about explosions: either those that happen or those that threaten to.
Netflix doc ‘Found’: Three teenage girls seek roots in China
‘Found’ offers an on-the-ground, humanistic look at China through the eyes of three teenage adoptees.
One Second: Zhang Yimou’s ‘love letter to cinema’
Censored and pulled from the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019, Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” recently closed the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews.
Meditative ‘Buddha Mountain’ gets 10th anniversary director’s cut
The award-winning “Buddha Mountain,” starring Fan Bingbing, is now available on demand, giving international viewers a director’s cut of what might be controversial filmmaker Li Yu’s strongest work.