The same old story
A common thread runs through the major Chinese period-costume blockbusters: They all look the same.
All are set in ancient times, feature the biggest names in Chinese cinema, involve gravity-denying kung fu stunts, shed lots of blood, are peppered with intrigue and love, and show plenty of flesh.
This repetition reached a climax with Feng Xiaogang's The Banquet (Ye Yan) and Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower late last year.
Both are set in a time shortly after the fall of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), both have a Lady Macbeth-type character, a ruthless emperor, a sentimental prince and a maiden desperately and deeply in love with him. Both ranked in the domestic box office's top three. By January 3, Curse had broken the 250 million yuan ($32 million) record set by Hero.
Chinese film's golden boy Zhang Yimou believes the desire to enter the international market is the major reason why famous Chinese directors are obsessed with shooting costume epics.
He says the Chinese cinema market is not large enough to recoup the big budgets. He said directors have to sell their works to the international market, where there is demand for the costume/kung fu genre.
Chinese audiences are also attracted to grand visual effects, according to film industry officials.
Zhang Hongsen, vice-president of the Administration of Film, told China Daily these were just some of the reasons.
"To shoot a costume epic set in ancient times is much freer and easier than creating a story about contemporary life," he said.
He said today's cinema goers tend to be more critical of real-life, everyday stories, because they can closely relate to these experiences and are often disappointed with their presentation.
Zhang said the administration would be happy to see China's directors shoot more films about contemporary Chinese people's life and will encourage directors to focus more on modern China.
"We should introduce a complete picture of China, showing both the ancient and the modern," he said.
(China Daily 01/11/2007 page18)
