Zhang Yimou -- An Internationally Acclaimed Filmmaker
Zhang Yimou's first film as director, Red Sorghum, won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988 and launched his international career. A rural drama of the war years, with the Japanese as the enemy, it also marked the acting debut of the young actress Gong Li, whom Zhang had discovered while she was a student. She has since appeared in all his films, winning the award as Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival in 1992 for The Story of Qiu Ju.
Zhang Yimou followed up Red Sorghum with a more conventional action picture, Operation Cougar, depicting the hijacking of an airliner, but returned to form with Ju Dou and Raise The Red Lantern, both intense and beautifully shot period pieces that were nominated for Oscars as Best Foreign Language Film in 1990 and 1991. Raise the Red Lantern won for Best Foreign Film in 1991 at the New York Film Critics Circle. Also in 1991, the movie won for Best Cinematography at the LA Film Critics Association.
The Story of Qiu Ju marked a conscious change of direction for Zhang Yimou -- away from the ornate style of his previous two films towards a more realistic and even humorous manner. In particular, he made use in this film of hidden cameras to capture the gestures and reactions of real Chinese peasants photographed unawares. It was rewarded with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, while Gong Li's performance was also recognized at the closing awards ceremony.
Editor: Feng Hui
|
