18 LIFE DAILY TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2007

Chinese Deserved Oscar winner or rip-off ? love saga The fi lm that has won the top award is a re-make of a 2002 bags crime thriller. Does that take away some of the shine, or does it mean Raymond Zhou Golden another pat on the back for the original, wonders Bear hinese film fans a resounding encouragement to are overjoyed that a the original. Tuya’s Marriage, an revered filmmaker To add a dramatic twist, the unconventional Chi- has finally won an announcer for the Oscar show nese love story about a Academy Award, misidentified Infernal Affairs herdswoman and her two Cbut they are ambivalent as “a Japanese fi lm”, creating husbands, has won the whether the fi lm that got him an immediate backlash online. Golden Bear prize for best the accolade deserves an honor Fortunately, Martin Scorsese picture at the 57th Berlin by itself. set it right when he took the Film Festival. Martin Scorsese has always podium and said something Yu Nan plays the lead been held in high regard by nice about it and “Asian fi lms” role in Tuya’s Marriage, cinephiles in China, who in general. which looks at the impact watched in dismay as he was In other China-related news, of China’s boom on centu- snubbed time and again by the ancient China lost to ancient ries of tradition. Oscar voters. The Departed, the France in the sartorial duel as Directed by Wang fi lm that brought him into the Best Costume Design went to Quan’an, the fi lm paints exclusive club of Oscar winners Marie Antoinette instead of The a touching portrait of a on Sunday night, true to form, Curse of the Golden Flower. But female Mongolian herder is not a regular movie. It is a Best Documentary Short Sub- who attempts to resist remake of a 2002 Hong Kong ject was given to The Blood of the economic pressures crime thriller that was celebrat- Yingzhou District, a stunningly to move from the barren ed as an instant classic and re- shot, sensitive portrait of the epi- plains of her homeland ceived universal acclaim in the demic through the life of an AIDS in northern China to the Chinese-speaking world. orphan in Anhui Province. city. However, Infernal Affairs, a The Oscar show was not The only professional modern-day Hong Kong noir televised live on the Chinese actor in the fi lm is Yu with a cosmopolitan feel and mainland. CCTV-6, the movie Nan. The other parts were sophisticated sensibility, raked channel, aired an abridged played by real herdsmen in only $169,659 in box offi ce version in the evening slot after and women. receipts when it debuted in the primetime. Many eager viewers The film tells the United States. The Departed, on turned to websites for updates, story of Tuya and her the other hand, got more than and some discovered a secret disabled husband, $131million. As a result, many overseas site that streamed the Bater, who decide to Chinese movie fans concluded event live online. divorce after she falls the American remake had The predominant favorite ill so that she can go in unjustifiably overshadowed among Chinese viewers was search of a new hus- the original even before the Babel, the polyglot multithread band capable of looking latter’s Oscar glory. drama with globalization as after the whole family. It is very hard for them not The Departed producer Graham King (left), actor Leonardo DiCaprio (center) and writer Felix Chong pose at the 79th Annual Acad- its theme. It has been selling She is persuaded to to make comparisons. And that emy Awards Governors Ball in Hollywood. The movie won the Oscar for Best Film. Chong is also one of the two script writers for briskly on DVD stands and is move from her pastures has led many of them to believe the original Infernal Affairs. Reuters expected to hit movie theat- in the Inner Mongolia Au- that the remake is not as good ers soon. Otherwise, with the tonomous Region to the as the original. Chen Daming, Sohu.com survey, about a third several factors: The original is But there are critics here who can undertones. The same absence of a major Chinese city but subsequently is director of One Foot Off the of the respondents expressed embraced so wholeheartedly point out the Scorsese remake survey also found that slightly participant in the Oscar race, forced to decide whether Ground, said “The Departed is displeasure at the American that any difference in treat- stands on its own as a piece of more respondents are happy the Chinese press has been to choose love over the genuinely not a good movie.” He version getting credit for some- ment would automatically be engrossing filmmaking. It is that the movie they love has discussing why Yimou’s survival of her own hastened to add that he is a fan thing they feel is borrowed. judged with suspicion; on the so different in style from the found a new incarnation. Di- Curse was shut out during the family. of Scorsese, but loves his early The misgivings these people other hand, the remake follows original as to make comparison rector Zhang Yuan echoed these nomination process, and study- Wang said that the work only. have about Scorsese’s version of the original’s plot so closely that meaningless. It is a totally new sentiment when he said that the ing tea leaves about Oscar’s film was an attempt Chen is not alone. In a the gangster drama derive from some feel it’s a rip-off. fi lm infused with rich Ameri- Oscar nod to the remake is also “new trends”. to explore the massive environmental, cultural and social effects of China’s rapid economic growth on ordinary AIDS victim’s tale earns Academy nod people in Inner Mon- golia, where the way of By Chen Nan ious Grand Jury Prize at the makers not only talked to the I kind of knew they slowed life has remained the 2006 Silverdocs Documentary orphaned children but also the fi lm down. Tom would fl y same for centuries. Festival in Washington DC un- got to quiz offi cials about the in and we’d have screaming “I think that it is Gao Jun is an orphan. He der its belt and has so far been extent of the scourge. matches over cutting the fi lm important, particularly is 2 or 3 years old (no one screened at 13 fi lm festivals Yang and Lennon are found- down.” in this time when the knows for sure) and is also an across the world. ers of the China AIDS Media The fi lm shows the chil- economy is booming, to outcast. “It’s a very quietly stunning Project, an ambitious new dren’s fi erce determination ponder and reflect on With both his parents fi lm,” said Nina Gilden Seavey, effort to bring disease preven- to survive. In one scene, the what we’re losing,” he dead from AIDS and him- director of Silverdocs’ Docs Rx tion to a country that only children resolve to become said. “Once the culture self HIV-positive, Guo is offerings. “You look for movies in recent years has acknowl- educated as a way to one day and tradition are lost, shunned by everyone in his that tell a deep story that is edged its AIDS epidemic. In better their tormentors. “I hate we’ll never be able to remote village of East Chi- unexpected. This one does.” 2004, they wrote and edited being looked down upon,” get them back.” na’s Anhui Province. Even The fi lmmakers tell their the fi rst major AIDS preven- says one boy. “One day I will Tuya’s Marriage beat his relatives dare not go tale through the children tion campaign to air on the surpass them all.” 21 other competition near him, fearing they can turned pariahs in four vil- Chinese mainland television. Gao Jun, the boy at the entries to the prize, catch the deadly virus. lages in Anhui. “The villagers What Yang saw broke her heart of the film, is now on including Robert de Gao is the central character knew Gao Jun was sick but he heart, especially when she medication and his health Niro’s much-hailed in The Blood of Yingzhou Dis- was neglected and ignored. entered the home where the has improved significantly, Hollywood CIA drama trict, a documentary by Hong He lived like an animal,” Yang children lived alone. “There according to Yang. He has The Good Shepherd, Kong-born fi lmmaker Ruby said. Gao’s parents, like many was this smell of death,” she also been moved to the starring Matt Damon Yang and award-winning other farmers, fell victim to said. “We had to fi nd that home of an elderly couple and Angelina Jolie, and producer Thomas Lennon, AIDS after donating their balance where you don’t who have lost their two sons Steven Soderbergh’s about an epidemic that has so blood to earn a bit of money. overwhelm the audience or and one daughter-in-law to The Good German star- far orphaned 75,000 children With the help of the local drive them away, yet at the AIDS, and they are believed ring George Clooney throughout China. charity head Zhang Ying, same time keep the power of to be taking good care of and Cate Blanchett, a Just 39 minutes long, the Yang gained the trust of the the narrative. him. He started kindergar- black and white drama fi lm outshone other candidates children and their extended “Maintaining emotional ten in the fall. set in post-war Berlin. and Thomas Lennon, winners for Best Documentary to win the short documentary families so that they would distance was diffi cult. For “All we know is that they Short Subject, The Blood of Yingzhou District, show their Oscar award at this year’s Oscars. open up to tell their stories. months, I wouldn’t give up are no longer shunned by the The Guardian statues at the 79th Academy Awards in Hollywood. Reuters It already has the prestig- With Zhang’s help, the fi lm- certain stories even though villagers,” Yang said. WHAT’SNEW Curtains health, fashion, wine and food. Also competing for the top FESPACO award this year ancient novel, The exhibition of Leonardo Da are two fi lms from Chad. Chen replied down on Vinci’s machines, showing how With the exception of South Africa and Nigeria, cin- confi dently: “I contemporary Italian technology ema houses have been closing down one after the other am Lin Daiyu. If Year of is the result of secular experience, across the continent, the African monthly Continental I took up other Italy alone attracted more than 300,000 said in its February issue. roles, the audi- visitors. After receiving state backing in the post-independ- ences would The Year of Italy ence 1970s, producers, directors and distributors have think Lin Daiyu in China draws to largely had to fend for themselves since the 1990s, when was trying to a close tonight at Film fest to give governments cut funding owing to pressure from world act as another the Poly Theatre African fi lms shot fi nancial institutions. girl.” She won with a perform- the role. ance of the most in the arm Directed by famous Italian It’s a nun’s life from now on Wang Fulin opera arias by Africa’s biggest film festi- for ‘Lin Daiyu’ and adapted Religious awakening for Chen the Orchestra and val opened on Saturday in the from the best- Xiaoxu, former star of A Dream of the Chorus of the Performers suspended in mid air during the opening capital of Burkina Faso hoping “For quite a long time, I devoted all my energy known Chinese Red Mansions. File photo Maggio Musicale of the Year of Italy. Cui Hao to revive the continent’s ailing into amassing a fortune. Now, I’ve found that a bigger literary classic Fiorentino. cinema industry. fortune has not given real joy and happiness to me and — A Dream of Red Mansions, written by Cao Xueqin In 1998, the Tuscany Orchestra performed a memorable The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouaga- my family.” (ca. 1715-1763), the TV drama series became an instant Turandot at the Forbidden City, directed by Zhang Yimou. dougou, or FESPACO, which runs till March 3, is a two- So said Chen Xiaoxu, a millionairess and chairperson hit and has had several hundred re-runs on Chinese TV The exhibition Pompeii: Stories from a Volcano Eruption, yearly event gathering more than 3,000 fi lm types from of a major advertising company in China, who stunned screens. on from February through May at the World Art Museum across the continent, from South Africa through Mali to the public with her recent decision to become a Buddhist The 42-year-old businesswoman has been a Buddhist in Beijing, is the last of the more than 200 events brought Morocco, as well as from the African diaspora. nun “in pursuit of eternal happiness and tranquillity.” for at least seven years since she attended a Buddhist to Chinese audiences. Most of them were dedicated to Ironically, this year’s event takes place as the curtain Chen is best remembered and recognized by millions lecture in Singapore, local media reported. promoting culture and ranged from music (opera theatre comes down for cinemas across the continent, but also of Chinese audiences for her heart-wrenching portrayal And it is rumored that Chen’s husband Hao Tong will orchestras, light music, jazz and folk music), dance (La as African fi lms rake up top international awards, feed- of Lin Daiyu, in the 1987 costume TV drama series A also become a Buddhist monk in the coming weeks in Scala Theatre Ballet Company to contemporary choreogra- ing hopes of a new golden age in the years to come. Dream of Red Mansions. Shenzhen. phers) and art to cinema, theatre and literature. Economic South Africa’s Tsotsi last year won Oscar celebrity Born in 1965 in Anshan, in Northeast China’s Liaoning activities were on the agenda as well with 800 Italian status, picking up Hollywood’s coveted best foreign-lan- Province, Chen had a passion for Chinese classic litera- China Daily-Agencies fi rms participating in the Guangdong Fair. Cooperation in guage fi lm award. It is one of two South African entries ture, especially poems, since the age of 3. education took off with the inauguration of a Chinese-Ital- among the 20 feature fi lms competing for FESPACO’s At 18, she auditioned for the TV drama series. Asked To comment or alert us to a story, ian campus in Shanghai. top prize, the Etalon d’Or de Yennenga or Golden Stal- why she wanted the role of Lin Daiyu, a melancholy and e-mail [email protected] The year of Italy also encompassed tourism, science, lion of Yennenga. graceful beauty and ardent lover of Chinese poems in the