day1_n1 b:001THRP_D1100810 10/7/10 8:17 PM Page 1 the Pusan REVIEW “The Man From Nowhere” SEE PAGE 5 Friday, day dailyOctober 8, 2010 1 THR.com/pusan 1 Kim kicks off grand finale Festtounspool Newisold 108premieres in Zhang’s By Jonathan Landreth heautumnsunshone brightlyonSouth ‘Hawthorn’ Korea’sHaeundae BeachonThursday, welcomingthesingle By Jonathan Landreth biggestgatheringofglobalT moviemakingprofessionalsin irector Zhang Yimou was the Asiatotheopeningofthe15th guest of honor Thursday at the PusanInternationalFilmFestival. D15th Pusan International Film At the final PIFF presided Festival, as his softly-paced Cul- over by Kim Dong-ho, the fes- tural Revolution romance “Under Director Zhang Yimou is flanked by his co-stars Zhou Dongyu, tival’s longtime director and right, and Shawn Dou on Thursday at the press conference the Hawthorn Tree” opened Asia’s for PIFF’s opening night film “Under the Hawthorn Tree.” patriarch, the initial curtain largest cinema event. rose under the stars of Korea’s Stepping off an airplane from Beijing Wednesday night, clad in a baseball cap second-largest city.In front of a and black boots, Zhang quipped coolly to The Hollywood Reporter that packed house of more than “Hawthorn” opening Pusan was “nothing special” and “a matter of timing,” 3,000 guests, Kim welcomed expanding to allow that of all the festivals he’d been to “Pusan is superb.” opening film director Zhang Aloof? Perhaps. After all, Zhang is the same made-man of Chinese cinema Yimou from China to the red whose use of whole batteries of fireworks and synchronized armies of carpet at the Busan Yachting continued on page 15 Center Outdoor Theater. Festivities included a music REVIEW video dedicated to outgoing fes- tival director Kim,who then introduced the 12 members of ‘UndertheHawthornTree’ the New Currents Jury.He also introduced opening film director By Maggie Lee Korean love tragedies, Zhang Yimou,himself a PIFF the film is not unabashedly veteran.“Twelve years ago my nder the Hawthorn Tree,”is romantic. There’s timo- continued on page 14 without question Zhang rousness in the lovers’ “UYimou’s simplest work. The innocence and repression tale of pure young love set during the n their modesty,which sig- WHAT’S INSIDE Cultural Revolution is laid back and nals a throwback to the more lushly shot, with any sexual passion conservative characterization >Reviews. PAGE 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or political overtones exiled to the and film grammar of pre- >Reviews in Brief. PAGE 11, 12, 13 narrative margins. Even though the 5th-generation directors. storyline closely resembles ‘80s continued on page 8 >Calendar. PAGE 16-19 PRESSER PHOTO: CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTYIMAGES day1_n1 b:001THRP_D1100810 10/7/10 8:17 PM Page 2 The Hollywood Reporter | Friday, October 8, 2010 | news ZHANG, NOWANDTHEN: PIFF opened on Thursday with a screening of the director’s latest work“Under the Hawthorn Tree”; Zhang on the set of his film“To Live,”which was an award winner at the Cannes International Film Festival, and Gong Li in his award-winning “Raise the Red Lantern” “Raise the Red Lantern” were return to stories of plain Chi- economic boom of the past 30 Zhang the first two Chinese films nese people overcoming adver- years and before the mass continued from page 1 nominated for the best for- sity against the odds. media and exposure to the out- eign-language film Oscar in Based on an online novel, side world diluted the Party’s dancers ushered China into the 1990 and 1992, respectively. “Hawthorn” follows an edu- control over the minutiae of world spotlight at the opening Zhang has shaped the talents cated teenager from her urban daily life. ceremony of the Beijing of some of China’s most home in Hubei Province, in “I’ve seen a few of Zhang’s Olympics in 2008 — 20 years famous actors, helping to central China, who, in the films before and I liked this one after the Summer Games in export their brands, and Chi- upheaval wrought by Mao for telling a different story of Seoul heralded the start of a nese cinema, around the world. Zedong’s policies of the time, my parents’ and grandparents’ new era for South Korea. Early in their screen careers, is “sent down” to the country- time,”said 23-year-old anima- Visiting Korea’s second city actor Jiang Wen and actress side for “re-education” by tor Sun Guodong, coinciden- for just two days,Zhang is the Gong Li starred in Zhang’s peasants. tally also from Hubei,as he same man who overcame Bei- 1987 Berlin Golden Bear-win- There, the aspiring school- emerged earlier this week from jing’s ban of his 1994 film“To ning film “Red Sorghum.”Ge teacher meets a male suitor a public screening of Live”to go on to become the You’s role in ”To Live” won him and “Hawthorn” becomes the “Hawthorn” at a Stellar Mega- only director from the People’s the best actor award at Cannes, story of unrequited love in a media Cineplex in Beijing. Republic to make a real splash the most visible accolade yet time in China when every- By Sept. 28, just before in the United States. Zhang’s bestowed overseas to a Chinese body’s every move was deter- China went on a weeklong hol- “Hero” grossed $54 million in thespian. The 20-year-old mined and monitored by the iday to celebrate its National the United States in 2002 and Zhang Ziyi first starred in Mao’s Communist Party. Day,“Hawthorn” had in 12 remains China’s most success- Zhang’s “The Road Home,” Zhang said “Hawthorn” was days grossed roughly 100 mil- ful film export to date. winner of the Silver Bear in important at this moment in lion yuan ($15 million), accord- Zhang didn’t get to work on Berlin in 2000. his career because “It’s a love ing to producers at Edko Films the Olympics opener, as With none of the marauding story. It’s a Cultural Revolution in Hong Kong. planned, with the imported armies of “Hero,”the martial story. It’s a simple story. I think That Zhang’s latest film has Oscar-winning talent of Steven arts mastery of “House of Fly- alotofpeopleintheir20sand done that well, competing with Spielberg. The Hollywood ing Daggers,”or the courtly 30s will find it interesting that louder domestic and imported director ditched his advisory splendor and intrigue of they have the same feelings as commercial titles such as role to protest China’s bolster- “Curse of the Golden Flower,” their parents and grandparents “Inception” for the attention ing Sudan’s attacks in Darfur, some reviewers remarked that felt in their time.” of China’s swelling moviegoing leaving all the glory to Zhang. “Under the Hawthorn Tree” Notably, “Hawthorn” tells a public,could be seen as a tes- During his career, Zhang had reminds them of “The Road tale of a China fast disappear- tament to a growing Chinese already earned plenty of his Home”and that it appears to ing in 2010,a country that was appreciation of films outside own fame: his“Ju Dou”and be a return to Zhang’s roots,a distinctly agrarian before the continued on page 15 Los Angeles 323.525.2000 | New York 646.654.5000 | London +44.207.420.6139 | Beijing +86.139.1118.1756 | THR.com/pusan | day 1 2 THR.com/pusan news Friday, October 8, 2010 Forward look “Crebinsky” at new helmers PIFFsidebarinvites11contenders By Andrew Wilson road movie about two brothers and their cow, Muchka, who are his year’sFlash Forward washed away from their village section at Pusan is all about when torrential downpours Tgrowth. Not only among cause the nearby river to flood. the up-and-coming directors Olivier van Malderghem is behind the 11 contenders in the bringing “Rondo,”a Belgian- section, but also in the content of French production about a the films and the judges panel, Jewish grandfather and grand- which added a seat. son who take refuge in England The section, which started during World War II. The pair last year, pits films against seem to disagree about every- each other, with each country thing until the tragedies of the A business trip takes a getting only one slot on the war sink in to unite them. young man back to his home- roster. The United States, Rus- The grandfather-grandchild town and leads to unexpected sia and all of South America are relationship is also the focus of meetings with old friends and Theaterexpansion notable absences, but the list “Lou.”In the film by Australian former hangouts, causing the of films promises enough sub- director Belinda Chayko, the character to embark on an stance to sidestep those holes love between a girl and her emotional journey through his makesHorsesense in the lineup. demented grandfather is mis- life in Polish director Marek “Crebinsky,”by Spanish understood and deemed dan- Lechki’s “Erratum.” By Jonathan Landreth director Enrique Otero, is a gerous by her mother. continues on page 15 Beijing Galloping Horse Film & TV plans to open 15 theaters next year, costing about 500 million yuan ($75 million), a company execu- Yodare-enlists as TIFF chief tive said Thursday. The company plans to By Gavin J. Blair ment-con- TY Limited, along with partner become the latest entrant trolled body the Kinoshita Group, bought into China’s booming cine- TOKYO – Tatsumi “Tom” that runs the Gaga Communications from ma sector, where an aver- Yoda will continue his chair- festival, had cable and internet outfit Usen. age of one new screen manship of Tokyo International asked Yoda to The 15th and final film, a lights up daily.