News

Action thriller Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In has been selected as Hong Kong’s entry to the 97th Academy Awards.

The Federation of Motion Picture Producers of Hong Kong voted for the film, directed by Soi Cheang, to represent the region in the best international feature film category of the Oscars.

The feature played as a midnight screening at Cannes following its release in Hong Kong on May 1, where it proved a major hit with takings of $13.7m. Recording nearly 1.6 million admissions made it the highest ever ticket sales for a local film in Hong Kong and the second...

Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine is an epic melodrama about the Peking Opera set against the backdrop of 50 years of 20th-century Chinese history. As structured by screenwriters Lu Wei and Lilian Lee, adapting the latter’s 1985 novel, the film unfolds through a series of chapters that stitch together a sense of how physical discipline, unrequited love, and art comingled with broader political and revolutionary movements in China from 1924 to 1977. The film is a melancholic portrait of a nation and its people at a crossroads, relating as much to the conceptions of so-called Fifth Generation Chinese filmmakers in the present as to the country’s past.

Farewell My Concubine features a dizzying array of characters, but the story’s focus is essentially on the inevitably tragic love triangle between Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Chung), Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi), and Juxian (Gong Li). By 1937, both Cheng and Duan are Peking opera stars...

Crushing almost sixty years of twentieth-century turmoil into less run time than the equally decade-skippy first season of HBO's House of the Dragon, Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine joins the Criterion Collection this week in a new 4K transfer. The film was the first Chinese feature to win the Palme D'Or at Cannes, but was later banned, then censored, then banned again in its home country. It remains a bravura act of filmmaking, which fuses two men's personal longings to the end of China's Imperial era and the devastation of the Cultural Revolution. The first hour is exquisite, if agonizing. Young Douzi -- already so androgynous as to be easily mistaken for girlish, with bright red ribbons in his hair -- is given by his...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

It has been commonplace in academic circles to divide up and label Chinese filmmakers into generations that reflect socio-political currents as much as cinematic style.

Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou, who were educated at the end of the Cultural Revolution, are considered the leading lights of the “fifth generation.” The rebellious cluster that followed them, Zhang Yuan, Wang Xioashuai, Jia Zhangke and Lou Ye are among those labelled as “sixth generation.”

But with substantial bodies of work under their belts and international reputations already established, the sixth generation are no longer quite so new, nor so angry.

The four Chinese films selected for the main competition – all world premieres – at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival represent a showcase of directors who are also known-quantities, but who are worthy of higher profiles. (The festival’s Asian Talent selection has a further selection of six more directors seeking to break through.

Update: Bleecker Street has picked up the film for a 2025 release.

Following up Driveways and Fire Island, Andrew Ahn is nearing production on his next feature, a remake of Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet. First confirmed to kick off production this May in Vancouver, The Cinemaholic reports the cast features Lily Gladstone, Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-jung. James Schamus, who co-wrote and produced the original 1993 rom-com, returned to script with Ahn.

Here’s the synopsis: “The plot revolves around Min, whose marriage proposal is rejected by his boyfriend Chris (Yang). Min then convinces his best friend Angela (Marie Tran) to marry him for his green card and offers to pay for the IVF treatment of the latter’s partner, Liz (Gladstone), in return. Although Min and Angela plan a “subtle city hall elopement,” their lives are turned upside down when the former’s grandmother...

The Locarno Film Festival is set to honour filmmaker Jane Campion with the Pardo d’Onore Manor, its award for outstanding achievement in cinema.

The 77th edition of the festival will feature screenings of two of her titles selected by the director herself: An Angel At My Table (1990) and The Piano (1993), the latter presented in a new 4K restoration that will make its debut on the Piazza Grande.

The Pardo d’Onore Manor will be given to Campion on the evening of The Piano screening on August 16, and she will take part in a panel conversation the following day.

Campion...

Cruise. Criterion. Just a matter of time, really, until the world’s premier movie star made his way into the collection. Smart money might not have been on Paul Brickman’s Risky Business, a great film mostly known for one or two sequences but which will now be seen in 4K when released this July, a month that brings 2,160-pixel releases for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (featuring an essay from the great novelist Steve Erickson), Perfect Days, Farewell My Concubine, and the stunning-looking Le Samouraï restoration.

Don’t sleep, however, on maybe the best film to get a release in July: Glauber Rocha’s Cinema Novo masterpiece Black God, White Devil, which recently received a 4K restoration that looks so good I envy anybody who saw it for the first time like so.

Find artwork below and more details at Criterion:

The post The Criterion Collection’s July...

Although the film is included in many lists as one of the all time classics of world cinema, following its Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes, the book the movie is based on remains largely unknown, which is a shame, considering the quality of the novel is by no means less that of the film. Furthermore, and as usual in the case of adaptations, the story and the context of the latter are much richer than of the movie.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

After a prologue dealing with stage plays and prostitution both literally and as metaphors, the story moves to 1929, when Douzi, a boy with feminine features, is left by his prostitute mother to an all-boys Peking opera troupe supervised by Master Guan. Douzi is lost and shocked by the events but eventually befriends fellow trouper Shitou, who takes him under his wing.

When it comes to China, the discourse surrounding queer identities – like many other issues – can be placed in a gray area, on the fragile border with taboo. However, cinema is perhaps the most powerful visual medium for better understanding certain dynamics that are too often subject to useless labels and dichotomous discussions. For this reason, I have selected 12 works – including narrative feature films and documentaries – that explore and reflect on intimate queer representation. The list is presented in chronological order and includes titles from Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

1. Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan (1972) Chor Yuan

“Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan” is a 1972 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chor Yuen, known for its blend of elements from martial arts and erotica. The protagonist, Ai Nu (Lily Ho), is sold to a brothel at the young age of 18. She quickly becomes the favorite of the brothel's owner,...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

The Beekeeper (David Ayer)

It’s the time of year for smooth-brained relaxation. Moviegoers can recover from the holidays with the comfort of knowing Gerard Butler, Liam Neeson, or Jason Statham will be here to satisfy their mid-budget, action-programmer needs. Is it really the new year if one of those cherished Kings of January doesn’t appear on the release slate? There’s no Gerry or Liam, but the ever-reliable Statham dons a trucker hat and blue jeans to grit his way through David Ayer’s The Beekeeper, an overall valiant, occasionally fun attempt to take us out of Q1 doldrums. – Conor O. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler)

S. Craig Zahler is the...

February––particularly its third week––is all about romance. Accordingly the Criterion Channel got creative with their monthly programming and, in a few weeks, will debut Interdimensional Romance, a series of films wherein “passion conquers time and space, age and memory, and even death and the afterlife.” For every title you might’ve guessed there’s a wilder companion: Alan Rudolph’s Made In Heaven, Soderbergh’s remake, and Resnais’ Love Unto Death. Mostly I’m excited to revisit Francis Ford Coppola’s Youth Without Youth, a likely essential viewing before Megalopolis.

February also marks Black History Month, and Criterion’s series will include work by Shirley Clarke (also subject of a standalone series), Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, and Julie Dash, while movies by Sirk, Minnelli, King Vidor, and Lang play in “Gothic Noir.” Greta Gerwig gets an “Adventures in Moviegoing” and can be seen in Mary Bronstein’s Yeast,...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

In 2023, I wanted to laugh. Perhaps more than I realized, because when I finally calculated my top-rated films that came out this year, a great portion of my selections turned out to be either straight-up comedies or gripping comedy-dramas. 2023 was the year I embraced funny and moving movie coming-of-age stories probably more than any other, but to me, that genre isn’t only limited to what happens when 11-year-old girls experience their period for the first time or when Elvis Presley decides to take a child bride. For example, Paul Giamatti’s acidic classics teacher experiences something like a middle-aged puberty when he’s forced to care for an abandoned prep school kid during Christmas break in The Holdovers. In Beau is Afraid, we watch a stunted...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

Many of the most memorable moments of my life have revolved around cinema. (Let’s not debate whether that is a good thing.) And 2023 was no exception. There was a twentieth-anniversary screening of the mesmerizing Mulholland Drive at Buffalo’s North Park Theatre featuring a performance from the remarkable Rebekah Del Rio. That was a biggie, but many of my most indelible 2023 cinema memories include my children. In July, my wife and our two kiddos had a rare group cinema outing to Barbie on its opening day, and I have rarely seen my then-eight-year-old daughter more genuinely excited to dance the night away. A few weeks earlier my son was similarly pumped for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny—his first (and only) chance to see...

Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,” has been acquired by more distributors in key territories.

Rolling off premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, the crowdpleaser has been acquired by Mfa+ Distribution, Edko Films (Hong Kong, Macau), Officine Ubu (Italy) and Maxam Inc. (Japan). The film is represented by Films Boutique in international markets. The movie was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S. in a deal negotiated with UTA, which is repping the film in North America.

Previous deals were scored with Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent).

“The Monk and the Gun” is set in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2006. Modernization has finally...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Film at Lincoln Center

The films of Kijū Yoshida are now playing in a massive retrospective. Read our piece on him here.

Roxy Cinema

A five-film retrospective of Matthew Modine (read my interview here) takes place this weekend, including work by Abel Ferrara, Alan Rudolph, and the man himself.

Museum of the Moving Image

A career-spanning Todd Haynes retrospective begins, with the director present on Friday and Saturday; Robert Altman’s Popeye plays on 35mm this Saturday and Sunday.

Museum of Modern Art

A massive Ennio Morricone retrospective begins, this weekend bringing Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy.

Anthology Film Archives

The films of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project are screening, while Joseph Cornell, Tony Conrad, and Bruce Conner programs run in Essential Cinema; a Hollis Frampton retrospective is also underway.

Film Forum

Michael Powell’s career-killing masterwork Peeping Tom plays in a long-overdue restoration,...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Film Forum

Glauber Rocha’s Black God, White Devil begins playing in a 4K restoration; “Hitchcock’s ’50s” runs through arguably the director’s greatest decade. the Farewell My Concubine restoration continues while Summer Stock plays on 35mm this Sunday.

Anthology Film Archives

Paul Vecchiali’s classic-in-waiting The Strangler is playing in a new restoration, while the films of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project are screening.

Roxy Cinema

The Josh Safdie-presented The Gods of Times Square begins a run, while The Untouchables and The Mission show on 35mm.

IFC Center

Distant Voices, Still Lives begins a run while The Exorcist, Battle Royale, Desperado, and a print of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 play on 35mm; Oldboy screens in a new restoration.

Museum of the Moving Image

Reverse Shot celebrates its 20th anniversary with a months-long programming run,...

Via Vision Entertainment is excited to announce its newest media distribution expansion with the launch of Imprint Asia.

Imprint Asia will deliver ongoing releases of contemporary & classic Asian cinema across film festival, multi digital platforms, and physical media including 4K & Blu-ray for Australia and New Zealand.

Already working with some of the biggest Asian licencing partners in the market, the new brand will be launching with a host of key properties including Rui Cui's 2023 box office megahit ‘Lost In The Stars', Larry Yang's 2023 action comedy ‘Ride On' starring Jackie Chan and the 2023 Sci-Fi epic ‘The Wandering Earth II‘ starring Andy Lau.

In addition to the new release slate there will be ongoing classic releases with new restorations and extras produced for physical media collectors including Chen Kaige's ‘The Emperor and The Assassin' (1998) & ‘Farewell My Concubine' (1992), Tsui Hark's ‘The Legend of Zu' (2001), Kei Kumai...

Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk And The Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji’s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom,” has been bought by a raft of well-established international theatrical distributors.

Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent).

Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S. in a deal negotiated with UTA, which is repping the film in North America. Films Boutique is currently negotiating deals in other territories.

Choyning Dorji’s feature debut, “Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom,” was the second film ever submitted by Bhutan for the Oscar race and...

Feature will open theatrically at New York’s Film Forum on December 8.

Film Movement has acquired all North American rights to Total Trust, Zhang Jialing’s Cph-dox, Hot Docs and Sheffield selection about the Chinese surveillance state.

Total Trust’: Cph:dox Review

The distributor has set a December 8 theatrical release at New York’s Film Forum followed by home entertainment and digital platforms after president Michael Rosenberg negotiated the deal with Cinephil MD Olivier Tournaud.

Total Trust follows three women fighting for civil liberties and social justice in a country which uses high tech security and surveillance technology to monitor...

Feature will open theatrically at New York’s Film Forum on December 8.

Film Movement has acquired all North American rights to Total Trust, Zhang Jialing’s Cph:dox, Hot Docs and Sheffield selection about the Chinese surveillance state.

Total Trust’: Cph:dox Review

The distributor has set a December 8 theatrical release at New York’s Film Forum followed by home entertainment and digital platforms. Film Movement president Michael Rosenberg and Cinephil MD Olivier Tournaud announced the deal on Friday.

Total Trust follows three women fighting for civil liberties and social justice in a country which uses high tech security and surveillance...

Exclusive: Roadside Attractions has acquired U.S. rights to Bhutan’s official selection for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards, The Monk and the Gun, a spiritual fable written, directed, and co-produced by the Oscar-nominated director of 2019’s Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorj. Contending for Best International Film, Lunana became the first Bhutanese film ever nominated for an Oscar. The Monk and the Gun premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and later the Toronto International Film Festival where it won critical and audience acclaim, currently holding a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In my Deadline review of the film after its Telluride premiere I said, “If I were a betting man — which I am — I would venture to say that with his second film The Monk and the Gun, which just had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend and goes on to Toronto next week,...

Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows was presented with Best Film in the Fei Mu Awards at this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff), while Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An, won Best Film in the festival’s Roberto Rossellini Awards.

The Fei Mu Awards recognise up-and-coming Chinese filmmakers selected in the festival’s Hidden Dragons section. The Roberto Rossellini Awards are presented to films in the Crouching Tigers section for emerging international filmmakers.

Both Only The River Flows and Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival, the former in Un Certain Regard and the latter in Directors Fortnight where it won the Camera d’Or.

Geng Zihan won Best Director in the Fei Mu Awards for A Song Sung Blue, which also premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight. Luc Besson, who was in Pingyao with Dogman,...

A clutch of Chinese movies released for the end of September holiday season dominated the global box office over the latest weekend. Mainland Chinese-produced films took first, third and fifth places across the planet, according to U.S.-based data service Comscore.

Comscore shows “Under the Light,” which released only in mainland China, grossing an estimated $54 million between Friday and Sunday. That put it ahead of Paramount’s “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” which earned an estimated $23.0 million in the North America (aka ‘domestic’) market and a further $23.1 million in the rest of the world, for a weekend total of $46.1 million.

In third place globally was another Chinese film “The Ex-Files 4: The Marriage Plan,” which released in China and five other territories for a weekend total of $41.4 million. “The Creator” earned $32.3 million across the planet, comprising an $18.3 million international score and $14 million from North America. Fifth, planetwide, was Chinese...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Museum of the Moving Image

Reverse Shot celebrates its 20th anniversary with a months-long programming run, starting this weekend with A Lion in the House, Femme Fatale, and Summer Hours, all on 35mm.

Paris Theater

The Paris has reopened with a Saturday-morning 70mm screening of Playtime.

Roxy Cinema

The Third Man, Knock Knock, Klute, and Great Expectations show on 35mm.

Metrograph

An extensive retrospective of the great Robby Müller has begun.

IFC Center

The new restoration of Shinji Somai’s Typhoon Club continues; All That Jazz, Delicatessen, The Holy Mountain, The Lords of Salem, Sleepy Hollow, and Gregg Araki’s Nowhere play while Oldboy screens in a new restoration.

Film Forum

A new 4K restoration of Farewell, My Concubine begins; Shrek plays on Sunday

The post NYC Weekend Watch: Summer Hours, Klute, Gregg Araki & More first appeared on The Film Stage.

The latest film from the director of ‘Farewell My Concubine’ will be released in China in late September.

Fortissimo Films has secured international rights to Chinese war epic The Volunteers: To The War by Chen Kaige, the acclaimed director of Farewell My Concubine and The Battle At Lake Changjin.

The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company will launch sales on the feature at the Asian Contents and Film Market in Busan next month, following its release in China on September 28. The international sales agreement excludes North America, Australia and New Zealand.

The film, previously known as The Great War, is the...

The bread and butter of film festivals is the unveiling of new movies. And in the case of the major festivals taking place in the late summer and early fall — Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York — the selections offer a preview of potential Oscar nominees and winners. Remember the eight-minute standing ovation Brendan Fraser received last year at Venice for “The Whale”? It kicked off his comeback and journey to a best Oscar win this year.

And with the 50th annual Telluride Film Festival kicking off August 31 at in the picturesque Colorado mountain burg, let’s take the cinematic time machine back 1993 when the fest was a mere 20 years old. John Boorman of “Deliverance” and “Hope and Glory” fame was the guest director of the festival. Jennifer Jason Leigh, then just 31 and whose latest film was Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” was honored with a tribute as was socialist British director Ken Loach,...

The Toronto Film Festival has unveiled its Wavelengths program for artist-driven experimental work that includes films by avant garde directors Denis Côté, Radu Jude, the late Chantal Akerman and Wang Bing.

There’s selections for Isiah Medina’s He Thought He Died, an experimental heist film; Angela Schanelec’s Music, a retelling of the Oedipus myth; and Denis Côté’s Mademoiselle Kenopsia, which stars Larissa Corriveau and will first bow at the Locarno Film Festival.

Wavelengths also booked fiction debuts with Rosine Mbakam’s Mambar Pierrette, a portrait of a Cameroonian seamstress; and Phạm Thiên Ân’s Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, the Vietnamese director’s hypnotic first feature about a man haunted by past memories when returning to his hometown that picked up the Caméra d’Or in Cannes.

“The increasing necessity to support artists willing to take risks, break rules and challenge the status quo — especially in our over-saturated media landscape — bears repeating,...

A 4K uncut restoration of Chen Kaige’s 1993 Palme d’Or winner “Farewell My Concubine” is a highlight of the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Classics strand while Jean-Luc Godard’s last film will feature in Wavelengths.

The Classics strand also includes Canadian producer-director Brigitte Berman’s Oscar-winning feature documentary “Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got” (1985), portraying the life of the clarinettist and bandleader, and, after decades of oblivion Jacques Rivette’s New Wave classic “L’amour fou” (1969), whose original celluloid elements were damaged in a fire. A 50th anniversary screening of “Touki Bouki” (1973), from Sengal’s Djibril Diop Mambéty and Ousmane Sembène’s “Xala” (1975), presented in 4K, complete the program. Classics is curated by Robyn Citizen, director of programming and platform lead, with contributions from Andréa Picard.

The Wavelengths strand has 12 feature films and 19 shorts, as well as a suite of four restored early films by...

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced this year’s Wavelengths and Classics sidebars, the former section known for its politically charged, geographically diverse fare with a wide range of work drawn from the worlds of documentary, contemporary art, and international art-house cinema.

Wavelengths this year counts 12 feature films and 19 shorts, as well as a suite of four restored early films by the singular Chantal Akerman.

Of note in the Wavelengths short section, North American audiences will finally get to see Jean-Luc Godard’s swan song short, Trailer of the Film That Will Never Exist: Phony Wars, which played Cannes this past spring.

Another highlight in the Classics sidebar is the 4K uncut restoration of Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine, the only movie from China to win the Palme d’Or. The original film had 20 minutes cut by then Miramax Boss Harvey Weinstein much to the chagrin of jury...

The Toronto International Film Festival has added an additional 17 films to its 2023 lineup, with the new entries the work of a variety of bold international directors, from Radu Jude and Kleber Mendonca Filho to the late Jean-Luc Godard and Chantal Akerman.

The Wavelength section contains 12 features, two films paired in a single program and 19 shorts grouped in three separate programs. It is devoted to “artist-driven experimental films,” in the words of TIFF Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee. “Wavelengths continues to be a celebration of subversion, personal expression, and the vast, inexhaustible capabilities of cinema to enlighten, inspire, awe, resist, disrupt, and propose new ways of seeing and being in the world.”

Films in the section include “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World” from the fiery Romanian satirist Radu Jude, “Here” from Belgian director Bas Devos,” the “Oedipus” retelling “Music” from Angela Schanelec, Brazilian Kleber Mendonca...

Premiering 30 years ago this year, Chen Kaige’s enchanting, Palme d’Or-winning, and Oscar-nominated drama Farewell My Concubine is finally returning in its original cut, stunningly restored in 4K. Starring Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, and Gong Li, the drama was cut by 20 minutes after Harvey Scissorhands had his way with it. Now restored to its original glory and set for a September 22 release beginning at Film Forum from Film Movement Classics, the new trailer has arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “In Chen Kaige’s adaptation of the Lilian Lee novel, Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors regularly beat the students to instill in them the discipline needed to master the complex physical and vocal techniques of this ancient art. As the two boys mature, they develop complementary talents: Dieyi, with his fine, delicate features,...

Fifth-generation Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” wowed the Cannes jury under president Louis Malle in 1993 — all the way to a Palme d’Or win. But by the time the three-hour epic set in the world of the Peking Opera reached U.S. theaters that year, Miramax’s Harvey Weinstein had cut 20 minutes from the movie that left even Malle puzzled. According to Peter Biskind‘s influential “Down and Dirty Pictures,” Malle said the new version seemed “longer because it doesn’t make any sense. It was better before those guys made cuts.”

At last, “Farewell My Concubine,” the only Chinese-language film ever to win the Palme, is now being returned to theaters in its full 171-minute glory, courtesy of Film Movement Classics. IndieWire exclusively announces that the distributor will release a newly restored 4K version in North American theaters beginning September 22 at Film Forum in New York City.

Based on Zhang Xiuzhen's semi-autobiographical novel, “A Woman” follows the recipe that has given a number of masterpieces from Mainland China in the past, of the story of an individual through the decades, that also highlights the story of the nation. “To Live” and “Farewell my Concubine” are the first that come to mind, but Wang Chao proves also quite adept in this case, in a movie that has won the Best Screenplay Jury Prize from San Sebastian, and Best Actress for Shen Shi Yu from Eurasian International Film Festival.

A Woman is screening at New York Asian Film Festival

The story starts in the 60s when young Kong Xiu is a factory worker who is soon married, under all the customs of the Mao era, with a young man that eventually gets to work in a remote location, closer to where he was born, during the 70s. Kong Xiu...

One of the biggest moments in the film industry every year is that in which the coveted Palme d’Or is handed over to the director of the Canne Film Festival’s best film. As it happens, sometimes it’s not handed but rather chucked, as this is exactly what happened at the 76th Cannes Film Festival when Jane Fonda presented the award to director Justine Triet for her film Anatomy of a Fall.

In a video that would go viral if TikTok users knew what the Cannes Film Festival was, Jane Fonda is seen trying to get the attention of Justine Triet, who left the Palme d’Or scroll at the podium. Despite her efforts, Triet is either too wrapped up in the moment or the crowd is too loud to notice, and so Fonda tosses it directly at her head. While the crowd does seem to laugh, one...

The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival came to a close on Saturday, May 27 after two weeks of films, celebrities, parties and interviews in the small city on the French Riviera. Now that the prizes have been given out, we can start looking at what could be top contenders for next year’s Oscars. Let’s analyze the results from this year’s festival and see this history that each category has when it comes to the Academy Awards.

Over the past several years the festival has been a springboard for major players in the Oscar derby. We’ve really seen it be an influence in the International Feature category where in-competition films have been nominated a regular basis. Recent Cannes films that ended up being top awards contenders in above the line categories include “Triangle of Sadness,” “Drive My Car,” “Parasite,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “BlacKkKlansman.

Yao Chen and Cao Yu forged very different paths on their way to success in the Chinese film industry, but after 20 years of work each, they sat down for a chat about where their careers were headed, and they came to the same conclusion.

“We’d reached a similar stage in life,” explains Yao. “We were reflecting on certain work, certain issues of our own. We decided when it comes to genres, we wanted to have a more diversified, more colorful palette. All our projects now center on the predicament that human beings face — we are interested in exploring the difficult choices that people face.”

Partners already in life, Yao and Cao became partners in film by establishing the Bad Rabbit Pictures production house, with Yao drawing on the experience gained from an acting career that has brought acclaim for her television roles that have arguably cemented her as China’s most popular star,...

Leading Chinese film director Chen Kaige is poised to shoot historical epic “Swan Song” as his next feature movie. It will focus on 18th century classical music composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky through critical failure, persecution for his sexuality and a mysterious death during the strife of the soon-to-collapse Russian Empire.

Moonstone Entertainment will launch pre-sales on the film at Cannes later this month. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2024 and early 2025 in the Baltics.

“Swan Song” was written by Shahar Stroh, who will also produce alongside Moonstone principal Etchie Stroh. Corporate credits go Moonstone Entertainment and Strohberry Films.

“The story of ‘Swan Song’ goes beyond the music of one man. It is about the perpetual struggle of beauty and love against darkness and hate, and I am excited to be bringing it to a global audience,” said Chen in prepared comments. “Creating a visually stunning and compelling story, paired with Tchaikovsky’s timeless music,...

In the article series Sound and Vision we take a look at music videos from notable directors. This week we look at Duran Duran's Do You Believe in Shame?, directed by Chen Kaige. Chen Kaige is a director mostly known for stagey and stately melodramatic period pieces, like Farewell My Concubine, which won him the Palme D'Or in Cannes. Often his films are set in his native China, exploring themes of family and love in lush settings. Later, more spectacular films like The Promise and Battle of Lake Changjin 1 and 2 infuse his style with more action. One thing Chen Kaige isn't associated with is American films, probably because of the humongous flop of his erotic thriller Killing Them Softly; or a modern day...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

After two years of cancellations and delays, the Cannes Film Festival finally returned to the south of France during the month of May. The winners of this year’s festivities were announced on Saturday, May 25. How many of these will become major players in this year’s Oscar derby? Below let’s review the results from the 75th installment of the international festival and examine the history each serves as a forecaster for the Academy Awards.

In recent years, Cannes has served as a launching pad for films that have become major contenders in awards season. This is particularly true in the International Feature category which, for the past several years, has had several nominees that were screened in competition. It’s also been true in other categories, including several above the line races, with films like “Drive My Car,” “Parasite,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “BlacKkKlansman” having their premieres on the Croissette.

Grand Prix shared between ‘Close’, ‘Stars At Noon’.

Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle Of Sadness has won the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2022.

More to follow.

This year’s jury was presided over by French actor Vincent Lindon, and also included Jasmine Trinca, Joachim Trier, Noomi Rapace, Jeff Nichols, Asghar Farhadi, Rebecca Hall, Ladj Ly and Deepika Padukone.

The winners of Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight and Critics Week were announced earlier this week.

Julia Ducournau’s Titane won the Palme d’Or last year, making Ducournau the first woman to win the prize outright (Jane Campion shared the title in...

The closing ceremony of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival takes place today (May 28) at 20.30 Cest (19.30 BST).

The closing ceremony of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival takes place today (May 28) at 20.30 Cest (19.30 BST) at the Grand Theatre Lumiere.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on France 2 and internationally on Brut; a screening of the Palme d’Or winning film will follow in the auditorium.

This story will update with the winners as they happen, below.

This year’s jury was presided over by French actor Vincent Lindon, and also included Jasmine Trinca, Joachim Trier, Noomi Rapace, Jeff Nichols, Asghar Farhadi, Rebecca Hall, Ladj Ly and Deepika Padukone.

The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is nearing its conclusion, and soon the jury will be selecting awards for this year’s impressive, albeit quieter, slate of films. After last year’s “Titane” from Julia Ducournau made history as the first female-directed film to fully win the Palme d’Or (Jane Campion’s “The Piano” tied with “Farewell My Concubine” in 1993), at this point in the festival, it doesn’t seem likely that a woman-directed project will walk away with it this year.

“Forever Young” by French-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi seems to be the only film directed by a woman that has so far invoked any passion for bringing it to the finish line. Claire Denis’ “Stars at Noon,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up,” Leonor Serraille’s “Mother and Son” and Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix van Groeningen’s “Eight Mountains” are the other titles directed by women among the 21 contending features.

This year’s crop of filmmakers at the Cannes Film Festival does not represent a new benchmark in terms of gender diversity.

Since becoming the first international festival to sign a gender parity pledge in 2018, Cannes has failed to make substantial progress in ramping up the representation of female directors in competition, which remains dominated by male directors.

Cannes director Thierry Fremaux told Variety last week that he was aiming to “hopefully” have a “stronger presence of female directors” in 2022. But so far, it’s not looking like he’s achieved that goal.

At this point, there are only three films by female directors in competition out of 18 titles. The proportion is on par with last year when four of the 21 titles were from female filmmakers. That matched a previous high of four female moviemakers from the 2019 edition.

This year’s competition boasts a handful of well-established veteran directors such as Kelly Reichardt,...

How does a person with a mental illness live in a world with others who are considered “normal”? Wang Zhantuan (Ge You) under ordinary circumstances is regarded as an eccentric, with his occasional odd and erratic behaviours, though he has a unique sense of perception. Zhou Zheng (Wang Junkai) is a sensitive and reticent young man who stutters and is autistic, yet hides a rebellious nature. As two friends who stand out from the crowd causing headaches to others, there is no end to this drama …

This film is adapted from screenwriter Zheng Zhi’s own short story “The Immortal Disease”. It is directed by Gu Changwei, a well-known cinematographer for directors Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, and whose debut feature Peacock was 2005’s Jury Grand Prix winner at the Berlin International Film Festival. This marks Gu’s second collaboration with Ge You since Farewell My Concubine in 1993.

Filming for...

Errors and omissions are standard features of historical dramas everywhere. It is therefore no surprise to find Korean War history being filtered to suit domestic requirements in the three-hour Chinese blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin.” Nor is it unexpected for U.S. military characters to be cardboard cutouts with excruciatingly bad dialogue. And, like many other jingoistic war epics, this prestige production co-directed by industry heavyweights Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam

The latest in a long line of strongly nationalistic films released during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” has collected almost all its $905 million revenue (as of Dec. 27) from domestic ticket sales. It is currently the highest grossing film of 2021, with only “Spider-Man: No Way Out” and “No Time to Die” as serious rivals for the top spot.

This very old-fashioned production depicts a string of military engagements during...

China’s costliest film ever is a sporadically thrilling, historically dubious account of a Korean war standoff, with all the subtlety of a rocket launcher

China’s most expensive film to date and its second highest ever box-office grosser, The Battle at Lake Changjin possesses worryingly belligerent overtones. An account of a pivotal battle in November 1950 during the Korean war in which Chinese forces, who had infiltrated the country, pushed US marines back over the 38th parallel, this government-ordained project wastes no opportunity – current geopolitical tensions notwithstanding – to assert the moral superiority of the Chinese soldier. Not only is he unfazed by superior opposition numbers and equipment or impossibly harsh climate conditions, even the enemy catering doesn’t get him down. We see Uncle Sam chowing down on a bounty of turkey legs and bacon while the People’s Volunteer Army break their teeth on stony potatoes.

The film also applies its collectivist we-all-suffer-together message,...

Trinity Cine Asia is releasing on Friday 19th of November, The Battle At Lake Changjin, the biggest worldwide box office hit of 2021, with more than $878 million in ticket sales to date, far ahead of No Time To Die, making it the second-biggest Chinese grossing film, only behind Wolf Warrior II (also released by Trinity Cine Asia). The UK will mark the first international territory release of the film outside of Asia in over 25 cities.

Billed as the most expensive Chinese film ever made, with a reported $200m budget, The Battle at Lake Changjin stars Wolf Warrior I & II and Better Days leading men Wu Jing and Jackson Yee, respectively; and is co-directed by three leading, acclaimed directors Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China) and Dante Lam (Operation Red Sea).

Trinity Cine Asia co-founder and director Cedric Behrel says: “The Battle at Lake Changjin...

Trinity Cine Asia has acquired “The Battle at Lake Changjin” from Taipei-based sales firm Distribution Workshop and is set to release the war epic in the U.K. and Ireland on Nov. 19.

The film is currently the highest-grossing title in the world and in China so far in 2021, having earned $881 million in its home market alone — good news for the movie billed as China’s most expensive production of all time.

The U.K. and Ireland outings will occur in 25 cities. They will hit after the film’s Thursday’s release in Singapore, but day-and-date with North America and ahead of Australia (Dec. 2), where the movie is being distributed by China’s Cmc Pictures.

“It’s a privilege for us to be able to release the biggest box office story of 2021, when cinemas are just seeing the first real shoots of recovery,” said Trinity Cine Asia co-founder and director Cedric Behrel,...

Wild Bunch handles international sales. Altitude, Film4 distribute in UK and Ireland.

Neon’s Titane directed by Julia Ducournau has scored the biggest US opening weekend by a Palme d’Or winner since Fahrenheit 9/11 back in 2004.

‘Titane’: Cannes Review

The body horror starring Agathe Rouselle and Vincent Lindon grossed an estimated $515,747 from 562 screens over the Friday-Sunday period. It produced the fourth highest debut by a Palme d’Or winner behind Michael Moore’s documentary ($23.9m from 868 cinemas in June 2004), Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and David Lynch’s Wild At Heart ($2.9m from 532 cinemas in August 1990).

Titane also...

Wild Bunch handles international sales. Altitude, Film4 distribute in UK and Ireland.

Neon’s Titane directed by Julia Ducournau has scored the biggest US opening weekend by a Palme d’Or winner since Fahrenheit 9/11 back in 2004.

‘Titane’: Cannes Review

The body horror starring Agathe Rouselle and Vincent Lindon grossed an estimated $515,747 from 562 screens over the Friday-Sunday period. It produced the fourth highest debut by a Palme d’Or winner behind Michael Moore’s documentary ($23.9m from 868 cinemas in June 2004), Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and David Lynch’s Wild At Heart ($2.9m from 532 cinemas in August 1990).

Titane also...