In the past ten years, Chinese films have entered an era of rapid development, with various commercial blockbusters showing a trend of frequent hits. "Tangshan Earthquake" and "Wolf Warrior 2" continue to break box office records, and the commercial film market has flourished.
However, in the field of realistic themes, the survival of literary films can still be described as difficult.
In the past ten years, Chinese films have made tremendous achievements in the commercial field, and masterpieces have also been published in the field of literature and art. The development of films still faces various challenges. Looking back on this decade, these masterpieces are worth remembering.
Director: Su Zhaobin
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Zheng Yusheng, Yu Wenle, Xu Xiyuan
Release: 2010.9.28
"Sword Rain" is produced by John Woo, and Su Zhaobin is the director. From the perspective of the finished effect, Su Zhaobin’s style is more intense.
Film, they are all fighting for desire, for ego, for love. The so-called heart is the rivers and lakes, you can’t quit, you can only live.
"Rain of Swords" fuses traditional martial arts and Hollywood thriller routines, weaving them seamlessly.
Time is a wonderful thing. Looking back many years later, you will find that "Sword Rain" has injected new life into the martial arts film that has been silent for many years, but the box office and audience reputation were not satisfactory in the year of its release. Su Zhaobin has not surpassed himself since then, and even the martial arts film has begun to fade out of the Chinese film market.
Liu Qingyun’s classic expression comes from this
Director: Johnnie To
Starring: Liu Qingyun, Ren Xianqi, Hu Xinger
Release: 2011.10.20
Without the romantic play of the male and female protagonists in his commercial works, nor the strong personal imprint in his action movies, he unexpectedly completed the most realistic writing of Hong Kong society.
In "Death by King", Johnnie To tried a complex network narrative, promoting the fate of all kinds of little people in Hong Kong with the undercurrent of the times, expressing the various aspects of the market in an extremely cinematic form, and accurately depicting the dramatic reality like a movie.
At the JIN MA Awards that year, the film received six nominations and won three awards for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, making it the most outstanding and timely work of 2011.
Director: Wei Desheng
Starring: Lin Qingtai, Ma Zhixiang, Ando Masanobu
Release: 2012.5.10
In the long-sluggish Taiwanese film industry, the appearance of the majestic and passionate "Sedek Bale" is like a wolf in the flock.
Compared to the 270-minute upper and lower episodes of "Bale" in pursuit of blockbuster volume,.
With three hundred warriors against three thousand Japanese troops, this was an anti-Japanese struggle like a moth to a flame despite knowing that there was no luck. The movie "Balai" is firmly rooted in this culture that is difficult to understand today, writing their blood and pride for the barbarians.
"Bale" is still slightly flawed in the technical details, but it is still there.
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Tony Leung, Zhang Zhen, Song Hye Kyo
Release: 2013.1.8
"The Grandmaster" is a "martial arts opera singing". Ye Wen and Gong Er are both grandmasters of the first generation. This is an epic about the rise and fall of Chinese martial arts.
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Wong Kar Wai’s films also change direction during the filming process, initially as Ip Man’s main story line, and later during the filming process.
It is precisely because of this long production cycle that "The Grandmaster" has become a meticulously crafted work. Luxurious costumes, full of charm lines, and dance-like gorgeous action scenes make "The Grandmaster" the pinnacle of Wong Kar-wai.
Director: Wang Xiaoshuai
Starring: Lv Zhong, Feng Yuanzheng, Qin Hailu, Qin Hao
Release: 2015.4.30
"Interloper" does not directly focus on that particular historical period, but starts from the present and gradually extends to the 1960s, the fate of those little people who came to the third-tier construction.
At the narrative level, "The Interloper" is also a bit more composed than before, with an orderly portrayal of the heroine played by Lu Zhong in daily situations.
In the end, like a dagger, the interloper punctures the close connection between the present and history, smoothly bringing the audience to the face of the appalling scandal, not only criticizing the "banality evil" of the individual, but also pointing the finger at history – it is under its coercion that the damage that still hurts decades later has broadened the breadth and depth of criticism.
Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien
Starring: Shu Qi, Zhang Zhen, wife Mu Cong, Zhou Yun
Release: 2015.8.27
Hou Xiaoxian used nearly 100 million yuan of funds to return to the basics and shoot a "retro" masterpiece "Assassin Nie Yinniang".
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Hou Hsiao-hsien used a very stupid method to make a true movie that was completely out of touch with other similar people around him. In his words, it was "one person, no similar kind", which was also the theme of this movie.
The director has written his dedication and delicacy to the film into this light and shadow prose poem, achieving an unprecedented martial arts film with Taoist thinking.
Director: Cheng Er
Starring: Ge You, Zhang Ziyi, Tadanobu Asano, etc
Release: 2016.12.16
"Romantic Demise" presents a very different Ge You, who appeared with awe and elegance, and staged a Chinese-style "The Godfather".
Guns and lust are intertwined, official and unofficial history are mixed, and the trump card of all narrative art is to explore how we should live
The flower of desire blooms, the waves of fate are surging, the tide of the times is surging, the inner emotions of the legendary characters and the power of the golden age are intriguing. From the feasting before the war to the ruins after the war, the movie "Romantic Death History" splices the story with the demise of time and space, and uses the rhythm of music to render emotions, leading people to go into the world at the bottom of their hearts, returning to the thinking of life and life and death.
Director: Wen Yan
Starring: Wen Qi, Zhou Meijun, Shi Ke, Geng Le
Release: 2017.11.24
The film’s theme is very bold, revealing the sensitivity and depth of the issue, making it almost the most courageous creation of a mainland film in 2017.
It’s not just about the heartbreaking story of a young girl who was sexually assaulted.
Of course, "Carnival" has more than just courage. Its smooth narrative and simple and delicate camera language reflect the keen observation and expression ability of female director Wen Yan.
The film is disturbing and compelling, and the story is bleak and addictive…
Director: Jia Zhangke
Starring: Zhao Tao, Liao Fan
Release: 2018.9.21
Jia Zhangke likes to be a chronicler of the times.
In the first decade of the 21st century, films such as "Three Gorges Good Man" and "Ren Xiaoyao" carried the sharpness that belonged to Jia Zhangke. In the second decade, films such as "Mountains and Rivers" and "Children of Jianghu" showed the tenderness that belonged to Jia Zhangke alone.
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In "Children of Jianghu", money and love are the most mundane desires, and things and people are the deepest sorrows. No matter how we feel, history always moves forward. As the English title Ash Is Purest White says, passion is easy to fade, but only love lasts forever.
Director: Diao Yinan
Starring: Hu Ge, Gui Lunmei, Wan Qian, Liao Fan
Release: 2019.12.6
After seeing "The Wild Goose Lake" in Cannes, the American director Quentin Tarantino said: "It’s a very beautiful authorship film, I haven’t seen one like it in years."
Director Diao Yinan’s understanding and playing with the language of the camera has reached a very high level, such as the wet night rain, the surprising use of green, yellow and purple, the metaphorical imagery, etc. The film not only presents a tortuous story, but also an audio-visual feast.
In addition, the film is also a highly completed localized film noir.
The film is full of the city atmosphere of Wuhan, where it was shot; it has many references to European and American black film elements, such as femme fatale, gangster fighting, and bloody killings. It is no wonder that Quentin, who is a "fellow in the same way", also smiled after watching it.