Who moved China's film market?
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Rong Jiaojiao
The joke among China's Internet users is that the national greeting of "Have you eaten?" has been replaced with "Have you seen 'Avatar'?"
The global blockbuster has smashed the 13-year record set by "Titanic" with international box office earnings more than 1.45 billion U.S. dollars.And the computer-generated science fiction epic has also drawn record numbers of Chinese cinema-goers, with takings of more than 860 million yuan (126 million U.S. dollars) since its debut on Jan. 4.
While people in Beijing and Shanghai are queuing overnight to see the IMAX 3D version of "Avatar" and the Internet commentators are jesting, China's film industry fails to see the joke.
Why would China's movie-goers prefer to spend up to 150 yuan (22 U.S.dollars) on a film about blue aliens with tails than seeing their own country and culture on the big screen?
China imports 20 foreign movies for cinema release each year.The top two movies last year were both Hollywood hits: "2012", which scooped 465 million yuan (68.3 million U.S. dollars); and "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," which fetched 428 million yuan (63 million U.S. dollars).
Meanwhile, Hong Kong director Teddy Chen's "Bodyguards and Assassins" raked in 274 million yuan (40.2 million U.S. dollars), surging past renowned mainland director Zhang Yimou's "A Simple Noodle Story," a remake of the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple".
Although China's domestic box office grossed 6.2 billion yuan ( 911 million U.S. dollars) last year with a remarkable 42.9 percent growth, only "The Founding of a Republic," among the total 456 movies, took 420 million yuan (61.7 million U.S. dollars). The film was shot to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1. Only 10 domestic films took more than 100 million yuan (14.7 million U.S. dollars) in 2009.
When the domestic production "Confucius" confronted "Avatar" late January in the cinemas, it appeared that the ancient philosopher had less appeal for Chinese audiences than imagined interplanetary conflict of the future.
"Basically, I don't see the point of the existence of this film (Confucius) in terms of entertainment, artistic exploration, business profit and education," wrote Han Han, 27, China's most popular blogger, often hailed as voice of his generation.
He scored "Confucius" 2/10, solely because of Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat, and gave 1/10 to "A Simple Noodle Story," but 10/10 to "Avatar" .
Some film critics attribute the lackluster performance of domestic films to a lack of technology. Yin Hong notes that the "Avatar" success comes down to a basic respect for humanity. Yin is director of the Center for Film and Television Studies at Tsinghua University. He points out, "Technology is just the means, not the end. While technology can provide endless possibilities, it is the concepts and visions directors present that count."
"Without the concept of reality, respect for humanity and a sensibility for human worries and concerns, a film full of technology is merely a show."
During his film-promotion tour in China in December, Cameron explained that "Avatar" told a love story that transcended cultures and species.Its message was to get people to see past cultural differences and to respect each other's cultures.
Qu Ting couldn't agree with more. She says her eyes watered seeing the natives driven from their own planet when surrounded by the spectacular wonders of the outer space created by the 3D effect.
"It felt so real, because this is what happens in reality and it reminded me of those marginalized groups in society being treated unfairly," said Qu, 28, a journalist in Beijing.
But she was very disappointed to find most domestic films focus on ancient history and historical figures like "Mulan," "Red Cliff," and "The Treasure Hunter."
"These films really bore me. I think my daily life is more dramatic than those awkward story-telling epics. Modern Chinese society has so much drama to offer. Why do they always ignore it?" she asks.
What some Chinese directors ignore is more than reality, and includes fundamental issues such as love, sincerity and responsibility, says Tian Huiqun, associate professor at the Film Department of Beijing Normal University.
"These historical movies fail to touch your heart, let alone present passion and sincerity. What remains is superficiality and big investment driven by the desire for profit," she says.
Chinese director Lu Chuan, who directed "Nanjing! Nanjing!", wrote in his blog bluntly that Chinese directors should shamed by the sincerity, simplicity and vision behind "Avatar".
Zhang Yimou referred to "safety" to explain how an art house director of the early 1990s had undergone a dramatic transformation into producing visually eye-catching commercial films with flashes of color.
"It's more convenient setting it in ancient China. The level of freedom is greater. It's not that easy to shoot contemporary material," Zhang said of his latest film "A Simple Noodle Story".
Meanwhile, talented young directors face huge hurdles in getting their films shown in cinemas. The lack of funding and platforms to support young talent means their creative ideas rarely become real films.
Young director Wu Zongqiang expressed his frustrations and the fact that big name directors cannot always guarantee box office success while unknown directors do not necessarily mean failure. "The major film companies in China always focus on the reputation of the director rather than creative ideas. If the director is famous, the company can even ignore the script," he said.
Feng Xiaogang, the biggest winner director in 2008, however, had a different take. His movie "If You are the One" scooped 340 million yuan (50 million U.S. dollars) at the box office in 2008 with its depiction of social issues like gay people, blind dates, the economic downturn and the stock market.
"The film ( "Avatar" ) is interesting, but I don't have a special feeling at all. It is normal that Chinese movies lag behind U.S. films, just like the gap in comprehensive power between the two countries," he says.
He was quite confident of the success of his upcoming movie about the 1978 Tangshan earthquake, which will be China's first IMAX movie. He wants it to take 500 million yuan (73.5 million U.S. dollars) at the box office in July.
"This movie will not simply impress audiences with visual technology, but sentiment and emotion," he said.
If China's mainland directors still want to grab their positions in the film battlefield against Hollywood hits, the most important lesson is to "get down to earth, have an in-depth study and understanding of real life," says Prof. Tian.
"Unleash the passion and dream, which is all a movie is about." --Xinhua
The joke among China's Internet users is that the national greeting of "Have you eaten?" has been replaced with "Have you seen 'Avatar'?"
The global blockbuster has smashed the 13-year record set by "Titanic" with international box office earnings more than 1.45 billion U.S. dollars.And the computer-generated science fiction epic has also drawn record numbers of Chinese cinema-goers, with takings of more than 860 million yuan (126 million U.S. dollars) since its debut on Jan. 4.
While people in Beijing and Shanghai are queuing overnight to see the IMAX 3D version of "Avatar" and the Internet commentators are jesting, China's film industry fails to see the joke.
Why would China's movie-goers prefer to spend up to 150 yuan (22 U.S.dollars) on a film about blue aliens with tails than seeing their own country and culture on the big screen?
China imports 20 foreign movies for cinema release each year.The top two movies last year were both Hollywood hits: "2012", which scooped 465 million yuan (68.3 million U.S. dollars); and "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen," which fetched 428 million yuan (63 million U.S. dollars).
Meanwhile, Hong Kong director Teddy Chen's "Bodyguards and Assassins" raked in 274 million yuan (40.2 million U.S. dollars), surging past renowned mainland director Zhang Yimou's "A Simple Noodle Story," a remake of the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple".
Although China's domestic box office grossed 6.2 billion yuan ( 911 million U.S. dollars) last year with a remarkable 42.9 percent growth, only "The Founding of a Republic," among the total 456 movies, took 420 million yuan (61.7 million U.S. dollars). The film was shot to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1. Only 10 domestic films took more than 100 million yuan (14.7 million U.S. dollars) in 2009.
When the domestic production "Confucius" confronted "Avatar" late January in the cinemas, it appeared that the ancient philosopher had less appeal for Chinese audiences than imagined interplanetary conflict of the future.
"Basically, I don't see the point of the existence of this film (Confucius) in terms of entertainment, artistic exploration, business profit and education," wrote Han Han, 27, China's most popular blogger, often hailed as voice of his generation.
He scored "Confucius" 2/10, solely because of Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat, and gave 1/10 to "A Simple Noodle Story," but 10/10 to "Avatar" .
Some film critics attribute the lackluster performance of domestic films to a lack of technology. Yin Hong notes that the "Avatar" success comes down to a basic respect for humanity. Yin is director of the Center for Film and Television Studies at Tsinghua University. He points out, "Technology is just the means, not the end. While technology can provide endless possibilities, it is the concepts and visions directors present that count."
"Without the concept of reality, respect for humanity and a sensibility for human worries and concerns, a film full of technology is merely a show."
During his film-promotion tour in China in December, Cameron explained that "Avatar" told a love story that transcended cultures and species.Its message was to get people to see past cultural differences and to respect each other's cultures.
Qu Ting couldn't agree with more. She says her eyes watered seeing the natives driven from their own planet when surrounded by the spectacular wonders of the outer space created by the 3D effect.
"It felt so real, because this is what happens in reality and it reminded me of those marginalized groups in society being treated unfairly," said Qu, 28, a journalist in Beijing.
But she was very disappointed to find most domestic films focus on ancient history and historical figures like "Mulan," "Red Cliff," and "The Treasure Hunter."
"These films really bore me. I think my daily life is more dramatic than those awkward story-telling epics. Modern Chinese society has so much drama to offer. Why do they always ignore it?" she asks.
What some Chinese directors ignore is more than reality, and includes fundamental issues such as love, sincerity and responsibility, says Tian Huiqun, associate professor at the Film Department of Beijing Normal University.
"These historical movies fail to touch your heart, let alone present passion and sincerity. What remains is superficiality and big investment driven by the desire for profit," she says.
Chinese director Lu Chuan, who directed "Nanjing! Nanjing!", wrote in his blog bluntly that Chinese directors should shamed by the sincerity, simplicity and vision behind "Avatar".
Zhang Yimou referred to "safety" to explain how an art house director of the early 1990s had undergone a dramatic transformation into producing visually eye-catching commercial films with flashes of color.
"It's more convenient setting it in ancient China. The level of freedom is greater. It's not that easy to shoot contemporary material," Zhang said of his latest film "A Simple Noodle Story".
Meanwhile, talented young directors face huge hurdles in getting their films shown in cinemas. The lack of funding and platforms to support young talent means their creative ideas rarely become real films.
Young director Wu Zongqiang expressed his frustrations and the fact that big name directors cannot always guarantee box office success while unknown directors do not necessarily mean failure. "The major film companies in China always focus on the reputation of the director rather than creative ideas. If the director is famous, the company can even ignore the script," he said.
Feng Xiaogang, the biggest winner director in 2008, however, had a different take. His movie "If You are the One" scooped 340 million yuan (50 million U.S. dollars) at the box office in 2008 with its depiction of social issues like gay people, blind dates, the economic downturn and the stock market.
"The film ( "Avatar" ) is interesting, but I don't have a special feeling at all. It is normal that Chinese movies lag behind U.S. films, just like the gap in comprehensive power between the two countries," he says.
He was quite confident of the success of his upcoming movie about the 1978 Tangshan earthquake, which will be China's first IMAX movie. He wants it to take 500 million yuan (73.5 million U.S. dollars) at the box office in July.
"This movie will not simply impress audiences with visual technology, but sentiment and emotion," he said.
If China's mainland directors still want to grab their positions in the film battlefield against Hollywood hits, the most important lesson is to "get down to earth, have an in-depth study and understanding of real life," says Prof. Tian.
"Unleash the passion and dream, which is all a movie is about." --Xinhua