The Orphan of Anyang

Last updated
The Orphan of Anyang
Orphan of Anyang.jpg
Traditional Chinese 安陽的孤儿
Simplified Chinese 安阳的孤儿
Hanyu Pinyin Ānyáng de gūér
Directed by Wang Chao
Written byWang Chao
Produced by Fang Li
Starring Sun Guilin
Zhu Jie
Yue Senyi
Cinematography Zhang Xi
Edited byWang Chao
Wang Gang
Distributed byOnoma
Release date
  • May 16, 2001 (2001-05-16)(Cannes)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

The Orphan of Anyang is a 2001 Chinese film from Sixth Generation writer-director Wang Chao. It is Wang's first feature film as director (he had previously served as an assistant director to Chen Kaige), and is based on a novel written by the director. [1] The film constitutes the first part of a loose trilogy on life in modern China, followed by Day and Night (2004), and Luxury Car (2006). The film was produced by the independent Beijing-based Laurel Films, founded by screenwriter Fang Li. International distribution was by the French company Onoma. [2]

Contents

The Orphan of Anyang tells the story of a recently unemployed factory worker in the city of Anyang in Henan province, who comes across an abandoned child. Discovering that the child belongs to a local prostitute and mobster, the poor worker agrees to take care of the baby. When the mobster discovers that he is dying of cancer, however, he attempts to take the child back, now his only heir.

The film is marked by its use of static cameras and a naturalistic use of lighting and sound, prompting one critic to note its similarity to the films of Italian neorealism and the Dogma 95 manifesto. [3]

Casting

The film consisted primarily of non-professional actors with most coming locally from Anyang itself. Director Wang Chao took four separate trips to Anyang in preparation for the making of the film, three of which were devoted to the purpose of casting the leads. [4] Wang gathered ten locals to audition for the role of Yu Dagang, the tender but lonely and desperate factory worker who finds himself the caretaker of a baby. The role would eventually go to Sun Guilin, who Wang chose in part because he possessed "calm, but also with some personality and a little dignity and hope." Zhu Jie, the actor chosen to play Boss Si-De, the dying triad gangster and the father of the titular orphan, was another local actor found in Anyang.

Of the three leads, only Yue Senyi, who plays the tough prostitute, Feng Yanli was hired from Beijing. Wang noted that she possessed "slight stubbornness" but a "strong spirit," such that she could play the part of a prostitute without "conveying misery." [4] Extras, meanwhile, also came primarily from Anyang. Most of the thugs that surround Si-de, for example, were local criminals. Wang noted that he could never find actors who could walk in groups the way that real criminals could. [4]

Reception

The film was not given wide distribution, but nevertheless was widely praised by critics. During its premiere in New York City, as part of MOMA's New Directors/New Films Series, critic Elvis Mitchell gave high praise to Wang's debut work. Mitchell writes that the film "with its no-frills honesty, is an arresting achievement..." and when he asks himself if The Orphan of Anyang can be considered one of the best films of the year, he answers simply, "Quite possibly." [3] Generally critics mirrored this praise to one degree or another, one calling the film "deceptively simple film of great depth, maturity, sensitivity and vision," [5] while another gave it more subdued praise, but noted that Wang would be "a new talent to monitor on the indie Mainland scene." [1]

The film's artistic pretensions (the slow pace and the use of non-professional actors for example) did garner the film the scorn of a few critics, with one opining that The Orphan of Anyang suffered from the unintentional humor of bad acting, ultimately calling the film's relatively short 82 minute runtime as nevertheless being like "a life sentence." [6]

Such reviews, however, were outnumbered by positive accounts, with the review database website Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 75% Fresh rating out of nine published reviews as of early 2008. [7]

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

<i>Platform</i> (2000 film) 2000 Chinese film

Platform is a 2000 Chinese film written and directed by Jia Zhangke. The film is set in and around the small city of Fenyang, Shanxi province, China, from the end of the 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s. It follows a group of twenty-something performers as they face personal and societal changes. The dialogue is a mixture of local speech, mainly Jin Chinese and Mandarin. The film has been called "an epic of grassroots". It is named after a popular song about waiting at a railway platform.

<i>What Time Is It There?</i> 2001 film

What Time Is It There? is a 2001 Taiwanese film directed by Tsai Ming-liang. It stars Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Shiang-chyi, and Lu Yi-ching.

<i>The Sea</i> (2002 film) 2002 film by Baltasar Kormákur

The Sea,, is a 2002 Icelandic film, directed by Baltasar Kormákur. The film tells the story of a wealthy Icelandic family, owners of a fish industry company in a small Icelandic coastal town, and various family issues they have to deal with.

<i>Camera Buff</i> 1979 Polish film

Camera Buff is a 1979 Polish drama film written and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Jerzy Stuhr. The film is about a humble factory worker whose newfound hobby, amateur film, becomes an obsession, and transforms his modest and formerly contented life. Camera Buff won the Polish Film Festival Golden Lion Award and the FIPRESCI Prize and Golden Prize at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival Otto Dibelius Film Award in 1980.

<i>Still Life</i> (2006 film) 2006 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke

Still Life is a 2006 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke. Shot in the old village of Fengjie, a small town on the Yangtze River which is slowly being destroyed by the building of the Three Gorges Dam, Still Life tells the story of two people in search of their spouses. Still Life is a co-production between the Shanghai Film Studio and Xstream Pictures.

<i>Dog Days</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Ulrich Seidl

Dog Days is a 2001 Austrian feature film directed by Ulrich Seidl. The film stars a mix of professional and amateur actors and follows six interwoven stories set in suburban Vienna over the course of some unseasonably hot summer days. The film premiered at the 2001 Venice Film Festival where it went on to win the Grand Special Jury Prize and also won awards at the International Film Festival Bratislava and the Gijon International Film Festival.

<i>The King of Masks</i> 1996 Chinese historical drama film by Wu Tianming

The King of Masks is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Wu Tianming.

<i>Bolivia</i> (film) 2001 film by Adrián Caetano

Bolivia is a 2001 Argentine and Dutch drama film directed by Israel Adrián Caetano, his first feature-length film. The screenplay is written by Caetano, based upon the Romina Lafranchini story, about his wife. The motion picture features Freddy Flores and Rosa Sánchez, among others.

<i>Unknown Pleasures</i> (film) 2002 Chinese film

Unknown Pleasures is a 2002 Chinese film directed by Jia Zhangke, starring Wu Qiong, Zhao Weiwei and Zhao Tao as three disaffected youths living in Datong in 2001, part of the new "Birth Control" generation. Fed on a steady diet of popular culture, both Western and Chinese, the characters of Unknown Pleasures represent a new breed in the People's Republic of China, one detached from reality through the screen of media and the internet.

<i>The Children of Huang Shi</i> 2008 film

The Children of Huang Shi is a 2008 historical war drama film directed by Roger Spottiswoode, and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Chow Yun-fat, Radha Mitchell and Michelle Yeoh. The film centers on the true story of George Hogg and the sixty orphans that he led across China in an effort to save them from conscription during the Second Sino-Japanese war.

<i>Luxury Car</i> (film) 2006 film

Luxury Car is a 2006 film directed by Wang Chao. The film was produced by China's Bai Bu Ting Media and France's Rosem Films, and in association with Arte France Cinéma.

Laurel Films is an independent Beijing-based production company, operated by producer and screenwriter Fang Li. The company has produced several independent films from directors such Wang Chao, Li Yu and Lou Ye.

<i>The Park</i> (2007 film) 2007 Chinese film

The Park is the 2007 directorial debut of Chinese writer-director Yin Lichuan. Produced by Filmblog Media and Beijing Wide Angle Lens, the comedy-drama film is part of producer Lola Zhang's Yunnan New Film Project, ten proposed films by female Chinese directors. The Park is the second of the ten to be released, after Wang Fen's The Case (2007). Each of the films was required to take place in the southern province of Yunnan.

<i>Day and Night</i> (2004 Chinese film) 2004 Chinese film

Day and Night is a 2004 Chinese film, and the second film by Sixth Generation writer-director Wang Chao. It is also known, less accurately, as Night and Day. The film constitutes the second entry in Wang Chao's loose trilogy on modern China. It was preceded by Wang's 2001 debut, The Orphan of Anyang, and would be followed by Luxury Car in 2006. The film is a Chinese-French co-production between Fang Li's Laurel Films and Sylvain Busztejn's Rosem Pictures in association with the China Film Fourth Group and Arte France Cinema; Laurel and Rosem would later reunite to produce Luxury Car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wang Chao (director)</span> Chinese film director and screenwriter

Wang Chao is a Chinese film director and screenwriter, sometimes considered part of the loosely defined "sixth generation." Wang began his career serving as an assistant director to the fifth generation auteur, Chen Kaige, working with the elder director on epics like Farewell My Concubine and The Emperor and the Assassin. At the same time, he began to write fiction including several short stories and novellas, one of which would later go on to serve sa the basis of Wang's directorial debut, The Orphan of Anyang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Cannes Film Festival</span>

The 54th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was the Jury President. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian film The Son's Room by Nanni Moretti.

<i>Suzhou River</i> (film) 2000 Chinese film

Suzhou River is a 2000 film by Lou Ye about a tragic love story set in contemporary Shanghai. The film, though stylistically distinct, is typical of "Sixth Generation" Chinese filmmakers in its subject matter of contemporary China's gritty urban experience. The film stars Zhou Xun in a dual role as two different women and Jia Hongsheng as a man obsessed with finding a woman from his past. The film was co-produced by the German Essential Films and China's Dream Factory.

<i>Goodbye Solo</i> (film) 2008 American film

Goodbye Solo is a 2008 American independent film written and directed by Ramin Bahrani. It premiered as an official selection of the 2008 Venice Film Festival where it won the international film critic's FIPRESCI award for best film, and later had its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was distributed by Roadside Attractions. The film exhibits significant thematic and plot similarities to Abbas Kiarostami's 1997 film Taste of Cherry.

<i>1911</i> (film) 2011 Chinese historical drama film by Jackie Chan

1911, is a 2011 Chinese historical drama film about the 1911 Revolution in China, produced to commemorate the revolution's 100th anniversary. Directed by Jackie Chan and Zhang Li, the film stars Chan in his 100th film as an actor, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Winston Chao, Li Bingbing, Joan Chen, Hu Ge, and Chan's son Jaycee Chan. It was released on 23 September 2011 in mainland China and on 29 September in Hong Kong; it also opened on the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival later in October.

<i>Praise</i> (film) 1998 Australian film

Praise is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by John Curran and adapted by Andrew McGahan from his novel of the same name. The film stars Peter Fenton and Sacha Horler and is about two outcasts who fall into an unlikely relationship.

References

  1. 1 2 Elley, Derek (2001-05-18). "The Orphan of Anyang Review". Variety . Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  2. ↑ Frater, Patrick (2007-11-01). "Onoma picks up rights to 'Kalach'". Variety . Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  3. 1 2 Mitchell, Elvis (2002-04-05). "FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; A Bare-Bones View of Love, or the Lack of It". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  4. 1 2 3 Klinger, Gabe & Privett, Ray (2002-02-04). "Interview: An Independent Chinese Voice; Wang Chao and "The Orphan of Anyang"". IndieWire. Archived from the original on October 16, 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  5. ↑ Berry, Michael (2002-03-21). "China Doll". OffOffOff.com. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  6. ↑ Wu, George. "The Orphan of Anyang (Anyangde Guer) (2001)". CultureVulture.net. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  7. ↑ "Orphan of Anyang (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  8. ↑ "FIPRESCI - Awards - 2001". FIPRESCI. Archived from the original on 2010-11-22. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.