The Park | |
---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 公園 |
Simplified Chinese | 公园 |
Hanyu Pinyin | Gōng yúan |
Directed by | Yin Lichuan |
Written by | Yin Lichuan |
Produced by | Lola Zhang |
Starring | Li Jia Wang Deshun Wang Xuebing Xu Tao |
Cinematography | Lu Sheng |
Edited by | Zhou Xinxia |
Music by | Zhou Yunshan |
Distributed by | Filmblog Media |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | China |
Language | Mandarin |
The Park is the 2007 directorial debut of Chinese writer-director Yin Lichuan. Produced by Filmblog Media (which also handled international distribution) and Beijing Wide Angle Lens, the comedy-drama film is part of producer Lola Zhang's Yunnan New Film Project, ten proposed films [1] by female Chinese directors. The Park is the second of the ten to be released, after Wang Fen's The Case (2007). [2] Each of the films was required to take place in the southern province of Yunnan. [3]
The Park tells the story of a father's reconnection with his daughter after he moves in with her in the provincial capital of Kunming. Upset over her relationship with a younger man with no job prospects, he begins to tout her name in a local park to other elderly parents looking to marry off their children.
Screening at several major film festivals, the film has received positive reviews. After its screening in Shanghai, Variety critic Derek Elley called attention to the film's strong performances, particularly the father and daughter leads, describing their chemistry as "unshowy but excellent." [2] It did equally well at other festivals, most notably Mannheim-Heidelberg where it picked up a FIPRESCI prize. FIPRESCI critic Ayman Youssef's praise is more technical in nature, citing the use of visual framing and the use of long and medium-shots, though he also lauds the performances as "fine and exact acting." [4]
Additionally, the film was screened at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival [5] and at the Bangkok International Film Festival. [6]
Wang Xiaoshuai is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and occasional actor. He is commonly grouped under the loose association of filmmakers known as the "Sixth Generation" of the Cinema of China. Like others in this generation, and in contrast with earlier Chinese filmmakers who produced mostly historical drama, Wang proposed a “new urban Chinese cinema [that] has been mainly concerned with bearing witness of a fast- paced transforming China and producing a localized critique of globalization.”
Lou Ye, born 1965, is a Chinese screenwriter-director who is commonly grouped with the "Sixth Generation" directors of Chinese cinema. In June 2018, Lou was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, often referred to by the German-language initialism IFFMH, is an annual film festival established in 1952 hosted jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg, the southwest region of Germany.
The BigScreen Festival or BigScreen Italia is a film festival that focuses on Chinese and Italian cinema. It was first held in 2004 in Padua, Italy, but in 2006 moved to Kunming, Yunnan, China.
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.
I Love You is a 2002 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yuan and starring Xu Jinglei and Tong Dawei. The film was a co-production between the Xi'an Film Studio and Jewel Film Investment Company.
The Red Awn is a 2007 Chinese film directed Cai Shangjun. It premiered at the 2007 Pusan International Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI Prize. The film tells the story of a father and son in China's interior Gansu province. It won the Golden Alexander, the top award at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival.
Yu Nan is a Chinese actress. Born in Dalian, Yu Nan studied at the Beijing Film Academy, where she graduated in 1999.
Spicy Love Soup is a 1997 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yang and written by Zhang, Liu Fendou, Cai Shangjun, and Diao Yi'nan based on a story by Zhang and Peter Loehr. Spicy Love Soup was produced by Loehr's Imar Film Company, Xi'an Film Studio, and Taiwanese financing.
Cai Shangjun is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. Cai graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 1992. Since then, his major work has been that of a professional screenwriter. Cai was part of the team, along with Zhang Yang, Diao Yi'nan, and Liu Fendou, that co-wrote the screenplays for two of Zhang's films: Spicy Love Soup (1997) and Shower (1999). Cai also cowrote a script for Zhang's Sunflower (2005).
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, and is based on a novel written by the director. 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.
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 Cinéma; Laurel and Rosem would later reunite to produce Luxury Car.
The Case is a 2007 Chinese film directed by the female first-time director, Wang Fen. It is the first film of the Yunnan New Film Project, a planned anthology of ten films directed by female Chinese directors, all taking place in the southern province of Yunnan. It was followed by The Park, also in 2007. The film was produced by Filmblog Media with the support of the Yunnan provincial government.
Yin Lichuan is a Chinese writer, poet and filmmaker. A graduate of Peking University and ESEC, Yin made her name writing novels and poetry, including A Little More Comfort and Fucker. She is known as a member of the "Lower Body Poets." Her book of selected poems Karma in bilingual edition is translated by writer-poet Fiona Sze-Lorrain.
South of the Clouds is a 2004 Chinese film and the second film directed by the writer Zhu Wen. The film stands in stark contrast to Zhu's previous film. In terms of production, South of the Clouds received the cooperation of the state apparatus unlike 2001's Seafood which was an underground production shot on digital hand-held cameras. In terms of story, the transgressive tale of a prostitute and a policeman in Seafood is a far cry from South of the Cloud's gentle tale of a retiree who fulfills a lifelong desire to travel to the southern province of Yunnan.
The Equation of Love and Death is a 2008 Chinese drama film written and directed by Cao Baoping and starring Zhou Xun. It tells the story of Li Mi, a Kunming cab driver who longs for the day she can be reunited with her missing boyfriend. After a case of mistaken identity, a kidnapping, and a threat of extortion, Li Mi's dream may be on the cusp of becoming a reality.
Trouble Makers is a 2006 black comedy film written and directed by Cao Baoping. It was Cao's solo directorial debut, though Cao had previously co-directed the film Absolute Emotion in 2001. Based on Que Diwei's novella, "Village Operation," which was published in a magazine in 2000, Trouble Makers had difficulty traversing the Chinese censors and often found itself lacking funds until 2005. As a result, Cao eventually inserted a happy ending that differed from ending in the original novella.
Green Hat is a Chinese film from 2003 and the debut of screenwriter Liu Fendou. Starring Li Congxi, Liao Fan, and Dong Lifan, the film tells the story of two men, one a bank robber, and one a police officer and their shared problem of unfaithful partners. In China, the phrase "wearing a green hat", refers to a cuckold. The film features full-frontal male nudity.
Breakup Buddies is a 2014 Chinese romantic comedy and road film directed by Ning Hao. It stars Huang Bo and Xu Zheng as buddies on a wild 3,000-kilometre cross-country journey from Beijing to Dali City.
Nezha, stylized on some posters as 'NeZha' or 'Ne Zha', is a 2014 Chinese period drama film directed by Li Xiaofeng, in his directorial debut.