Chinese films premiere at Berlin Film Festival
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E-mail Cntv, February 15, 2014
Three Chinese films are competing for the top Golden Bear award at the ongoing 64th Berlin International Film Festival, they include "Blind Massage", the darkly funny thriller "No Man’s Land" and "Black Coal, Thin Ice", which premiered on Wednesday.
A dissolute former detective, a trail of blood and a widow with a dark secret set the stage for "Black Coal, Thin Ice".
In the film directed by Diao Yinan, an ex-police officer and a femme fatale are seen as tributes to classic detective films.
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(From L to R) Wang Jingchun, Gwei Lun Mei, Liao Fan, Diao Yi'nan, Wang Xuebing, Yu Ailei and Ni Jingyang arrive on the red carpet for the world premiere of the movie "Black Coal, Thin Ice" at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 12, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Speaking at a press conference, the director says the film also invites the audience into the lives of ordinary people.
"Perhaps all of us have this dark side within ourselves, and perhaps in everyday life this dark side doesn’t always show itself. And yet I think this concealed side can also be a good thing, because it’s like some sort of inner insanity. And this film shows this. I mean if we describe people like that in the film, we as an audience feel less alone with our own dark sides," said Diao Yinan, Director of "Black Coal, Thin Ice".
Taiwan actress Gwei Lun Mei plays the suspect.
"There are probably many people like her. You know in our lives we all have to hide certain things but we also have to go on. It’s more about how we deal with all the things we are hiding. And this particular young woman has a lot of strength in her," she said.
Just like the film noir-inspired thriller "Black Coal, Thin Ice", the juxtaposition of Western genres with Chinese culture is part of the allure of "No Man’s Land", another Chinese entry to the competition.
In "No Man’s Land", a fresh-faced city lawyer gets on the wrong side of falcon poachers, two truckers and nearly everyone else in the north-western Chinese desert.
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Director Ning Hao, actress Yu Nan, actors Xu Zheng and Huang Bo (from L to R) arrive on the red carpet for the premiere of the movie "No Man's Land" at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 13, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Director Ning Hao nods to the influence of Quentin Tarantino. But he says he was much more influenced by Chinese artists and the desire to tell "a Chinese story" about greed, and its impact on society.
"We don’t have a ’western’ film history in China, so I was wondering how I could combine a ’western’ with this kind of story. I wanted something about China, about Chinese people and their problems to be included in the film. So it became kind of a ’western’, but also a Chinese story, because in China earning money and wanting to earn more and more money is a big issue. So the question is whether this is because of the people or because of society. I wanted this to be reflected in the film," he said.
The third Chinese entry in the main competition in Berlin, "Blind Massage" depicts in intimate detail life at a massage clinic staffed by blind people.
A total of 20 movies are competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear, which is due to be awarded on Saturday.
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