One of China's first landmark directors, who has managed to successfully reinvent himself a couple of times since he started making films. A master of visual epics, but also someone who finds his way around social dramas. Essential viewing.
Movies
With an all-star cast, a terrific cinematographer, a legendary director and some of the most spectacular fight scenes ever choreographed this film delivers.
A true master of color, Yimou Zhang surprises with this near black and white martial arts drama. It's amazing what he accomplishes with almost no colors to work with, Shadow is a true feast for the eyes. The story is amusing, the action spectacular, but this is above all a visual marvel like only Zhang can make them.
Not quite as majestic as Zhang's Hero, but still an overwhelmingly beautiful martial arts drama with a few memorable scenes. The drum dance and the bamboo forest fight are amongst the best the genre has on offer. And apart from some sketchy CG near the end, it hasn't aged a bit.
What is color but different frequencies of light? Yimou Zhang returns with a pretty standard (anti)crime flick, a story that is supposed to highlight the strength of Chinese law and the righteousness of its lawmakers. Propaganda it is, but it's also just a pretty basic, normal crime flick, albeit one that looks excessively beautiful. Every single frame is shimmering with light and its many reflections. Overexposure and neon colors are the norm here, and that makes this one stand out from the crowds. Not one of Zhang's absolute best films, but if you like maximalist visuals, there's a lot to love here.
The Flowers Of War borders on sentimentality and poses as a very epic endeavor. It's Zhang's magnificent direction that erases any major critiques, turning the film into a proper epic spectacle.
Yimou Zhang's latest feels like a reimagining of Hero with all the fight scenes removed. If you didn't like Hero's focus on fantastical martial arts that may sound like a wet dream. And sure enough, there's plenty of intrigue here, it's just that people talking about conspiracies for almost three hours straight isn't the most invigorating way to construct a film. Without the action bits, Yimou struggles to keep things interesting throughout. He certainly tried, with a clear focus on people walking from point A to B (I know that sounds weird, but watching the film, it'll make sense) and a strangely modernized score, but it's not quite enough. The mystery is nice and the twists and reveals are properly realized, but nothing justifies the excessive runtime. Good by any standard, but not great.Read all
Yimou Zhang takes his short from Chacun son Cinéma and turns it into a full-length feature. One Second is an ode to the cinema (experience) of yonder, mixed with some textbook political critique. The latter got him into quite some trouble, I couldn't help but wonder why he even bothered to include it though. One Second harks back to Zhang's early rural dramas, though the focus lies more on comedy and the communal feeling of an entire village coming together to watch a film. The cinematography is polished, performances are decent, and the peculiar ending is interesting, but this isn't really Zhang at his best.Read all
The Love of the Hawthorn Tree
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
Curse of the Golden Flower
Yimou Zhang's rather subdued crime drama. I really liked this film when I first watched it, I think I've seen this done better since. It's certainly not a bad one, with proper intrigue and sporting a very nice setting, but somehow it lacks Zhang's visual flourish, which left me a little disappointed. Gong Li is strong, as is the rest of the cast. I liked the inclusion of more prominent genre elements, and the mix of drama and crime works very well. I just remembered a more visually elaborate film. Maybe it was the restoration work that took away from the colors, but I was a little underwhelmed. A very good film, just not a personal favorite anymore.Read all
Raise the Red Lantern
Yimou Zhang's latest is a typical spy thriller set in the snow-covered China of the '30s. Not a genre that is often tackled in Chinese cinema, but it's prevalent in the US and UK and Zhang doesn't really add a lot of flavor of his own. It's certainly not a bad attempt, it's just not a very notable film. The cinematography is nice, though not up to Zhang's usual standard. The plot and acting are decent enough too, but the film's a bit slow. There's really no reason why this couldn't have been finished 30 minutes sooner, even so Zhang draws it out to hit the two-hour mark. If you love a good spy thriller though, this film has you covered.Read all
Chacun Son Cinéma
Zhang Yimou making a typical Chinese people (or state?) pleaser. it's one of those films where a common man stands up for justice and makes a difference, exactly the kind of drama that has been doing very well at Chinese box offices these past few years. Yimou keeps it simple, turning this into a plain and rather long-winded drama. The performances are decent and there are some effective moments scattered throughout. But Zhang's visual bravura is completely absent and the 2+ hour runtime isn't justified for what is just a basic drama with a social message. It's not a complete disaster, and people who liked his early 90s work might think this is a return to form, but this wasn't for me.Read all
A surprisingly poor Yimou Zhang effort. Together with his daughter he takes on this rather generic war flick (and yes, it is about snipers). It's a new low in China patriotic cinema assault, with ridiculous bad guys (Westerners), heroic Chinese fellas and a very predictable outcome, highlighting the endless bravery and perseverance of the Chinese soldiers. The film looks rather cheap, the performances range from plain to ridiculous and the patriotic elements push away everything else. I think China has really reached American-level patriotism with this film, which is a sad landmark. It's hard to enjoy the little tension there is, which is a real shame if you consider what someone like Yimou Zhang is truly capable of.Read all
Lumière and Company
