CJ7 (traditional Chinese: 長江七號; simplified Chinese: 长江七号; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng qī hào; Cantonese Yale: Cheung gong chat hou) is a2008 Hong Kong science fiction/comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. It was released on 31 January 2008 in Hong Kong. It was also released on 14 March 2008 in the United States.

In August 2007 the film was given the title CJ7,[1] a play on China’s successful Shenzhou manned space missions—Shenzhou 5 andShenzhou 6. It was previously been known by a series of working titles—Alien, Yangtze River VII, Long River 7 and most notably, A Hope.

CJ7 was filmed in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang province of China.

Chow Ti (Stephen Chow) is a poor laborer working on construction sites. He lives in a partially demolished house with his son, Dicky (Xu Jiao). Chow is eager to save money so he can continue sending his son to private school, to ensure that his life will be better in the future. However, Dicky is often bullied by other children and his teacher (mainly due to his lowly status), and he usually finds comfort with a young teacher, Ms. Yuen.

One day, while at a department store, Dicky begs his father to buy him a popular robotic toy called CJ1. Chow cannot afford it, and the situation ends badly when Chow spanks the stubborn Dicky in front of other customers. Again, Dicky finds comfort in Ms. Yuen, who is passing by. That night, Chow visits the junkyard where he often picks up home appliances and clothes for Dicky. He finds a strange green orb and takes it home, telling Dicky that it is a new toy, better than the robot they saw earlier. Dicky is hesitant at first, but agrees to keep it. The following evening, the orb transforms into a cuddly alien creature that befriends Dicky. After playing, he names the alien “CJ7″, and then falls asleep. He dreams that the alien will help him gain popularity and good grades at school. Buoyed by his dream, Dicky takes CJ7 to school the following morning, but he receives a zero on his exam and is humiliated during physical education. Frustrated, Dicky tries to dispose of the CJ7, but realizes his mistake and later reconciles with it. The next day, because of his alien pet, Dicky begins to make new friends at school. However, when his father discovers that he lied about his bad exam result, Chow confiscates CJ7, arguing that Dicky will never pass school if there are distractions. The father and son fall out, so Dicky sticks close to Ms. Yuen, who promises she will look after him. This cheers Chow up somewhat, who fears he might lose his son’s love.

Later, while Chow is working on a skyscraper, his foot becomes entangled in a rope attached to an oxygen tank. The tank is knocked off the building, pulling him along with it. He later dies at a hospital, and Ms. Yuen takes Dicky home, explaining what has happened. The boy then shoves his teacher out of the house; through his tears he tells himself that his father would never leave him alone.

At the hospital, CJ7, using its otherworldly powers, revives Chow and transports him home. The next morning, Dicky, in tears of happiness, promises his father he will never give up at school or in life. The cost of CJ7’s rescue is high, as his own life fades away through the exhaustion. While Dicky waits and waits for his pet to resurrect, his notepad opens on an unfinished page and a pencil writes a message (presumably from CJ7): continue with your schoolwork. Following the advice, things return to normal, with Chow attempting to flirt with Ms. Yuen (with little success), and Dicky playing with his new school friends. One calm afternoon, Dicky’s wildest dream greets him when he sees a UFO land nearby, from which run hundreds of the aliens.

Production information

As with the title CJ7, the earlier working titles, A Hope,Yangtze River VII and Long River 7, referred to the Chinese manned space program. The mission of Shenzhou 6 was completed in 2006 and the real Shenzhou 7 successfully launched in September 2008.[2] The film had a budget of US$20 million, and heavily uses CG effects.[3] Xu Jiao, the child who plays Dicky Chow, is in fact female. She had to cross-dress to be in the movie.[4]

Homages

References to Chow’s other films are made during some scenes, particularly during Dicky’s dream sequence. These references include Dicky using his super sneakers to kick a soccer ball into the goal, which subsequently collapses (referencing Shaolin Soccer) and Dicky flying into the sky with his sneakers, jumping from the head of an eagle, seeing CJ7’s shape as a cloud and using the Buddha’s Palm, (referencing Kung Fu Hustle).

Cast

• Stephen Chow—Chow Ti
• Kitty Zhang Yuqi—Ms. Yuen
• Lam Chi Chung—The Boss
• Xu Jiao—Dicky Chow
• Lee Sheung Ching—Mr. Cao

Critical reception

During its limited release in North America, CJ7 received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 51% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 73 reviews[5], much lower than Stephen Chow’s previous films Shaolin Soccer (91%)[6] and Kung Fu Hustle (90%)[7]. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 46 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.[8]

Awards nominations

28th Hong Kong Film Awards

• Best Film
• Best Supporting Actor (Stephen Chow)
• Best New Performer (Xu Jiao)
• Best Visual Effects (Eddy Wong, Victor Wong & Ken Law)

References

1.  ”Stephen Chow’s Movie ‘A Hope’ Changes Title“. Asian Popcorn. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
2.  ”Chow has “Hope” and plans to dance“. Variety Asia Online. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
3.  ”Stephen Chow has offers “A Hope”“. Time Out. 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2007-08-10.
4.  Newsday article
5.  ”CJ7 – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes“. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
6.  ”Shaolin Soccer Review – Rotten Tomatoes“. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
7.  ”Kung Fu Hustle – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes“. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
8.  ”CJ7 (2008): Reviews“. Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-03-14.

External links

• Official Sony Pictures international site
• CJ7 at the Internet Movie Database
• CJ7 at Rotten Tomatoes
• CJ7 at Metacritic
• CJ7 at Box Office Mojo
• CJ7 at Allmovie
• Twitchfilm.net – A Hope
• CJ7 Review, Poster and Trailer

The interaction of a handful of friends — and what they’ll say in front of each other as well as behind their backs — sets the stage for this experimental drama from South Korea. One evening Seong-ik (Lee Heui-jun) is having dinner with some friends and shares with them a strange story about hiking with his friend Sang-tae (Kim Tae-hun) and encountering an ancient gravesite, where they discovered a young woman who seemed to be hovering between life and death. In time, the woman came to and told them a remarkable story about how she planned to commit suicide in front of her unfaithful boyfriend, but her plans changed when she was assaulted by a cab driver en route to her lover’s apartment.

One of Seong-ik’s friends, Jeong-hun (Lee Hwa-yong), then passes along some gossip about Sang-tae involving his drinking problem, the college where he used to teach and his relationship with an attractive woman (Kim Jeong-min) related to his boss. Sang-tae continues to be the focus of the conversation as the party moves elsewhere and they’re joined by Eun-yeong (Yeom Ji-yun), one of his long-time friends who is clearly attracted to him. Yaktaljadeul (aka The Pit and the Pendulum), which is not related to Edgar Allan Poe’s celebrated short story, was the first feature film from writer and director Sohn Young-sung. 

The film opens in Gethsemane in medias res as Jesus prays and is tempted by Satan, while his apostles, Peter, James, and John sleep. After receiving thirty pieces of silver, one of Jesus’ other apostles, Judas Iscariot, approaches with the temple guards and betrays Jesus with a kiss. As the guards move in to arrest Jesus, Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, but Jesus heals the ear. The temple guards arrest Jesus and the apostles flee. John tells Mary and Mary Magdalene of the arrest, and Peter follows Jesus at a distance. Caiaphas holds a trial of Jesus over the objection of some of the other priests, who are expelled from the court. When questioned by Caiaphas whether he is the son of God, Jesus replies “I AM.” Caiaphas is horrified and tears his robes, and Jesus is condemned to death for blasphemy. Three times Peter denies knowing Jesus, but then runs away sobbing. Meanwhile, the remorseful Judas attempts to return the money to have Jesus freed, but is refused by the priests. Tormented by demons, he flees the city and hangs himself with a rope from a dead donkey.

Caiaphas brings Jesus before Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death, but after questioning Jesus, Pilate sends him instead to the court of Herod Antipas, as Jesus is from Herod’s ruling town of Nazareth. After Jesus is returned, Pilate offers the crowd that he will chastise Jesus and then will set him free. Pilate attempts to have Jesus freed by giving the people an option of freeing Jesus or the violent criminal Barabbas. To Pilate’s dismay, the crowd demands to have Barabbas freed and Jesus killed. In an attempt to appease the crowd, Pilate has Jesus brutally scourged and mocked with a crown of thorns, yet the crowd continues to demand that Jesus be crucified. Pilate is left with no choice but to reluctantly order Jesus’ crucifixion.

As Jesus carries the cross along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, Veronica wipes Jesus’s face with her veil. Simon of Cyrene is unwillingly pressed into carrying the cross for Jesus. Jesus is then crucified. As he hangs from the cross, Jesus prays forgiveness for those who did this to him, and redeems a criminal crucified next to him. After Jesus gives up his spirit and dies, a single drop of rain falls from the sky, triggering an earthquake which destroys the Temple and rips the cloth covering the Holy of Holies in two, to the horror of Caiaphas and the other priests. Satan is then shown screaming in defeat in Hell. Jesus is lowered from the cross to his mother Mary, who looks directly at the audience in this Pietà. The movie ends with Jesus’s resurrection and exit from his tomb, with the holes in his hands from the nails visible as he walks, having triumphed over Satan and his Temptation.

The Cove is a 2009 documentary film of the purported annual killing of about 2,300 dolphins in a National Park at Taiji, Wakayama in Japan. The film highlights that this is about three times the amount of whales killed in the Antarctic, and purports that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year. The migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed by means of spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan’s most recent progress report 1,569 cetaceans in Taiji were killed during the 2007 season, including methods other than drive hunting. A total of 13,080 cetaceans were killed throughout Japan in 2007. Only 1,239 cetaceans were killed by drive hunting.

The film was directed by former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos, and portions were filmed secretly during 2007 using underwater microphones and high-definition cameras disguised as rocks.

The documentary won the U.S. Audience Award at the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. It was selected out of the 879 submissions in the category.

Furthermore, The Cove has been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination at the 2010 82nd Academy Awards. It is up against 14 other films competing for five open slots for Best Documentary Feature.

The movie follows former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry’s quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. In the 1960s, O’Barry captured and trained the five wild dolphins who would play the role of “Flipper” in the hit television series of the same name. This pop-culture phenomenon fueled widespread public adoration of dolphins. It was when one of the dolphins committed a form of suicide in his arms, closing her blowhole voluntarily in order to suffocate, that O’Barry came to see it as a curse not a blessing. Days later, he found himself off the island of Bimini, attempting to cut a hole in the sea pen in order to set free a captured dolphin. Since then O’Barry has worked tirelessly as an advocate on behalf of dolphins around the world.

After meeting with O’Barry, Psihoyos and his crew wind up in the small town of Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonder and mysteries of the dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under the cover of night, that the fisherman of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in the unseen killing. Together with the Ocean Preservation Society, Psihoyos, O’Barry, and the crew utilizes special tactics and embark on a mission to get the truth on what is really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone else in the world.

The film also reports on the alleged “buying” by Japan of votes in the International Whaling Commission.

Production

Among the challenges faced by the production team were the tight security and inaccessibility of the cove. To address some of these issues KernerFX, previously part of Industrial Light & Magic, contributed specialized camouflaged high-definition cameras that were designed to look like rocks. These hidden cameras helped capture footage for the film and were so well camouflaged that, according to Director Louie Psihoyos, the crew had a hard time finding them again.

The documentary demonstrates that despite attempts to work with the town of Taiji, the local and national government were unwilling to participate. Director Psihoyos commented that he originally wanted to do the story legally and with permission from the Japanese government:

“After a tour of the town with Richard [O’Barry], I contacted the Taiji mayor’s office and the dolphin hunters’ union. I wanted to get their side of the story and I wanted to do the story legally. I had noticed that I had picked up a tail; I had 24-hour police surveillance while I was in town. But the town was not interested in cooperating; they were making too much money with the captive dolphin industry to jeopardize it by having a journalist milling about. The mayor told me that I could get hurt or killed by getting too close to the dolphin hunters or the secret cove.”

Reception and aftermath

The film received very positive reviews from critics. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars (out of four), calling the film “a certain Oscar nominee.” Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times called the film “an exceptionally well-made documentary that unfolds like a spy thriller,” going on to describe it as “one of the most audacious and perilous operations in the history of the conservation movement.” Other reviewers also played up the espionage angle of the film, including Time Magazine’s Mary Pols who said that The Cove ”puts Hollywood capers like Mission Impossible to shame,” and Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor who agreed, calling it “a rousing piece of real-world thriller filmmaking.” Film review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reported that 95% of critics had given the film positive reviews, based upon a sample of 27, summarizing the consensus as “Though decidedly one-sided, The Cove is an impeccably crafted, suspenseful expose of the covert slaughter of dolphins in Japan.” At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 82, based on 26 reviews.

David Cox of The Guardian Film Blog gave a less favourable review:

Why would you pay good money to be told what to think? Because you like it, apparently. If we must have blatant propaganda on screen, it might as well be good propaganda. The Cove passes this test with ease. The effectiveness of this piece of evangelism is intuitively unsurprising but theoretically puzzling. If corporate greed is destroying our way of life, or profligate carbon consumption threatening our survival, it’s clear why we should care. It’s not so obvious why the fate of a few thousand cetaceans should exercise us rather more. The film’s spearspersons are certainly puzzled. Westerners, they point out, kill and eat cows. Easterners eat dolphins. What’s the difference?

Michelle Orange of Movie Line also concludes that: “How much of this (The Cove) should we believe? As a piece of propaganda, The Cove is brilliant; as a story of ingenuity and triumph over what seems like senseless brutality, it is exceptionally well-told; but as a conscientious overview of a complex and deeply fraught, layered issue, it invokes the same phrase as even the most well-intentioned, impassioned activist docs: Buyer beware.”

Brendan O’Neill of Spiked touched on the racist undertones he felt were in the docu-thriller:

The Japanese are depicted as suppressed and unquestioning: we’re shown speeded-up footage of hordes of Japanese people walking through garishly-lit, buzzing city centres, their travels to work or home crudely reduced to pointless, super-fast marching through the streets, and we’re told that there’s a saying in Japan that ‘if a nail is sticking up, pound it down’ – in other words, Japanese culture is stultifyingly automaton. Where old racist America depicted the Japanese as rats, contemporary countercultural America depicts them as members of a rat race. The Taiji fishermen – sorry, the hook-wielding crazy killers of beautiful dolphins – come off the worst. The film dehumanises them to an alarming degree.

The film was shown at the 2009 Tokyo International Film Festival.

After the screening of the film in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane film festivals, the councillors of Shire of Broome, Western Australia unanimously voted in August 2009 to suspend its sister city relationship with the Japanese whaling port town of Taiji, as long as Taiji continues its whale slaughter. The decision was reversed in October 2009.

Dolphin hunting season in Japan begins on September 1 each year. In reaction to the publicity generated by the film, the 2009 dolphin hunting season was postponed until September 9.Out of the 100 dolphins captured on September 9, some were sold into captivity and 70 of the bottlenose dolphins were released. In addition, there were 50 pilot whales killed and sold for meat on the same day. Although Japan remains unclear on their slaughter policy, it has become apparent that The Cove is having an impact on the way in which Japanese fisherman normally conduct the dolphin hunt.

Mercury levels

A recent international study showed that, on average, dolphin meat contains 5 times the maximum allowable level of mercury. After the filming of The Cove, dolphin meat was taken off the school lunch menu in Taiji. The Japanese government has issued warnings about pregnant women eating dolphin meat, but maintains that it is safe to consume in small quantities.[citation needed]

Mercury poisoning can damage the brain, kidneys and central nervous system. Studies have also linked mercury with cardiovascular disease, infertility, and high blood pressure. In 2008, dolphins found dead in Australia were found to have suffered severe neurological damage from mercury poisoning. The cause for the high levels of mercury seems to be due to a process called bioaccumulation. Over time, mercury builds up in ocean life through repeated exposure to low-levels of toxins. Oceans become polluted with mercury when atmospheric emissionsfrom coal and industrial plants are transported into the sea.[citation needed]

Awards

The Cove has won fourteen awards from eleven film festivals:

• The Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival 2009
• The Audience Award, Hot Docs Film Festival 2009
• Golden Space Needle, Seattle International Film Festival 2009
• Best Feature Documentary, Galway, Ireland Film Festival 2009
• Audience Award, Silver Docs Film Festival 2009
• Audience Award, Sydney Film Festival 2009
• Best Theatrical, Blue Ocean Film Festival 2009
• Best in Festival, Blue Ocean Film Festival 2009
• Truly Moving Picture, Heartland Film Festival 2009
• Audience Award, Maui Film Festival 2009
• Best Feature Film, Nantucket Film Festival 2009
• Best Storytelling, Nantucket Film Festival 2009
• Winner, Newport Beach Film Festival 2009
• Jury Award, Traverse City Film Festival 2009
• Best Documentary, National Board of Review (December 3, 2009)
• Best Documentary, LA Film Critics (December 13, 2009)
• Best Documentary, New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) (December 13, 2009)

See also

• Dolphin drive hunting
• Whaling in Japan
• The Taiji Twelve

References

1.  a b c “Dolphin slaughter film a hit at Sundance” The Japan Times (27 January 2009). Retrieved on 27 January 2009.
2.  Oceanic Preservation Society – Facts
3.  National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries (2008), Japanese progress report on small cetacean research, article retrieved on November 30, 2009.
4.  The Cove (2008) From Flipper’s Trainer to Dolphin Defender The New York Times July 31, 2009
5.  A Dolphin Horror Film The Wall Street Journal July 31, 2009
6.  The Cove Sundance Festival 2009
7.  15 Documentary Features Continue in 2009 Oscar Race
8.  savejapandolphins.org
9.  thecovemovie.com
10.  Wired.com – How Filmmakers Used Spy Tech to Catch Dolphin Slaughter, 20 August 2009
11. The Cove rogerebert.com
12.  Catsoulis, Jeannette (2009-07-31). “Movie Review – The Cove – From Flipper’s Trainer to Dolphin Defender – NYTimes.com“. Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
13.  Pols, Mary (2009-08-10). “Documentary Review: The Cove“. TIME. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
14.  Rainer, Peter (2009-08-07). “Review: ‘The Cove’“. csmonitor.com. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
15.  ”The Cove Movie Reviews, Pictures“. Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
16.  ”Cove, The reviews at Metacritic.com“. Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
17.  Dolphin kill film to shock Taiji sister city Broome
18.  Broome suspends sister city relationship with Taiji over dolphin slaughter
19.  太地のイルカ漁描く映画「THE COVE」日本公開を期待
20.  ”Australian town embraces Taiji again“. The Japan Times. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
21.  ”Hunters Pass On Opening Day Of Dolphin Season“. All Things Considered (National Public Radio). September 5, 2009. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
22.  Kageyama, Y. Conservationists say 70 dolphins in Japan released. Associated Press
23.  The Cove Official Movie Website, July 2009
24.  The National Board of Review Official Website, December 2009
25.   December 2009
26.   December 2009

External links

 

• Official movie website
• UK official site
• France official site
• Australia official site
• TakePart.com/thecove
• The Cove at the Internet Movie Database
• The Cove at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Cove at Metacritic
• The Cove at Box Office Mojo
• New York Times Film Review
• Roger Ebert Film Review
• Film review by Justin Lowe
• The Cove: Learn More

Being that it was a short war which preceded the controversial Vietnam War, the Korean War gets downplayed in importance and is often ignored or brushed aside in history lessons. However, the civil war was an extremely important historical event which resulted in lasting changes for that country and several others. KOREAN WAR IN COLOR captures this conflict in full color, compiling newsreel and documentary footage (some of which has never been seen before) taken from 1950 to 1953.

 

Being that it was a short war which preceded the controversial Vietnam War, the Korean War gets downplayed in importance and is often ignored or brushed aside in history lessons. However, the civil war was … Full Descriptionan extremely important historical event which resulted in lasting changes for that country and several others. KOREAN WAR IN COLOR captures this conflict in full color, compiling newsreel and documentary footage (some of which has never been seen before) taken from 1950 to 1953. 

The nightmare of battle comes to life in this collection of rare color footage from the Korean War. Experience the soldiers’ point of view with unflinching movies from the front, some of which were cl…( read more )assified by the government for decades. Footage captures the battle for Seoul, a harsh winter on the Chosin Reservoir, the Naktong River campaign and more, plus a look at the First Marine Division from Academy Award-winning director John Ford. 

Accident (Chinese: 意外; pinyin: Yì Wài; Cantonese Yale: Yi Ngoi), originally titled Assassins (Chinese: 暗殺), is a 2009 Hong Kong actionthriller directed by Soi Cheang, produced by Johnnie To and starring Louis Koo, and Richie Ren. Accident competed at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, and was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 17 September 2009.

A self-styled “accident choreographer,” the Brain is a professional hitman who kills his victims by trapping them in well crafted “accidents” that look like unfortunate mishaps but are in fact perfectly staged acts of crime. Perennially plagued with guilt, he is also suspicious and morbid by nature. The recent avalanche of memories of his lost wife does not make things any easier.

After one mission accidentally goes wrong, causing the life of one of his men, the Brain is convinced that this accident has been choreographed: someone is out there plotting to terminate him and his team. He becomes increasingly paranoid, walking on the thin line between reality and delusion.

When he is accosted by a mysterious insurance agent Fong who happened to be on the scene of the “accident” as well, the Brain becomes obsessed that this man must be the mastermind behind a conspiracy to take him out. To regain his sanity and to save his life, he must strive to kill Fong before he makes his next move.

Cast

• Louis Koo as Ho Kwok-Fai, the Brain
• Richie Ren as Chan Fong-chow
• Michelle Ye as the Woman
• Lam Suet as Fatty
• Stanley Fung as Uncle
• Monica Mok as the Brain’s wife

References

1.  ”Information page for Accident” (in English). MediaAsia. Retrieved 25 September 2009.

External links

• Official website (English version)
• Accident at the Internet Movie Database
• Information page for Accident at MediaAsia (English version)
• Accident trailer at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)
• The first six minutes of Accident at Yahoo! Movies plus the trailer, images and making-of videos.

City of Life and Death (Chinese: 南京! 南京!; pinyin: Nánjīng! Nánjīng!) is a 2009 Chinese film directed by Lu Chuan, marking his third feature film. The film deals with the Battle of Nanjing and its aftermath (commonly referred to as “The Rape of Nanking” or the “Nanking Massacre“) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film is also known as Nanking! Nanking! or Nanjing! Nanjing!.

While originally slated for a 2008 release, the director-general of the Chinese Film Bureau announced in September that the film would be delayed to an early 2009 release. The film was eventually released on April 22, 2009 where it became a box-office success, earning RMB150m (approximately 20 million dollars) in its first two and a half weeks alone.

 

City of Life and Death takes place in 1937, during the height of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army has just captured the then-capital of the Republic of China, Nanjing. What followed was known as the Nanking Massacre, a period of several weeks wherein massive numbers of Chinese prisoners of war and civilians were killed.

The film tells the story of several figures, both historical and fictional, including a Chinese soldier, a schoolteacher, a Japanese soldier, a foreign missionary, and John Rabe, a Nazi businessman who would ultimately save thousands of Chinese civilians.

Cast

• Liu Ye as Lu Jianxiong
• Gao Yuanyuan as Jiang Shuyun
• Hideo Nakaizumi as Kadokawa
• Fan Wei as Mr. Tang
• Jiang Yiyan as Xiao Jiang
• Ryu Kohata as Ida
• Liu Bin as Shunzi
• John Paisley as John Rabe
• Beverly Peckous as Minnie Vautrin
• Qin Lan as Mrs. Tang
• Sam Voutas as Durdin
• Yao Di as Tang Xiaomei
• Zhao Yisui as Shunzi

Production

Filming began in Tianjin in October 2007, working under a budget of ¥80 million(US$12 million), and was produced by the China Film Group, Stella Megamedia, Media Asia and Jiangsu Broadcasting.

The film endured a lengthy period undergoing analysis by Chinese censors, waiting six months for script approval, and another six months for approval of the finished film. It was finally approved for release on April 22, 2009.[5] However, the Film Bureau did require some minor edits and cuts, including a scene of a Japanese officer beheading a prisoner, a scene of a woman being tied down prior to being raped, and an interrogation by a sympathetic Japanese officer of a Chinese soldier.

Release

City Of Life And Death was released on 535 film prints and 700 digital screens on April 22 grossing an estimated $10.2m (RMB70m) in its first five days. This made it the second biggest opener in 2009, after John Woo’s Red Cliff Part II which opened with $14.86m (RMB101.5m) in its first four days of release. The film is also the highest new box office record for director Lu Chuan, whose second feature Kekexili: Mountain Patrol grossed $1.26m (RMB8.6m) in 2004.

Awards

The film won the top prize at the 2009 San Sebastian Film Festival.

The film won Achievement in Directing (Lu Chuan) and Achievement in Cinematography (Cao Yu) at the 2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

City of Life and Death was nominated for the following awards in the 46th Golden Horse Awards:

Won: Best Cinematography (Cao Yu)

Nominated: Best Visual Effects

Controversy

Despite its success, City of Life and Death also skirted controversy upon its release in mainland China. In particular, many criticized the film’s sympathetic portrayal of the Japanese soldier, Kadokawa, with Lu even receiving online death threats to both himself and his family. Early in its release, criticisms of the film on the Internet nearly caused it to be pulled from theaters, only to be saved by the personal support from Li Changchun, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China.

See also

• Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre
• Don’t Cry, Nanking
• John Rabe
• Nanking

References

1.  Frater, Patrick (2008-09-26). “Domestic films dominate China B.O.“. Variety. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
2.  Elley, Derek (2009-05-14). “City of Life and Death Review“. Variety. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
3.  Ho, Vicci (2007-10-05). “Lu Chuan’s ‘Nanking’ begins filming“. Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
4.  Wong, Edward (2009-05-23). “Showing the Glimmer of Humanity Amid the Atrocities of War“. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
5.  Coonan, Clifford (2009-03-23). “China OKs Rape of Nanking Pics“. Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
6.  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gJv1FjlkWNR0k6Je1F54zOMdS96AD9AV4E180

MBC’s Best Theater [MBC 베스트극장 - 태릉선수촌] programming is a sort of long-running anthology series where each episode (or, as in the case of Taereung National Village, a short series of episodes) is self-contained and produced by a different set of people. For this reason, it’s a great way for lesser-known or -experienced PDs and writers to get a handle on production before being given an entire drama series to manage. You’ll notice almost every current working PD and many writers have some sort of Best Theater or Drama City (KBS’s equivalent anthology series) credit to their names.

Despite the winningness of Coffee Prince, I’m starting to veer from cheery immersion into overload territory, and before that flares into full-on burnout, I thought I’d turn my attentions elsewhere to balance things out a bit. I’ve started watching some other series, dabbling in a sea of first episodes, trying to see which ones are worth sticking with.

The first to stand out as noteworthy is the short Best Theater miniseries Taereung National Village (태릉선수촌), which is a series of which I’ve heard many good things (this one’s for you, thundie!) and had been meaning to try even before realizing that its director is the same Lee Yoon Jung who is currently at the helm of Coffee Prince.

Set in the exhilarating and competitive world of Olympic sports.

Min Ki, a judo martial artist, never seems to have luck on his side. Bang Su Ah, an expert archer, on the other hand, can claim to hold two gold medals already, but is still thirsty for further success.

They are joined in the National Village by a young swimmer who lacks the confidence to reach the top of his game, and Jang Ma Roo, an arrogant young gymnast who believes nobody can stop her from taking the gold medal.

Intertwining their sporting achievements and failures with the struggles in their personal lives, Tae-Rung National Village will keep you hooked from the starting gun right through to the nail-biting photo finish.

The film starts on the first anniversary of Cinderella and Prince Charming’s wedding, where Jaq, Gus and the Fairy Godmother are surprising the couple with a picnic in the woods. Back at the manor that was Cinderella’s former home, her stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella are stuck doing Cinderella’s old chores, and are clearly unhappy with their current lifestyle. Anastasia, trying to avoid working, wanders off into the woods where she witnesses the Fairy Godmother’s magic in action.
The Fairy Godmother drops her wand in front of Anastasia, who takes it and rushes back to the manor and shows it to her mother, Lady Tremaine. The Fairy Godmother arrives to retrieve the wand, and during a tussle, the Fairy Godmother is accidentally transformed into a stone statue. Anastasia is regretful for what has happened, but Lady Tremaine is ecstatic at the possibilities. She takes the magic wand and reverses time, going back to the moment where things started to go wrong: the Duke’s arrival at the manor with the glass slipper. Lady Tremaine rushes the process along and uses the wand to make the slipper fit Anastasia’s foot before Cinderella can make it downstairs. The Duke, seeing the slipper fit, announces that Anastasia will wed the prince, and asks for them to get ready to go to the royal palace. Cinderella rushes downstairs in what was previously “the nick of time” and is confused over the outcome. Lady Tremaine breaks Cinderella’s other slipper and tells her to forget the dance ever happened. Tremaine and her daughters then leave to the palace for the wedding preparations.
Cinderella is convinced that Charming will remember her, so she goes to the palace in secret and sneaks in through the servant’s entrance. Elsewhere, when Charming sees Anastasia, Tremaine uses the wand to make him forget about Cinderella completely. Jaq and Gus witness this event and tell Cinderella about the plot. Meanwhile, Anastasia dances with the prince, and becomes increasingly hopeful that he will fall in love with her. She is, however, a poor dancer and the King requests to speak with her. It turns out that Anastasia faintly resembles the King’s former wife. The King simply tells her that the old queen was also a poor dancer, but that they loved each other very much, and he could tell from the moment their hands touched. He then gives her a seashell that he claims is his most precious possession.
Meanwhile Cinderella disguises herself and enters the room where her stepfamily is staying; though she manages to get the wand, Tremaine sends the palace guards to stop her before she can break the spell on Charming. Cinderella is caught by the guards, and when the guards start to remove her from the castle, Cinderella reaches out to touch Charming’s hand, and the connection they both feel confuses him. Tremaine orders Cinderella to be put on the next ship out of the kingdom.
The mice take matters into their own hands and confront Charming with their side of the story, using the other mended glass slipper as evidence. Charming, although he still cannot remember her, believes the mice’s tale and sets out to retrieve Cinderella before she sails off. He succeeds, the pair are reunited and the true nature of Tremaine and Drizella is revealed. The King orders Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella arrested.
Despite this, Lady Tremaine does not give up. She uses the wand’s magic to conceal herself and her daughters when the King’s guards search the palace grounds for her. As Cinderella is preparing for her wedding, Lady Tremaine reveals herself and her new plan: she has made Anastasia to look exactly like Cinderella, and she will take the real Cinderella’s place during the wedding ceremony. Lady Tremaine then magically sends Cinderella, Jaq and Gus into the hollow center of a pumpkin in a distant meadow. In a twisted homage to the original film, the pumpkin becomes a deformed carriage and Lucifer becomes its human driver, intending to send Cinderella and the mice to their doom. After a frantic struggle, Cinderella, Jaq and Gus manage to defeat Luficer, escape the pumpkin and ride back to the palace.
Cinderella arrives at the palace just as the vows are being exchanged, and witnesses Anastasia saying (after an inner struggle) “I don’t” when prompted by the minister. Lady Tremaine, angered at her daughter’s sudden conscience, steps out of her hiding place. The King orders her arrested, but Lady Tremaine turns the guards to animals, and then turns her attention to Cinderella and Anastasia. Charming jumps in and uses his sword to block the wand’s magic, causing it to bounce back and send Lady Tremaine and Drizella back to their house as toads. Anastasia uses the wand to turn herself back to normal and then gives it to Cinderella, who revives the Fairy Godmother. The Fairy Godmother offers to reverse time back to the original timeline before Lady Tremaine, but Cinderella declines, knowing that no matter what, she will still be happy with Charming. The Fairy Godmother creates a new gown for Cinderella, and marries Cinderella and Charming.
Anastasia sadly gives the seashell back to the King, saying that she doesn’t really deserve it, but the King tells her that everyone deserves true love, and that she can keep it.
During the credits, Drizella and Tremaine become human again, but dressed as scullery maids, much to their horror, while Anastasia – who now lives at the palace with Cinderella – is seen in a picture accepting the common baker she meets in the previous film.

In a far away, long ago kingdom, Cinderella is living happily with her mother and father until her mother dies. Cinderella’s father remarries a cold, cruel woman who has two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. When the father dies, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Meanwhile, across town in the castle, the King determines that his son the Prince should find a suitable bride and provide him with a required number of grandchildren. So the King invites every eligible maiden in the kingdom to a fancy dress ball, where his son will be able to choose his bride. Cinderella has no suitable party dress for a ball, but her friends the mice, lead by Jaques and Gus, and the birds lend a hand in making her one, a dress the evil stepsisters immediately tear apart on the evening of the ball. At this point, enter the Fairy Godmother, the pumpkin carriage, the royal ball, the stroke of midnight, the glass slipper, and the rest, as they say, is fairy tale history. Written by filmfactsman