Guide 04 Asian cinema independent information
Chinese and Taiwanese cinema history, from the Fifth Generation to wuxia
Mainland China and Taiwan have separate film histories that sometimes meet. This guide covers two celebrated movements and one film that crossed over to a very wide audience.
The different generations of Chinese filmmakers
In the 1980s a cohort of graduates of the Beijing Film Academy brought a bold visual style to Chinese cinema. Chen Kaige's Yellow Earth (1984), photographed by Zhang Yimou, is the film most often named as the start. Zhang later directed Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at Berlin in 1988, and Raise the Red Lantern (1991).
Chen's Farewell My Concubine (1993), a story of two Peking opera performers across decades, shared the Palme d'Or at Cannes that year with Jane Campion's The Piano.
Taiwan New Cinema and the Taiwanese New Wave
In the 1980s Taiwanese directors turned toward everyday life and local history, often with long takes and a patient pace. Hou Hsiao-hsien's A City of Sadness (1989) won the Golden Lion at Venice, and Edward Yang's Yi Yi (2000) won him the best director prize at Cannes. These films reward viewers who like to sit inside a scene rather than be pushed along by it.
The Sixth Generation and later directors
Jia Zhangke's Still Life (2006) won the Golden Lion at Venice and follows ordinary people in a region changed by the Three Gorges Dam. Directors working outside the main studios, in both places, continue to find audiences at festivals.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Ang Lee, born in Taiwan, directed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), a wuxia film based on a novel by Wang Dulu. It won the Oscar for best foreign language film at the ceremony held in 2001, among four Academy Awards. Wuxia is a genre of martial arts heroes and moral codes, and this film is a friendly way in.
Where to start
Begin with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, then Raise the Red Lantern or Farewell My Concubine for the Fifth Generation, and Yi Yi for a calm Taipei family story.