January 2012

The Film Society of Minneapolis St. Paul presents three films representing the diversity of contemporary Chinese cinema in honor of the Chinese New Year. The program is co-curated by Tom Rose, Professor of Art at the University of Minnesota. “What I find interesting [with White Gardenia] ... are the visible links to the past enhanced with stunningly beautiful contemporary cinematography. Wang Hong Hai’s beautiful My Dream is also stylized and mannered in that it highlights the Chinese love of spectacle.” Let the Bullets Fly combines both elements, with an added comic slant, to make for one wild cinematic ride.

Let the Bullets Fly

Director: Jiang Wen
Run Time / Year: 132 min | 2010
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Showtime: Sat, 1/21 @ 6:30

One of the highest grossing domestic Chinese films in history, director/screenwriter/actor Jiang Wen’s Let the Bullets Fly propels the audience through an unpredictable world of gunslingers, bandits, physical comedy, bloody combat, and surprising plot twists. Set during the Warlord Era of the 1920s, Jiang’s character “Pockey” Zhang embarks on a Robin Hood like escapade to benefit poor townspeople. Malevolent mobster Master Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) opposes Zhang’s efforts, highlighting both actors’ comedic abilities as well as Jiang’s directorial talent for fast-paced action.

My Dream

Director: Wang Hong Hai
Run Time / Year: 90 min | 2007
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Showtimes: Sun, 1/22 @ 4:30 & Mon, 1/23 @ 7:00

In My Dream, director Wang Hong Hai pays tribute to the stunning works in dance and music performed internationally by the 84 members of the China Handicapped Performers' Troupe. During a one-year period, Wang and his production staff lived together with the members of the troupe, recording their daily lives, practice sessions and efforts the performers made to train their bodies. The troupe was founded in Beijing in 1987 by a group of 30 artists and includes performers who have hearing or sight impairments. My Dream is a combination of documentary and visual poetry that transcends the limits of language and geography. –China Insight

White Gardenia

Director: Jiang Lifen
Run Time / Year: 85 min | 2005
Language: Mandarin with English subtitles
Showtimes: Sun, 1/22 @ 7:00 & Mon, 1/23 @ 4:30

Directed, acted and penned by Jiang Lifen, one of China’s up-and-coming women filmmakers, White Gardenia has keen insight into the lives of women and shows that insight with great conviction, depicting how women in crisis struggle with decisions that will affect their lives and future happiness. White Gardenia tells a traditional story of romance set against wartime China. With a nod to Madame Bovary and tales of women who choose family but long for the spotlight, Jiang herself portrays the main character, Yang Liuqing. Yang’s outwardly contented life as a mother and wife begins to crack as events cause her past to resurface – memories of her career as a famous Yue Opera singer in Shanghai, a life that ended with the Japanese attack in 1937. The plot is simple and archetypal, the characters compelling and real.

Les Lutins du Court Métrage: French Short Films SCHEDULE:

January 13 at 7pm (103 min):
• If only
• The best place
• The man in the blue Gordini – Best Sound (track)
• The herd
• The history of Aviation - Best Costumes, - Best Photography/Cinematography

January 20 at 7pm (126 min):
• Malika is gone
• It’s free for girls – Best Editing
• Journey around my room
• Madagascar, a journey diary – Best Animation
• ¿Dónde está Kim Basinger? – Best Actor, - Best Short Film 2010, - Best Director, - Best Screenplay

January 27 at 7pm (108 min):
• Ioara
• Annie de Franola – Best Actress, - Audience Pick
• In our blood
• Dix – Best Special Effects
• Walking

February 3 at 7pm (108 min):
• Montparnasse
• Vostok
• The wounded knee and the standing man
• Three celestial bodies – Best Set Decoration

February 10 at 7pm (113 min):
• Malban
• Weaknesses
• Citizen versus Kane
• The year of Algeria
• Media Plan
• The north road

February 17 at 7pm (101 min):
• The little dragon
• Good night
• Saint Louis Blues – Best Original Soundtrack
• Another’s reason

Un peu d'histoire: Since 1998, the biggest young talents of French cinema have been featured in a short film festival called Les Lutins du Court Métrage. This year, the Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul hosts this film festival at the St. Anthony Main Cinema for six Friday evenings beginning January 13.

In 2010, the 29 best French short films of the year were sent to nearly 2000 professionals and non-professionals for their vote. After having cast their vote, they came together for an awards evening where the best were recognized for their efforts as filmmakers. Those films then became the 2011 content of Les Lutins du Court Métrage.

At the heart of Les Lutins du Court Métrage is the chance to promote unknown filmmakers and give the public an opportunity to experience new short films on a large screen. This year, a selection of the awarded films will be screened all over France simultaneously in digital cinema at the movie theaters Gaumont and Pathé. Having the Alliance Francaise as one of their partners, Les Lutins du Court Métrage are able to screen their selections not only in France, but all over the world, allowing maximum exposure for the talents of tomorrow’s French cinema.