Chinese Flavor in Global Cinema

As the 85th Academy Awards ceremony stretched into the night of February 24， 2013， at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood， China discovered that Ang Lee had received the best director Oscar for Life of Pi. The award marked Lee’s second Best Director Oscar after winning for Brokeback Mountain in 2006. Validated once again by the mainstream film industry of the West， Ang Lee brought pride to the entire Chinese-speaking community. The last few years have not only seen increasing numbers of Chinese directors and actors appearing on the international stage， but also a greater volume of Chinese elements being incorporated into international films.

China’s massive movie market is obviously one major reason for the phenomenon. In 2012， the Chinese mainland’s box office revenue reached US$2.74 billion， ranking the nation the world’s second largest film market. Of the $2.74 billion， only $1.29 billion was earned by domestic productions， while imports accounted for$1.45 billion.

China’s huge consumption potential has made the market coveted by international film investors. At a forum during the 2012 Hong Kong International Film Festival， producers from Hollywood exhibited high expectation for the Chinese market. They asserted that over the last ten years， box office revenue from Asia has surpassed the United States as China’s box office revenue has only increased. As evidenced by films such as Mulan and Kung Fu Panda， which were inspired by Chinese folk tales and national icons， to 2012， Avatar， and Cloud Atlas， greater numbers of international films have begun to incorporate Chinese elements. At the same time， Western opinions about China， embedded in the subtext of such films， are also obviously changing.

Chinese Faces

Actress Zhou Xun played a man， a blue-eyed woman， and a bob-haired clone， three highly contrasting characters， in centuriesspanning sci-fi film Cloud Atlas. With a budget of over US$100 million， Cloud Atlas is the culmination of multinational cooperation involving the United States， China， and Germany. In the film’s first five-minute teaser trailer， two close-ups were given to the Chinese girl.

Recent years have brought more Chinese actresses to major roles in big-budget international films. In the poster for The Expendables 2， long-haired Yu Nan is pictured in tights among a group of men， calmly holding a submachine gun. Dressed in a red cheongsam， Li Bingbing appears with a pixie haircut and performs Chinese kung fu in Resident Evil： Retribution. In La Petite Venise， Actress Zhao Tao recites “Li Sao” （The Lament）， one of the greatest poems of ancient China. Chinese actresses have gradually escaped from past modes of demure， inactive Chinese woman. The Chinese female image in international film has become more distinct.

Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001， first introducing many Westerners to actress Zhang Ziyi. Actually， in the early 20th Century when the film industry was in its infancy， several Chinese actresses were already known outside their motherland. In 1935， Chinese movie star Hu Die participated in the Moscow International Film Festival as a member of the Chinese delegation. At a party， she drew intense scrutiny， especially her feet， because at the time， many Westerners believed that Chinese women still had bound feet.

Red Sorghum won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988. The film marked the breakthrough of film star Gong Li， who became an icon of typical Chinese beauty in the eyes of many Westerners. Nearly two decades later， in 2007， Tuya’s Marriage again took the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival. Critics at the festival raved about lead actress Yu Nan. “She has an incredibly flexible face，” commented one critic.

A handful of Chinese actors are already household names to Western audiences. Along with Bruce Lee， who introduced Chinese kung fu to the West， Jackie Chan and Jet Li are major stars in the international film industry. In 1994， Rumble in the Bronx catapulted Jackie Chan to major stardom after its highly successful release in the United States. It was followed by the Rush Hour series， which scored massive international box office revenue. After several popular Hong Kong films， Jet Li began working in Hollywood in 1997， and has since been top-billed in many Hollywood blockbusters.

Along with on-screen Chinese stars， greater numbers of Chinese faces can also now be found in production teams of international films. Born in Yunnan Province， Yao Qi was the only Chinese member of 2012’s post-production team. “Noah’s Ark”，

created by him and his colleagues， left a deep impression on spectators. Along with 2012， his filmography also includes several other blockbusters such as The Matrix： Revolutions， and Star Trek. Hong Kong martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping played a major role in the commercial success of a number of big titles， including The Matrix， Crouching Tiger， Hidden Dragon， and Kill Bill.

The Chinese Approach

In recent years， increasing numbers of Hollywood films have attempted more Chinese approaches. Chinese tales and legends have become popular sources for writers. From Disney’s Mulan to DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda， Hollywood’s understanding of China has been deepening. While Chinese audiences’ opinion of Disney’s interpretation of Mulan may have been more reserved， spectators were overwhelmingly pleased with the profound cultural understanding of Kung Fu Panda’s production team. For example， in the movie， giant panda Po is taught to find inner peace through a drop of water， showcasing the Chinese philosophy of merging a drop of water into sea. The smallest of details such as this evidence Hollywood’s renewed efforts to appeal to China on a spiritual level. In terms of Kung Fu Panda， Chinese kung fu， the giant panda， and Confucian culture were fused eloquently with typical American ideals such as “an ordinary person can also be a hero.” It was easy to understand how the first Kung Fu Panda scored US$29 million at the Chinese mainland box office， followed by $96 million for Kung Fu Panda 2， which even exceeded the film’s American earnings.

Due to China’s fast-developing economy， comparatively low shooting costs， and unique exotic flavor in the eyes of Westerners， many international films have been venturing to China for location shoots in recent years. Of Mission Impossible III’s total length of two hours and six minutes， 40 minutes were shot in China. The film not only showcases Shanghai’s amazing night scene， but also Xitang， a typical ancient town in adjacent Zhejiang Province.

In the serene and poetic locale， Tom Cruise is pictured running and fighting， forming a stark contrast with the tranquil backdrop. Producers of The Mummy： Tomb of the Dragon Emperor not only chose to feature China prominently in the plot， but also shot in Hebei Province， Shanghai， and Zhejiang Province.

Hollywood has gradually realized in recent years that the North American market doesn’t offer much room for expansion anymore， so sights are set on box office revenue from overseas markets. The Transformers movies and 2012 are two prime examples： box office revenue from China eclipsed more mature markets in Japan and Germany. In 2012， the blockbuster Titanic returned to Chinese screens with a 3D version. Its revenue from China reached US$126 million， accounting for 48 percent of the film’s total overseas box office.

At the same time， China has also begun investing more in international films， a more direct path for Chinese elements to be injected into international blockbusters. Chinese enterprises were major players in producing The Expendables 2， Looper， and Iron Man 3 which is scheduled for release in May of this year. Bi Chenggong， a renowned film critic， asserts that movies featuring participation by Chinese enterprises maintain a natural advantage in terms of box office revenue in the country. He boldly predicted that Chinese box office revenue for Iron Man 3 would double the earnings of Iron Man and Iron Man 2. “Box office revenue in China is partially linked to nationalism，” opines Bi.“Investment by Chinese enterprises alone is enough to arouse spectators’ interest.”

Today， as international film industry trends require greater cooperation and convergence， China’s role in international blockbusters shouldn’t be confined to locations and actors. Only when Chinese filmmakers gain a stronger position in the entire creative process， including pre-production， script， investment， casting， shooting， publicity， and distribution， will Chinese elements become optimally blended into international movies.