Attention: Jiao aka left-pimpin - A rant about Asian films in response to your previous post.
(Important! Author does not take responsibilities for any incoherencies or general crap that is contained in this post as she has woken up not long ago and is still woozy from night before.)
Why did the cover and blurb of the Hero dvd promote only the action movie bit of it: Clara's rather tangential thoughts on the subject of Western Asian films.
To think that Asian film distributors aim to "reel in the mindless, homogenous masses" is true. But do we ask why. Not only does Asian films need the subtitle crutch and casts actors known to a portion of the Western audience through mainly the awards they picked up, it is seen through the veil of the stereotyped Asian kung fu movie and actors (in the broadest term) like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. So for the film, Hero, the presence and fame of Jet Li* did not actually aid the deeper, more subtle parts of the film.
*Very well-known to a Western audience as a little modern kung fu fighting Chinaman featuring in such credible films as Romeo Must Die, The One, and my personal favourite, Cradle 2 The Grave, yo.
My kid's prettier than yours... (This is the part where it gets tangential)
After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there been a mold made where every film has to possess phenomenal picturesque qualities. It is not hard to see that it is really not a feat of cinematography to make everything a Ken Duncan print. In reality, the Asian landscape is not all that interesting.
And where the appeal is in the film's Chinese culture and perhaps historical context, we have to understand that both are unfortunately epitomised by ruthless dictatorship and gallant swordsmen. Whether or not, inadvertently, they have made an action movie and so I personally thought to manipulate Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung's actual acting abilities and what little fame they have in a movie where they prance around more than act is ludicrous. This goes for every Hollywood film Chow Yun Fat's been in and Andy Lau (from HoFD) as well.
From my perspective, I see Chinese filmmakers trying desperately to barge through into the Hollywood scene and consequently making films that need to appeal to a wide East and West audience, yet conspicuously wanting to be critically acclaimed as well.
A philosophical and historical kung fu film: Dare I say pretentious? Ask why Hollywood hasn't picked up a modern Asian drama. One that does not embellish swords or guns, or needs fantastic, polished cinematography, just some damn good acting.
Why did the cover and blurb of the Hero dvd promote only the action movie bit of it: Clara's rather tangential thoughts on the subject of Western Asian films.
To think that Asian film distributors aim to "reel in the mindless, homogenous masses" is true. But do we ask why. Not only does Asian films need the subtitle crutch and casts actors known to a portion of the Western audience through mainly the awards they picked up, it is seen through the veil of the stereotyped Asian kung fu movie and actors (in the broadest term) like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. So for the film, Hero, the presence and fame of Jet Li* did not actually aid the deeper, more subtle parts of the film.
*Very well-known to a Western audience as a little modern kung fu fighting Chinaman featuring in such credible films as Romeo Must Die, The One, and my personal favourite, Cradle 2 The Grave, yo.
My kid's prettier than yours... (This is the part where it gets tangential)
After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, there been a mold made where every film has to possess phenomenal picturesque qualities. It is not hard to see that it is really not a feat of cinematography to make everything a Ken Duncan print. In reality, the Asian landscape is not all that interesting.
And where the appeal is in the film's Chinese culture and perhaps historical context, we have to understand that both are unfortunately epitomised by ruthless dictatorship and gallant swordsmen. Whether or not, inadvertently, they have made an action movie and so I personally thought to manipulate Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung's actual acting abilities and what little fame they have in a movie where they prance around more than act is ludicrous. This goes for every Hollywood film Chow Yun Fat's been in and Andy Lau (from HoFD) as well.
From my perspective, I see Chinese filmmakers trying desperately to barge through into the Hollywood scene and consequently making films that need to appeal to a wide East and West audience, yet conspicuously wanting to be critically acclaimed as well.
A philosophical and historical kung fu film: Dare I say pretentious? Ask why Hollywood hasn't picked up a modern Asian drama. One that does not embellish swords or guns, or needs fantastic, polished cinematography, just some damn good acting.