Springtime in a small town won the san marco prize at the 2002 venice film festival. Beautiful but totally inert, this remake of a 1948 movie is an odd way for the last eunuch director tian zhuangzhuang to end his 10year hiatus. Stories where the town itself almost feels like a character of its own, or it sets the tone for the movie, its main characters or whatnot. Springtime in a small town 2002 genuine uk region 2 dvd. Springtime in a small town year 2003 distributors artificial eye film co. With exquisite delicacy, writerdirector tian zhuangzhuang dissects the complexity of a womans heart. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun 2003 bbc. Its one of the first films that sparked my interest in chinese cinema, even though it isnt the type of cinema i would usually fall for. Find out more about springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun at. Rent springtime in a small town 2004 starring jingfan hu and jun wu on dvd and bluray. Spring in a small town is a chinese film released in 1948 and directed by fei mu, a director known for having great empathy for women and reflecting that in his films. The film s landscapes evoke the demystifying horrors of the war.
Springtime in a small town pg hu jingfan, xin bai qing, wu jun dir. A yang butingli shaohong presentation of a china film group corpbeijing film studio beijingfortissimo film hong kongparadis. Director tian zhuangzhuang horse thief has created a sublimely beautiful portrait of a disintegrating arranged marriage. It is a remake of what might be the greatestcertainly the most reveredchinese film of all time, fei mus 1948 masterpiece spring in a small town also titled in chinese xiao cheng zhi chun. Rent springtime in a small town 2004 on dvd and bluray. Following a decade of enforced silence because of his comments on chinas human rights record. But i have really deep reservations about it, i have to say. Springtime in a small town is an elegant remake of the deeply wonderful spring in a small town from 1948 zhang zhichen baiqing xin is a successful doctor. Chris blackwells palm pictures today announced that it has acquired the north american and caribbean rights to the highly acclaimed and award winning film springtime in a small town.
Set in a bombscarred chinese town in the aftermath of world war ii, the film tells the story of the passionless marriage of the ailing liyan and. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun 2002. Palm pictures brings springtime in a small town to dvd. It was funded by several production companies from china beijing film studio, beijing rosart film, france orly films, paradis films. The remake of springtime in a small town does not suffer from the vanity of obsession. In 2002, a remake film for spring in a small town called springtime in a small town was directed by tian zhuangzhuang. I value all recommendations, especially since this is a subgenre i got a real weakness for. As we behold the ruin of a physically and emotionally seared landscape, were carefully introduced to the mysteriously ill and.
There arent a lot of plot complications in springtime, a remake of a celebrated 1948 chinese film of the same name. Regarded as the finest work from the first great era of chinese filmmaking, fei mus quiet, piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guiltridden despair. In a mansion decimated during world war ii, a frustrated, bored housewife, yuwen, is torn between caring for her ailing husband and her longing for a former sweetheart, a doctor who has come to treat her husband. Springtime in a small town on dvd 660200308520 from palm pictures. A wealthy estate owner, liyan wu jun, lives in a small town in a handsome property that has been extensively damaged by. An exquisitely constructed romantic drama, springtime in a small town is the first film by tian zhuangzhuang since the controversial the blue kite in 1993. This masterly chinese film by tian zhuangzhuang is not offered in the same spirit it is closer to revival than pastiche but, as it happens, certain. Spring in a small town uses this schematic to build a tight, emotionally tense triangular drama that questions fidelity, suppressed emotions and the balance of love and responsibility. Spring and springtime in a small town slant magazine. Its a remake of the 1948 masterpiece spring in a small city by fei mu, widely considered the nations greatest film by mandarin speakers but tragically. There is excellent and sensitive acting from a young cast who were encouraged by tian zhuangzhuang to improvise the scenes just before shooting giving the whole a tender vibrancy. Jul 03, 2008 xiao cheng zhi chun springtime in a small town a film by zhuangzhuang tian. The original film was made in shanghai by fei mu, a year before the communist victory.
Spring in a small town did not receive immediate critical acclaim when it was released and fei mu was labeled a rightist and left for hong kong, never to make another film. Spring in a small town is a highly appraised chinese movie from the 1940s. Set in a secluded, rundown house, spring in a small town is a psychological exploration of the female protagonist zhou yuwen and her intricate relationships. Oct 17, 20 it was only after the end of the cultural revolution and the beginning of chinas new openness to the west that the chinese film community rediscovered spring in a small town and deemed it a masterpiece. Springtime in a small town remake by tian zhuangzhuang. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the.
Drowning mona this completely underrated comedy has all the hallmarks of hick town springtime. On the razed grounds of his ancestral estate, wu jun lives like a tired old man in a 30yearolds body. This masterly chinese film by tian zhuangzhuang is. Interview with tian zhuangzhuang, director of springtime in a small town. Directors tian zhuangzhuang cast includes wu jun, xin bajqing, hu jingfan, lu sisi, ye xiaokeng. Mar 29, 20 15 movies that are like springtime in a bottle or, you know, a bluray case. I was involved for the first 30 minutes, but then i stopped caring, the plot just wasnt interesting enough. Set in the late 1940s, the film depicts a desolate existence, with ghostly figures inhabiting a. Springtime film article about springtime film by the. Springtime in a small town tian zhuangzhuang, china. Springtime in a small town is an exquisitely crafted romantic drama. When a depressed family man james stewart decides to commit suicide, his guardian angel appears to take him back through his life to see how he has helped those around him enjoy a better existence.
Springtime in a small town marks the return of tian zhuangzhuang to the directors chair, following a nearly nineyear absence since his last film, the blue kite 1993. Tian zhuangzhuangs springtime in a small town is a poetic, ponderous remake of a celebrated 1948 chinese film by fei mu. As shot by longtime hou hsiaohsien collaborator mark li pingbing, springtime in a small town moves like a hou film though its never as penetrating as goodbye south goodbye or good men, good women. Springtime in a small town is a faithful recreation of the earlier work originally titled spring in a small town, offering up a resonant tale of repressed emotion against the backdrop of a crumbling, postww2 china. Search results for small town killers sbs on demand.
Its basically a filmed play taking place in a house, there are a few exterior shots but not many. It was funded by several production companies from china beijing film studio, beijing rosart film, france orly films, paradis films, and the netherlands fortissimo films. Springtime in a small town picks no quarrels with the film bureau. Seen by many as the greatest chinese film ever, spring in a small town is different from other films of the era. Springtime in a small town 2002 genuine uk region 2. Springtime in a small town film small business owner. Springtime in a small town from the guardian the guardian.
Spring in a small town 1948 stream and watch online. Set amid the ruins of a south chinese village in 1946, after japanese bombing runs have crumbled the city walls and decimated the population, springtime in a small town surveys the wreckage from without and within. Tian zhuangzhuang china, 112min if you enjoyed wong karwais in the mood for love, then this romance, set in china just after the second world war, should be the perfect bet for summer film going. You might know zhuangzhuangs namehe directed the politically charged the blue kite in 1993 and was promptly banned for 9 years from filmmaking in china. Jun 06, 2014 spring in a small town 1948 trailer bfi dvd fei mus piercingly poignant study of adulterous desire and guiltridden despair, newly restored by the china film archive, is a remarkable. Endless tracking shots and pregnant looks add to its pretentiousness. Overview of springtime in a small town, 2002, directed by tian zhuangzhuang, with hu jingfan, wu jun, xin baiqing, at turner classic movies. Get the best deals on chinesemandarin dvd when you shop the largest. Directed by fei mu and based on a short story by li tianji, the film dramatizes the emotional entanglement of four people, conveying an intense eroticism that is powerful and haunting. Fei mus classic spring in a small town, an anatomy of chinas postwar anomie across a sexual triangle, doesnt exactly cry out for a remake. Small towns, small stories, big hearts im looking for all kinds of those small town movies, but you know.
In the case of 2002 film springtime in a small town, tian zhuangzhuangs remake of the legendary 1948 film by fei mu, spring in a small town, the challenge was immense, for the original was a towering monument to the art of cinema in the minds of those fortunate enough to have seen it. It is a movie that plumbs great depths of human emotion as it examines the desiccated remnants of a ruined life in a ruined world, even as it offers the prospect of a better tomorrow. So i had my share of worries when i first heard that one of my favourite chinese filmmakers, tian zhuangzhuang, the director. For those who relish a mature and thoughtful treatment of human relationships and the meaning of illfated loss, springtime in a small town is stunningly beautiful in its simplicity. New listing springtime in a small town dvd wu january. Jul 09, 20 the number one feel good movie of all time is an easy winner in this list of happy, optimistic cinema set in small town america. The film is in black and white and its screenwriter is li tianji chinese.
Springtime in a small town is beautiful to look at, but not very memorable. Set in the days immediately following world war ii, the chinese film springtime in a small town is a poetic, slowmoving meditation on the part that love, passion, compromise, selfsacrifice and renewal play in our lives and our relationships. Springtime in a small town the sydney morning herald. Xiao cheng zhi chun springtime in a small town a film by zhuangzhuang tian. Springtime in a small town 2002 in 1940s china, small town landowner liyan wu jun leads a sad existence. There is also a remake of it, springtime in a small town 2002, which i have not had the opportunity to watch. Review of spring in a small town 1948 directed by fei mu. In a time when most films were colored by the politics of the time, spring in a small town is a story of a woman with a love dilemma.
Using a cast of five, isolated in one of few houses left standing in a small chinese town after the japanese invaders have laid it to waste, the film is theatrical in construct and almost chekovian in spirit. On the razed grounds of his ancestral estate, wu jun lives like a. Dec 19, 20 springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun is the film that introduced me to the work of zhuangzhuang tian. It was only after the end of the cultural revolution and the beginning of chinas new openness to the west that the chinese film community rediscovered spring in a small town and deemed it a masterpiece. But what made the film so difficult to endure were the dull, uncharismatic performances from the leads. Spring in a small town 1948 trailer bfi dvd youtube. S ince we know so little in this country about pre80s mainland chinese cinema, you would think the recently released dvd of spring in a small town ranked by the hong kong film awards in 2005 as the greatest chinese movie ever madewould warrant more coverage from film journalists than it has received. Best movies of 2003 film comments 2003 critics poll. Review of the film spring in a small town epistemologicallywise. Produced in 1948 prior to the communist takeover in china, spring in a small town is a lyrical depiction of the intense psychological rivalry between two friends for the love of one woman. He visits his old school friend dai liyan who seems to be permanently ill both physically and spiritually. Springtime in a small town is a 2002 chinese film directed by tian zhuangzhuang. Director of photography mark lee pingbing, who has done stunning work for wong karwai in the mood for love and hou hsiaohsien the puppet master keeps his camera gliding smoothly.
Jun 12, 2003 springtime in a small town 5 5 stars 5 out. Film by walker, alexander the evening standard london. Springtime in a small town is the rare film that establishes itself as an immediate classic in world cinema, said palms head of acquisitions and production david koh in a prepared. The original springtime in a small town also known as spring in a small city was made by pioneer director fei mu in 1948, not long before the communist party took over the country. Now many chinese critics consider it the greatest chinese film ever. Springtime in a small town is a remake of a 1948 chinese film classic that ive not seen. Springtime in a small town tian zhuangzhuang fei mus 1948 film spring in a small town is widely considered the greatest chinese film ever made, a dissection of chinas postwar anomie through the story of a sexual triangle. Why, then, are englishsubtitled versions so scarce. Springtime in a small town sadly seems to be an exercise in how to make a tortuously dull arthouse film. Now, rereleased, the original exists in a remarkable. Discovering that it fully lives up to its reputation, i mentioned springtime in a small town to a chinese film buff i know in chicago, who avowed that it was readily available at his own video rental outlet in chinatown. The film only began to find its audience when the china film archive made a new print in the early 80s. Released 1948, spring in a small town stars cui chaoming, wei li, yu shi, wei wei the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 25 min, and received a score of out of 100 on metacritic, which put.
1251 1489 1247 745 379 1414 153 1174 1198 1521 300 559 385 75 145 487 427 859 752 797 257 1185 815 1279 1394 86 945 50 25 138 1429 126 546 1254 781 775 449 1274 946 1193 1054 142