GONG LI FILM FESTIVAL (July 21 - August 3)
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dolcevita
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 GONG LI FILM FESTIVAL (July 21 - August 3) I've been planning this one for awhile. 
<center> WELCOME TO THE GONG LI FILM FESTIVAL
http://www.worldofkj.com/articles/Other/gongli1.php</center>
Quote: <img src="http://www.worldofkj.com/Pictures/gong3.JPG" hspace="5" vspace="1" border="1" align="right">Its surprising how many casual moviegoers have seen her amazing talent and face grace the screens of the past two decades and still are not aware of her. She is built into the curriculum of every middle school social studies class that has aired <i>Farewell My Concubine</i> or <i>Raise The Red Lantern</i>. She was the muse of Chen and Yimou in countless movies that have since been shred through repeat viewings from local video store shelves. If you’ve ever seen a classical, non-martial arts “Chinese†drama…you’ve seen Ms. Gong Li.
The first time I saw her was in school, where I too was shown <i>Farewell My Concubine</i>. I also saw <i>To Live</i>, <i>Raise the Red Lantern</i>, and <i>Shanghai Triad</i> without learning her name. For a few years I was obsessed with <i>To Live</i>, and mentioned it once to an acquaintance who also watched far too many movies for his own good as I watched for mine. He smiled to himself and asked me why I liked it, and I admitted I was drawn to the cover or the movie. The cover? Yes. I think it embodied the entire film. There stood erect a woman in profile, straight as a rod, carrying a child and looking over her shoulder at the viewer. A very strong woman. Not excessively made-up, but still stunning. He asked, “Was it Gong Li? Any drama you’ve seen with a stunning actress, I bet you it was Gong Li.â€Â
<center>********************</center>
<center><b>On July 21st, for no reason other than half of World of KJ’s staff’s obsession with Ms. Gong Li, World of KJ will be hosting a two week long Gong Li Film Festival.
Please join us from July 21st to August 3rd to discuss the actress and her many works. The event will be launched with a viewing of <i>Red Sorghum</i>, Ms. Gong’s acting debut.
Queue up your film deliveries and reserve your local video store copies of all her movies. World of KJ will be selecting enthusiastic festival participants to receive gift DVDs of Gong Li’s most well known roles.
In order to participate, and all are welcome, please register for our forums and join us here: http://www.worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21644 </b></center>
<center><img src="http://www.worldofkj.com/Pictures/gong8.JPG" hspace="5" vspace="1" border="1"></center>
Last edited by dolcevita on Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:33 am, edited 5 times in total.
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| Thu Jul 06, 2006 10:54 am |
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Dr. Lecter
You must have big rats
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 4:28 pm
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Well, I think I already know  _________________The greatest thing on earth is to love and to be loved in return!
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| Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:00 am |
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Bradley Witherberry
Extraordinary
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Dr. Lecter wrote: Well, I think I already know No, it's not about our engagement Doc...
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| Thu Jul 06, 2006 1:13 pm |
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Jeff
Christian's #1 Fan
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Heh.
I know what it is too.
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See above.
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| Thu Jul 06, 2006 3:17 pm |
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A. G.
Draughty
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Oh I already know as well. Yep. Totally In. The. Know. 
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| Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:46 pm |
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dolcevita
Extraordinary
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I've actually never seen Red Sorghum, so this will be exciting.
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| Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:10 am |
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A. G.
Draughty
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:23 am
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Ahh I should have seen that coming.
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| Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:46 am |
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Bradley Witherberry
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Can this be the festival theme song?
<object><param></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mlVU4HsIJds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
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| Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:19 am |
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zennier
htm
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I've only seen one Gong Li film.
If I want to be a real film aficionado, I better stop neglecting China's brightest star...
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| Fri Jul 07, 2006 11:35 pm |
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Andrew
Lover of Bacon
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Fantastic article, a great read.
I've only seen Memoirs and 2046 so this might be an opportunity to catch a few more. Great idea
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| Sat Jul 08, 2006 7:34 am |
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dolcevita
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Andrew wrote: Fantastic article, a great read. Thank you. I would love to hear back on everyone, as usual, about what they thought of the article. It is nice to hear from you. What did you think? Agree? Disagree? Got nervous at my obsessive nature?  I saw the trailer for Jet Li's Fearless the other day. Looks utterly terrible. Despite my wishing Gong Li was more well known here, I am so happy she never took up martial arts. It would have killed her career or in the very least forced the typecasting. I would be miserable if she's done a martial arts movie and that's why everyone knew who she was, rather than having seen her dramas, like Tony Leung, who gets less mention for Chunking Express and especially The Lover than Hero. Thankfully In the Modd for Love and 2046 have shed some light with audiences today about how strong an actor he is. But still, most people know him because of Hero, if they know him at all. Its quite frustrating, actually. Quote: I've only seen Memoirs and 2046 so this might be an opportunity to catch a few more. Great idea Details are still being worked out about the DVD giveaways, but thus far there are going to be Gong Li DVDs for both active particpants in the discussions, and for the members who provide the best review for one of her movies. And by best I do not mean that you have to love it (though that is imposssible, eheh). Just well written. And they are going to be mini-reviews of about 200 words unless you wish to write a full one. We will begin on Friday the 21st with Red Sorghum. But that is not a must. I am simpy picking her first movie as an introduction to her, and that way anyone who watches it will be "on the same page" the following morning. We did this once when we kicked off the Italian Film Festival Thread by having everyone watch Suspiria. Throughout the two weeks everyone will be able to watch any one of her movies as they wish and come here to discuss it. Hopefully enough people are familiar with her work that someone else will recognize the film. I personally have seen: Ju Dou Raise the Red Lantern Farewell My Concubine To Live Shanghai Triad The Emperor and the Assassin Chinese Box 2046 Memoirs of a Geisha I will try to watch: Red Sorghum The Story of Qiu Ju Miami Vice Tempress Moon Zhou Yu's Train Here is her catalogue of films on imdb: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000084/And here is an entry from Premiere Magazine's top 100 performances in history: http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?sec ... _number=12 Quote: The 100 Greatest Performances
89. Gong Li as Juxian
Farewell My Concubine (1993)
The intense bond between two male stars of the Peking Opera, one who plays a self-sacrificing concubine and the other who plays a king, is trumped and nearly destroyed by the manipulations of a woman. And of course, she’s a whore. Gong Li, who plays the courtesan Juxian as an Asian proto-feminist, both despises and respects her husband’s gay “stage brother,†and the feeling is mutual. Their sexual triangle plays out over decades of modern Chinese history, and it is Gong’s untheatrical and startling directness that best expresses her character’s pragmatism and thwarted ambition. After her husband humiliates and betrays her during the Cultural Revolution, the sheepish half-smile she gives her male rivalâ€â€in her last moments aliveâ€â€says more than all her male costars’ histrionics. If anyone is asking for recommendations, because they need to reserve copies on netflix long in advance, etc (that is why I made the announcement so early)
I would go with Farewell My Concubine and To Live. These are a good introduction because her two roles are poplar opposites and you will see her range. Each movie is by a different director whom she served as muse for, so you will get to see both Yimou's and Chen's direction as well.
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| Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:13 pm |
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Andrew
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Dolcevita wrote: Thank you. I would love to hear back on everyone, as usual, about what they thought of the article. It is nice to hear from you. What did you think? Agree? Disagree? Got nervous at my obsessive nature? I agreed with a lot of the article, and also share a lot of your frustrations. Having just seen on tv the first advert for Miami Vice with not one shot of Gong Li i was a little pissed off to say the least. She is possibly the only reason i would consider seeing Miami Vice after absolutely loathing Michal Mann's last film (going against the grain i know) so why not even a glimpse of her in the advert? Quote: Details are still being worked out about the DVD giveaways, but thus far there are going to be Gong Li DVDs for both active particpants in the discussions, and for the members who provide the best review for one of her movies. I hope my comment didn't read like i was expecting or hoping for free DVD's, that's not how it was intended. I've done a little digging around and have managed to find In the mood for love and Farewell My Concubine for a reasonable price (along with a few other bargains like Battle Royale 1&2) so i've ordered them. I can't find To Live or Red Sorghum anywhere though, so if anyone finds it available anywhere that will ship worldwide please let me know
I've decided i need to move on from my (probably undeserving) fascination with Zhang Ziyi, so i'll throw myself into this when the DVD's arrive. So any other recommendations from her back catalogue would be appreciated, and i'll continue looking for somewhere i can buy them
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| Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:40 pm |
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dolcevita
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Andrew wrote: I agreed with a lot of the article, and also share a lot of your frustrations. Having just seen on tv the first advert for Miami Vice with not one shot of Gong Li i was a little pissed off to say the least. She is possibly the only reason i would consider seeing Miami Vice after absolutely loathing Michal Mann's last film (going against the grain i know) so why not even a glimpse of her in the advert? Yeah. I am sad that her name is not included in alot of the poster adds I've seen here. She should be a huge draw for fans. It is the number one reason i want to see Vice as well. Quote: I hope my comment didn't read like i was expecting or hoping for free DVD's, that's not how it was intended. I've done a little digging around and have managed to find In the mood for love and Farewell My Concubine for a reasonable price (along with a few other bargains like Battle Royale 1&2) so i've ordered them. I can't find To Live or Red Sorghum anywhere though, so if anyone finds it available anywhere that will ship worldwide please let me know She is not in In the Mood for Love, though Maggie Cheung is, and of course, Leung. Farewell My Concubine is a must. Hmmmm. A huge Zhang Yimou Criterion collection was just released here in the states. Are you sure you can't get To Live from Amazon or the Criterion online vendor itself? I assure you To Live is worth the purchase, heh. I am surprised it is not available for rental in your local stores, as well. It is not an uncommon movie. Check your public library? Quote: I've decided i need to move on from my (probably undeserving) fascination with Zhang Ziyi, so i'll throw myself into this when the DVD's arrive. So any other recommendations from her back catalogue would be appreciated, and i'll continue looking for somewhere i can buy them I look forward to hearing what you think about one of my most favourite actresses, ever.
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| Sat Jul 08, 2006 2:49 pm |
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Andrew
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dolcevita wrote: She is not in In the Mood for Love, though Maggie Cheung is, and of course, Leung. Its been on my 'to buy' list for a while and i saw it cheap and got carried away  dolcevita wrote: Farewell My Concubine is a must. Hmmmm. A huge Zhang Yimou Criterion collection was just released here in the states. Are you sure you can't get To Live from Amazon or the Criterion online vendor itself? I assure you To Live is worth the purchase, heh. I am surprised it is not available for rental in your local stores, as well. It is not an uncommon movie. Check your public library? My local rental stores just stock the main blockbusters, and i tend to buy over rent as its only a couple of £'s more usually if you shop around. Amazon has 'To Live' for about $40! i may be a fool with my money but i'm not paying that much and my local library smells of... well... something that's made me not got back for a long while!! Which is a shame. All i can say is god bless ebay! found Red Sorghum, To live and The emperor and the assasin all for less than a fiver dolcevita wrote: I look forward to hearing what you think about one of my most favourite actresses, ever. I look forward to watching them all, i just hope they're worth it
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... and there's something about this city today, like all the colours conspired to overwhelm the grey...
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| Sat Jul 08, 2006 3:09 pm |
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dolcevita
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Andrew wrote: I look forward to watching them all, i just hope they're worth it I can't speak for Sorghum, as I've never seen it. And I will say that while I loved Gong Li's performance in Emperor and the Assassin, it is probably the least complex of the films of hers that I've seen. It is well loved though (high imdb rating) so maybe I need to rewatch it. I really want to see it after the painful message that was Hero, however, since it deals with the smae topic but very differently. I saw it over five years ago, I will probably like it more in retrospect having a sense of its message.
You will love To Live.
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| Sat Jul 08, 2006 7:30 pm |
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Christian
Team Kris
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Quote: 10 Things You Don't Know About Gong Li
The ''Miami Vice'' film star is a fan of the campy TV show by Adam B. Vary
7/14/06
1 Gong has been a fan of the pastel-tastic Miami Vice TV series since the '80s, when it was as influential in China as in the U.S. ''All the Chinese [wore] white suits and white shoes,'' recalls the actress, through a translator.
2 In the film, she plays a drug-dealing Chinese-Cuban moll. Gong calls her ''a sharp and dangerous person.''
3 Gong has a very, er, incisive part in 2007's Young Hannibal, as Lecter's aunt. ''She affects him to be a cannibal,'' Gong says. ''She gives him his good side, bad sideâ€â€and the love.'' Okay...
4 Gong's parents, both professors, wanted her to be a schoolteacher. ''They felt it was an honorable job with a stable income. But I didn't do well [in school], so I couldn't be a teacher.''
5 Instead, Gong landed at Beijing's Central Academy of Drama, where she had other homework: ''Most of my time was spent observing people.''
6 She was doing assignments even as her Vice costar Colin Farrell was out carousing. ''I needed to memorize lines,'' the actress explains. ''But I'm sure he did go out with other actors.''
7 Married and living in Beijing, Gong, 40, just shot her first film in 10 years with director (and ex-paramour) Zhang Yimou (Hero), a martial-arts epic, Curse of the Golden Flower.
8 Don't expect to see the actress do battle herself. ''There are so many martial-arts Chinese films,'' she says. ''I only want to focus on performing.''
9 Not that Gong didn't like being part of Vice's action. ''I was in a speedboat and around the car fighting,'' she says. ''I absorbed a lot and learned a lot.''
10 In fact, the shoot made her more confident. ''I am more well-rounded, like a bird that has more feathers,'' says Gong. ''There's nothing I can't conquer.''
''She's a fangirl,'' says Clerks II director Kevin Smith. ''The hottest geek on earth.'' SOURCE: http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1213687_7_0_,00.html
"Most of my time was spent observing people." Quick, dolce, fly her to New York and she'll just stare at you all day.
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| Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:51 pm |
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BJ
Killing With Kindness
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fantastic PM dolce, ill be vewing as much of the festival as I can _________________The Force Awakens
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:38 am |
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dolcevita
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BJ wrote: fantastic PM dolce, ill be vewing as much of the festival as I can Great. I can't wait to hear from you. This was just made easier, especially for foreigners who have trouble with access. Quote: It appears that the entire movie of Farewell My Concubine is on You Tube. You might want to use that in posts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZrIvr8C_Bk That's the first installment I believe. Go to http://www.youtube.com and type farewll my concubine in the search box and you get them all. It can help you widen the amount of people who can participate in your thread, since some might not find the dvd... Don't know how long it'll be up before that gets pulled off for copyright, and haven't checked out the subtitling, but I just got this pm about a full link to Farewell My Concubine, for anyone who can't get their hands on it from stores or mail ordering.
Please do not download it though, and only use it if you really can't get your hands on a copy in other ways. Gong Li needs financial support, too.
Last edited by dolcevita on Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:10 am |
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dolcevita
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Shanghai Triad Review: http://www.worldofkj.com/reviews/Galia/ ... itriad.php
Quote: Zhang Yimou’s most complex narrative and subtle character development, Shanghai Triad is the unsettling coming-of-age story of a young boy, Shuisheng (Wang Xiaoxiao), who is forced to attend to a drug lord’s demanding mistress. If the story’s main focus is Shuisheng or Mistress Xiao Jinghao, played by Gong Li at one of her finest moments, is anyone’s guess, as the story focuses on both their experiences during the collapse of “Boss†Tang’s empire. Yimou’s direction expertly weaves the tale through 1st and 3rd person narratives involving Shuisheng’s and Jinghao’s dawning consciousnesses. Triad’s vision is unique in exploring innocent perception both through Shuisheng’s gaze and Jinghao’s increasingly desperate actions, and the youth’s self-identification through viewing his mistress’s actions anticipates the later use of such techniques in such works as The Virgin Suicides.
Shuisheng arrives in Shanghai under the hand of his uncle who turns him over to Boss Tang, the leader of a massive undercover drug operation in the 1930’s. Shuisheng immediately suffers from extreme over-exposure as he is tossed into the extravagance and opulence of the urban underworld. Yimou lingers on visions of lavish lounges as conversation, jazz, and smoke waft through the dim-lit air. Jinghao makes her entrance onto the stage and performs numbers for her man, but the experience is anything but sentimental, and Shuisheng quickly learns that Jinghao is a vicious, manipulative woman and is carrying an affair behind Tang’s back. Shuisheng’s assumptions about her personality render it nearly impossible to generate sympathy or affection for the demanding Jinghao.
That her efforts are targeted at securing her position and in creating a sense of independence only become evident to him and to us as the story unfolds.
Fat Yu, a rival lord instigates a drug war and forces Tang and his associates to flee and isolate themselves on a rural island. Clearly not in control of her own fate, Jinghao is forced to submit to the self-induced isolation as well, and manages her boredom by obsessing and trying to exert authority over a poor local woman. Her machinations have harsh repercussions in the face of Tang paranoia that someone within his own inner circle is feeding information to Yu. Jinghao desperately struggles to defend all the non-existent power she assumed her previous efforts had accumulated for her, while watching it slowly seep through her fingers like the water that now surrounds her. Her softer side emerges in the panic ensuing from her new consciousness, and Shuisheng clings to it despite his youthful inability to fully comprehend the changes within her or himself.
The two come to depend on each other as they both mature in their physical and emotional isolation until Tang’s suspicions yet again remind them of their utter powerlessness. Tang himself falling from grace introduces extreme methods in an attempt to regain lost ground. Occupied with his own desire to induce respect for himself and his former drug operations, he proceeds to tighten his grip on his remaining associates and liaisons. Stuck on the island with no outside knowledge of their existence, Jinghao and Shuisheng embrace their newly discovered mutual support and defend each other against Tang until the bitter end.
Grade: A
Last edited by dolcevita on Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:11 am |
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Anita Hussein Briem
Yes we can call dibs on the mountain guide
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guau
_________________
(hitokiri battousai)
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:18 pm |
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Chris
life begins now
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sunnier wrote: I've only seen one Gong Li film.
If I want to be a real film aficionado, I better stop neglecting China's brightest star... Same here.
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:02 pm |
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publicenemy#1
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Meh... too bad I can't get Netflix for this month. 
I've only seen Memoirs and 2046...
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:06 pm |
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dolcevita
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publicenemy#1 wrote: Meh... too bad I can't get Netflix for this month. I've only seen Memoirs and 2046... Her movies are readily available in most video stores, even mainstream ones. There's always Miami Vice, and a few points up I have a link to Farewell My Concubine if push comes to shove. I hope to hear from all you guys. Quote: Raise the Red Lantern
Like a Galapagos reptile reproducing its own venom, The Master’s perfect island implodes with violence and desperation. His ceremonial rituals are performed day in and day out to the crushed psychology of his desperate women; women who slip out of sanity each in her own unique way when flaunted with their powerlessness in a utopian bubble of saturated reds, dismal blues, and the pained specters of their likewise ill-fated ancestors.
Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern is an exploration of women who fall mercy to their limited value as wives, mothers, and objects of desire. When young Songlian (Gong Li) can no longer afford university, her stepmother forces her to become the fourth wife of a wealthy man. At the opening of the film Songlian stares straight in the camera confronted with the news of her future. The paltry back wall fades away as she juts her chin out defiantly yet tears begin to streak down her face from unblinking eyes. This is a young woman who expected more. She was trained for more, and Zhang spends a careful two hours detailing Songlian’s slow metamorphosis from caterpillar, to butterfly, to final contact with flame.
When Songlian arrives at The Master’s house, she discovers that the previous three wives have all been assigned their own living quarters. As she is moved into the fourth one she is given the royal treatment. She squirms and blushes her way through receiving her foot massage and pampering until she learns it is all part of being The Master’s wife. The catch she discovers while making the greeting rounds, is that only the wife whom The Master will be spending the night with is entitled to such luxuries from the household. The lucky wife of the night gets to pick the morning cuisine for the entire family as well, where all four wives are forced to consume each other’s selections and chat like good little girls. Songlian is a vegetarian. Wife #3 whom until recently had been the freshest entree in the home makes a point of overstocking morning breakfasts with fish and meat whenever given the opportunity.
“You were a student and I was an opera singer,†Meishan (He Caifei) notes, “We are not as different as you would think.†Meishan, the third wife, plays dirty and fakes sickness to demand The Master’s presence whenever the enigmatic man chooses to spend the night with someone else. She sings under Songlian’s window in the morning to make sure the younger woman cannot get any sleep. She is conniving, an excellent hostess, and beautiful. Songlian can’t stand her, and spends most of her time chatting with wife #2 Zhuoyan (Cao Cuifen). Zhuoyan is a demur and friendly if somewhat comely woman with her own vendetta against her younger replacements. Often a pleasant façade can be misleading.
Songlian becomes paranoid of the two wives and her own maid. The young peasant longs to marry The Master and given any opportunity disrupts Songlian’s attempts to lure The Master to bed. All the women fester in the home of the heart that is not big enough to go around. They grovel and scream and sneak and worse all the while ignoring the warning signals that permeate from a shack on the roof of the complex.
The dead bodies of two wives from earlier generations of The Master’s family fail to impress upon the women how dire their own situations are. The skeletons are drenched out by the red light of the lanterns The Master hangs in the quarter of his selected wife-of-the-night. The public act of selection and degradation drives the wives into a frenzy and the generational “tradition†reflects the more ugly “tradition†in the rooftop mausoleum. The stagnation of pomp and circumstance kills its offspring, and Zhang’s unbalanced wives sink in far above their heads, scrambling to grasp for air and return to the mainland.
The mainland is of course the birth of a son, and only the ancient aloof first wife with her college-bound boy is secure enough to not bother with the squabbling mess of the four-cornered battle. Zhang carefully and beautifully crafts the claustrophobic maze of the housing complex in such a way that one forgets there is something beyond the beautiful island treasure. The vast array of female creatures that inhabit the island do not change, and those that come after them will not change, and viewers get the distinct feeling that the lush sites and sounds mask a species that fails to evolve under the complex owner’s suffocating grip. As the fifth young wife enters the scene, one even sympathizes with the most vicious wife’s plight.
The ugliness and vapidness the actresses spit forth only adds to the depth and complexity of Raise the Red Lantern. Is hatred, cattiness and even bloody rebellion not a byproduct of generational repression? All the actresses do a magnificent job, but especially Gong and Caifei. The two actresses steal the screen as they tango for attention without overstepping their own sense of selves.
“You were a student and I was an opera singer….†How did the strong student who despised marriage suddenly become the jealous demanding wife? “There is no need for thought here,†she replies to a guest as she concedes her loss. She has been relegated to the same skin, the same womb, and the same aspirations as the three wives before her.
She does not settle into the less ambitious role well, however, as neither surprisingly does Meishan. They have class and a past that impedes them from truly pouring their heart and souls into wifedom. Wifedom and the excesses of its “tradition†engulf Songlian in flames. As she is caught restrained by a modern past that gnaws at her presently slipping conscious she is crushed twice over. Her intellectual and defiant spirit is ruined by The Master’s constant red-lit rubbing-in of the nightly winner-and-losers, while with its final gasps that same intellectual and defiant spirit ruins her self-respect and sanity.
Grade: A- Tomorrow night I will be wtaching her first big movie, Red Sorghum, and I'm excited because I've not yet seen it.
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| Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:57 pm |
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dolcevita
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Location: The Damage Control Table
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I just realized I might be the only person who likes Shanghai Triad more than Raise the Red Lantern. They have *some* similar themes, but I actually thought Triad was a little subtle, and also I liked the perspective of looking through the eyes of a small boy and maturing as he does.
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| Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:00 am |
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MadGez
Dont Mess with the Gez
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:54 am
Posts: 23246
Location: Melbourne Australia
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I bought 2046 a couple of months back but havnt seen it yet, so i'll watch it and I'll rent Farewell My Concubine this weekend. Have always wanted to watch Raise the Red Lantern - so will see if i can find that! _________________
What's your favourite movie summer? Let us know @
http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=85934
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| Fri Jul 21, 2006 12:31 am |
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