New film brings Zhang home

Record box office takings tipped as director returns to favorite themes

It was no surprise when Zhang Yimou's latest film Coming Home raked in 82.4 million yuan (about $13.47 million) at the box office on its opening weekend.

The highly anticipated drama made 30 million yuan on May 16, an opening-day record for a Zhang movie, according to the film's production company Le Vision Pictures.

Critics predict the film will earn between 200 million and 300 million yuan, which may be a record for an arthouse film in China. Zhang has seldom had to worry about the box office with films such as Hero (2002) grossing 250 million yuan, the highest then in the country.

But this time he abandoned commercial aspirations to return to one of his favorite themes: a love story with twists and turns. Coming Home is Zhang tugging at his artistic roots, critics say.

Based on the last 30 pages of The Criminal Lu Yanshi, a novel by Yan Geling, Coming Home, which stars Gong Li and Chen Daoming, shows how a former professor attempts but fails to reach his wife as he is transferred from one labor camp to another in the early '70s. He returns home after three years only to find his wife has amnesia.

The romantic film has three main characters and its plot and settings are simple similar to Zhang's previous stories Red Sorghum (1987) and Ju Dou (1992).

"In this film, Zhang Yimou doesn't use magnificent scenery to impress audiences. Rather he tries to evoke their emotions in an aesthetic way," says Yin Hong, a professor at Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication.

Zhang has returned to his love of films with depth and soul, turning his back of commercial crowd pleasers, adds Yin.

Zhang's career peaked from the '80s through the early '90s, when he focused on the gritty realities of life. But with Hero, he began to direct commercial blockbusters.

After 2002, Zhang directed expensive martial arts films with epic scenes, including House of Flying Daggers (2004), Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) and A Simple Noodle Story (2009). They received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.

Zhang has the artistic capacity to depict emotions and sex in their extremes, says Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University. The focus on emotions between Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu in Coming Home is Zhang's attempt to return to his gritty style.

Coming Home is also the first collaboration between Gong Li and Zhang since Curse of the Golden Flower in 2006. "Gong Li is Zhang's exquisite inspiration for every film during his peak period," says Zhang Yiwu, adding that working with Gong is another sign of Zhang's return to his artistic roots.

"But one film like Coming Home doesn't mean Zhang will simply return exclusively to art films," says Zhang Yiwu. The director reveals something new in every film, he adds.

Zhang's films are noted for their rich use of color. The muted use of color in his latest movie means it is different from his earlier art films, including the Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern (1991).

Coming Home has attracted a niche audience so far. The prospects for Chinese cinema is bright but finding an audience is a different question for every Chinese director, Zhang Yimou included, says Zhang Yiwu.

Contact the writiers at features@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/30/2014 page25)