Film-Philosophy
Journal | Salon | Portal (ISSN 1466-4615)
Vol. 7 No. 35, October 2003
Never Forfeit the Self: The Art of Zhang Yimou
_Zhang Yimou: Interviews_
Edited by Frances Gateward
Conversations with
Filmmakers Series Jackson: University Press
of Mississippi, 2001 ISBN 1578062624 169 pp. Edited by Frances
Gateward, _Zhang Yimou: Interviews_ is intended to introduce
the reader to world-renowned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou.
The Introduction itself situates his work within the context
of the Chinese film industry and the 'Fifth Generation' of
Chinese cinema. [1] Gateward advances a reasonably
cogent, but truncated argument for Zhang's inclusion in the
ranks of the top directors in world cinema. The Introduction
strikes a good balance between providing enough information
to orient the reader, as well as raising key issues in brief
that stimulate the reader's interest and provide an
invitation for continued exploration of Zhang's work.
The volume is composed of
a chronology of Zhang's life, filmography, and eighteen
mostly previously published interviews that span the years
1988-1999, a period that includes many of Zhang's most
notable films: _Red Sorghum_ (1987), _Ju Dou_ (1989), and
_The Story of Qiu Ju_ (1992). Unfortunately, films such as
_Raise the Red Lantern_ (1991), _To Live_ (1994), _Shanghai
Triad_ (1995), _Keep Cool_ (1997), _Not One Less_ (1999) and
_The Road Home_ (1999) are covered unevenly. Although due in
part to the unavoidable restrictions of the book's interview
format, it does result in a narrower focus that might
otherwise be preferred by readers who are more widely
familiar with Zhang's work. This is not to say that the
volume fails entirely to break new ground. For example, it
was interesting to discover that Zhang rates _Shanghai
Triad_ as one of his less successful films. He notes that
'it relied on factors such as monetary investment and
societal concerns that forced me to make something I didn't
love' (141). Such information is invaluable in coming to a
deeper understanding of the production context in which
Zhang works. One of the most
interesting aspects of the volume's scope is the emergence
of Zhang's philosophy of contemporary society and his place
within it as a filmmaker. In discussing Chinese society as a
whole, Zhang contends that: 'if a nation wants to
develop toward the future, if it wants to be powerful and
prosperous or influential, it simply has to have a vitality
and burning passion toward life. No matter how much you
suffer and no matter how tragic your fate, you need courage
to live' (8). This implies the need to
take risks and to challenge established authority, two
elements that are clearly articulated in the subject matter
of Zhang's films themselves. In addition, the volume offers
valuable insight regarding Zhang's production philosophy and
narrative approach to his subjects. Zhang, who believes that
the terms 'fifth' and 'sixth generation' are too
restrictive, advocates a commitment to the 'director's
extremely individual point of view' (92). Passionately
connected to his subject matter, Zhang creates strong
emotional connections with writers and crew members as a
means of forging film works with distinctive aesthetic
styles. For example, Zhang expresses nostalgia for the early
days when he was able to assist crew members with whatever
job was necessary, indicating a certain discomfort with the
elevated status that comes with being an internationally
acclaimed director (80). When asked if such participation is
necessary, Zhang replies, 'even if you carry one brick to
everyone else's ten, you're still conducting a kind of
emotional communication' (80). Such assertions reveal an
intriguing paradox given the value Zhang apparently places
on the collaborative process of filmmaking while
foregrounding the importance of a director's individual
viewpoint. Another aspect of Zhang's
commitment to filmmaking as an art that emerges from the
interviews is his dedication to risk-taking in his narrative
and aesthetic approaches. He states that a film's vitality
and personality are very important and he decries
'uninspired, overcautious popular filmmaking' (141). Driven
to 'make stories live', Zhang argues that 'motion without
thoughts can only be dead actions' (113, 117). What emerges
from the interviews is a complex portrait of a filmmaker who
is devoted to allowing each film 'to find its own means of
expression' (5). One of the most interesting aspects of this
approach relates to Zhang's use of literary adaptation as a
foundation for many of his films. He clearly values
literature, but recognises that a filmic presentation of a
novel is an artistic expression distinct from its literary
origin (5). Zhang's observation that 'film only goes by
once, and its form of viewing is compelling', indicates a
deep understanding of the two media that contribute to the
power of his narrative approach (5). Given this context,
Zhang's aesthetic and formal approach involves a mutable
relationship with style that demands 'a new approach to the
image' in every film he undertakes (89, 62). For example,
Zhang describes his early films as having 'more esthetic
'wrapping', closer to painting in some ways' (62). However,
Zhang suggests that _To Live_ takes the image beyond this
level, making it both more complex and simpler in nature
(62). In addition, Zhang states that his early works
'favored estheticism' while his later works focus more on
character and the individual story (62). Such information
provides the reader with a sense of how Zhang's art has
evolved over the course of his career and his statement that
he hopes to better incorporate the use of form from his
early films with 'more precise and intense work on the
characters', reveals his ongoing commitment to artistic
growth (62). Zhang's relationship with
the camera clearly emerges over the course of the interviews
as one of the most critical factors in his filmmaking. When
asked if _The Story of Qiu Ju_ was inspired by an image as
many of his previous films had been, Zhang replies that he
found the best way of adapting the story to the screen was
to place the camera at eye level, making it a character in
the film itself (15). In another example, the camera in
_Keep Cool_ symbolically reflects the 'epitome of the
contemporary person, moving restlessly and often reversing
roles' (122). In this case, Zhang was seeking to avoid
objective distance and create an impromptu freedom through
his camerawork that captured the argumentative nature of
mainland Chinese people (121-122). These examples
demonstrate how Zhang actively incorporates the camera into
the ideological and narrative structures of his films.
One of the disadvantages
of the interview format of the volume is that there is
overlap of information between interviews. Furthermore,
information must be gleaned across the entirety of the
volume. In addition, the interviews are sometimes uneven,
certainly in terms of length, but also in terms of the
quality of information contained within them. For example, I
found the 1996 interview, 'Paving Chinese Film's Road to the
World' by Li Erwei (74-98), to be one of the best in the
volume because of the quality of questions asked and the
interviewer's ability to elicit interesting details from
Zhang. On the other hand, the inclusion of the 1995 piece by
Renee Schoof, titled 'Zhang Yimou: Only Possible Work
Environment in China' (71-73), is a press brief that does
not add significantly to the discussion. However, Gatewood's
selection of interviews is generally strong and broad enough
to provide sufficient new material that sustains the
reader's interest over the course of the book. Another shortcoming,
albeit minor, is that the book is better aimed at readers
unfamiliar with Zhang's work. When I initially began the
explore the volume, I was interested in discovering more
about Zhang's thoughts on his less prominent works, but
found instead, an emphasis on his most acclaimed films. In
particular, because I teach _Raise the Red Lantern_ in a
film narrative course, I was hoping to find information that
specifically illuminated Zhang's narrative and aesthetic
choices. To a degree, Gatewood is somewhat restricted by the
availability of existing interviews, given the context and
timeline of the book. However, I was able to learn a great
deal about the general production and philosophical process
that underlies Zhang's filmwork. Once again, this
information is spread out across the volume and requires
patience and close reading to develop a sense of his
filmmaking practice. One practical aspect of the volume that
really stands out is the excellent way in which the index is
organized, especially around thematic issues relating to his
works. Overall, I found the
volume to be engaging and useful. It is very appropriate for
student use and also contains salient insights that will be
of use to critics and theorists working in the area of
world, Asian and/or narrative cinema. Regina, Canada Footnote 1. Berenice Reynaud
provides a succinct description of this term as referring to
Chinese filmmakers who entered the Beijing Film Academy in
1978, when it reopened after the Cultural Revolution. She
goes on to argue that: 'it is often assumed that
the term 'generation' is used to designate the distinct role
that each decade's filmmakers have played in the political
and aesthetic construction of a national cinema in China.
Tony Rayns, however, states that the Fifth Generation
directors were simply 'the fifth class to graduate from the
school's Directing Department' (Rayns, 1991: 104) while, for
Chris Berry, the term highlights the stylistic breakthrough
between Fifth Generation films and those which preceded them
(Berry 1991: 116).' Reynaud, 'Chinese Cinema', p.
543. Bibliography Berry, Chris, ed.,
_Perspectives on Chinese Cinema_ (London: British Film
Institute, 1991). Rayns, Tony, 'Breakthrough
and Setbacks: the Origins of the New Chinese Cinema', in
Chris Berry, ed., _Perspectives on Chinese Cinema_ (London:
British Film Institute, 1991). Reynaud, Berenice,
'Chinese Cinema', in John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson,
eds, _The Oxford Guide to Film Studies_ (Oxford and New
York: Oxford University Press, 1998). Copyright ©
Film-Philosophy 2003 Sheila Petty, 'Never
Forfeit the Self: The Art of Zhang Yimou',
_Film-Philosophy_, vol. 7 no. 35, October 2003
<http://www.film-philosophy.com/vol7-2003/n35petty>. Join the _Film-Philosophy_
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