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. Grammatically, spring in a small town alternates between pained closeup and inner monologue. What couldve so quickly evolved into an exaggerated melodrama, spring in a small town conserves its heartrendering strength because director fei mu and screenwriter li tianji maintain a tight clasp on the controlled emotions of its narratives moment in time. A young woman, yuwen, languishes within the bombdamaged walls of a small town. Spring and springtime in a small town slant magazine. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun 2002. Spring in a small town 1948 stream and watch online. The film initially depicts a quintessentially english landscape, apparently unaffected by war fields, animals, the village school and then very publicly assimilates an african girl. Tian, along with his beijing film academy cinematography department classmates zhang yimou and chen kaige, revitalized chinese cinema in the mid1980s, giving it an international profile that. Oct 02, 2009 ten years after he made the blue kite, director tian returns to the screen with a homage to director fei mu who made the first version of this film in 1948. After a long, harsh winter, springtime is welcomed by the dai family who live in a small town in postwar southern china, 1946. 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.
Sep 25, 2003 springtime in a small town is a remake of a 1948 chinese film classic that ive not seen. One is natacha florence darel, a teenage piano student. Dec 19, 20 springtime in a small town is a film that explores the slumps in a marriage. Endless tracking shots and pregnant looks add to its pretentiousness. A lonely housewife finds her monotonous life altered when her childhood sweetheart returns to town. Springtime in a small town moves at a leisurely pace. 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. The film was produced by the wenhua film company in shanghai, one of the two important production companies formed by leftleaning filmmakers in the city to spearhead a. Spring in a small town 1948 trailer bfi dvd youtube. 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.
Springtime in a small town won the san marco prize at the 2002 venice film festival, and was. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun 2002 rotten. Xiaocheng zhi chun is a 2002 chinese film directed by tian zhuangzhuang. Even with my rudimentary command of chinese, i could follow most of the dialogue even without the subtitles. Tian zhuangzhuangs springtime in a small town is a poetic, ponderous remake of a celebrated 1948 chinese film by fei mu. Springtime in a small town on dvd 660200308520 from palm pictures.
The film is a remake of director fei mus 1948 film and its original. While the couple is going through a tough time, a third person presents itself as a welcome diversion. A husband with the terminal illness and his young wife live in a quiet small town. Tian zhuangzhuangs springtime in a small town heralds the longanticipated return of one of chinas leading fifthgeneration filmmakers. Spring in a small town xiaocheng zhi chun, china 1948 the. Fei mu at this time finished the film in only three months, not using scripts for his actors and cutting the screenplay by two thirds. The film is a remake of director fei mu s 1948 film and its original screenwriter is li tianji chinese.
Set in a small north texan town that has long passed its golden days, the last picture show is a powerful comingofage tale about a group of 1950s highschool students. A wealthy estate owner, liyan wu jun, lives in a small town in a handsome property that has been extensively damaged by japanese bombers at the end of the second world war. Li tianjis short story springtime in a small town was first adapted for the screen by director fei mu in 1948. Its springtime 1946, less than a year since the japanese troops withdrew from china.
Springtime in a small town sadly seems to be an exercise in how to make a tortuously dull arthouse film. A cut of this film that has been restored by the british film institute is now available. Though the two movies are referred to by different english titles, they share the same title in. This film is quite a tough watch, as the town feels soulless and the residents arent exactly the nicest, most moralistic of people. 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. Jeanne is between apartments, and doesnt much want to spend the night at the apartment of her lover.
Now, rereleased, the original exists in a remarkable. The other is jeanne anne teyssedre, who teaches philosophy. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun dvd. The best films set insmalltown america an online universe. Not a perfect movie, granted, i couldnt rate it more than the 8 i gave it, but such a nice little piece of work. The film is a remake of director fei mus 1948 film and its original screenwriter is li tianji chinese. Set in the late 1940s, the film depicts a desolate existence, with ghostly figures inhabiting a. 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. Xiaowan li, yatming tang, cheng ah, mu fei, tianji li. 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.
The soundtrack is also bad, sometimes cutting out at key points. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun movie. Spring in a small town is a chinese film released in 1948 and directed by fei mu, a director. By using the classical zhi pronounced jr to indicate that this spring belongs to the small town, director fei mu exchanges the normal. The ceremonial conclusion of springtime in an english village seeks to represent not only the crowning of an african girl as may queen, but more broadly the integration of africans within the british empire.
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. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one print of the film. 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 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. Taking place in the aftermath of the second sinojapanese war, it manages to convey a palpably deep sense of destruction in both its. Born today most popular celebs most popular celebs celebrity news. Fei mus 1948 classic, which is a faithful rendition of a short story by li tianji, subtly places itself in the context of literary tradition. 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. 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 xiao cheng zhi chun jingfan. 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, and tians new version of the story doesnt entirely.
The original film was made in shanghai by fei mu, a year before the communist victory. A visitor arrives from shanghai, a doctor whos an old school friend of liyans and, unbeknownst to her husband, yuwens childhood sweetheart. In her scant free time she ghost writes her grans wildly popular advice column and tends to her beloved oneeyed, cross dressing, english bulldog. Xiao cheng zhi chun springtime in a small town film. With jingfan hu, jun wu, bai qing xin, xiao keng ye. A highly charged erotic chamber drama about unfulfilled adulterous passion, springtime in a small town, made one year before the communist victory in mainland china, is set in 1946, shortly after the japanese retreat. Springtime in a small town marks his return to the cinema, and although the film is decidedly. 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. If this had been a western romancedrama there wouldve been passionate nights, remorse and a lot of kissing and fondling, but as this is the chinese variant the film. In the springtime of the year opens with the death of ben bryce, a young man in his 20s whom we only get to know posthumously but one who has clearly left his imprint on all who knew him. Springtime in a small town xiao cheng zhi chun jingfan hu. 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. 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. Xiao cheng zhi chun springtime in a small town film, 2002.
And because its a work of taste and tact, you can watch it in a pleasurable state. It unfolds in and around the ruins of a mansion in the middle of nowhere in southern china that figures as the city of the. A bluebell cafe cozy mystery 3 book series kindle edition. Dai is married to yuwen who had a passionate love affair with zhang many years ago. 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.
It is springtime in vermont, and harriets life is finally on a roll. Spring in a small town xiaocheng zhi chun, china 1948. 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. The film was produced and funded by wenhua film company, which was facing a great financial deficit while producing this. Review of the film spring in a small town epistemologicallywise. Jul 03, 2008 xiao cheng zhi chun springtime in a small town a film by zhuangzhuang tian. Dying as a result of a freak accidentan apparently healthy tree suddenly falling on himben, as a friend notes, had been at one with things 62. Seen by many as the greatest chinese film ever, spring in a small town is different from other films of the era. Spring in a small town 1948 letterboxd social film.
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. He visits his old school friend dai liyan who seems to be permanently ill both physically and spiritually. The film is in black and white and its screenwriter is li tianji chinese. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. For his first feature since 1993s acclaimed the blue kite, director tian zhuangzhuang chose to remake a classic 1948 chinese film, springtime in a small town. Sep 30, 2014 spring in a small town was not properly seen again until the 1980s in china and has been unavailable in the uk for many years but has now been released in a restored version by the bfi. 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. Small towns, small stories, big hearts im looking for all kinds of those small town movies, but you know. Spring in a small town 1948 chinese movie database. Springtime in a small town tian zhuangzhuang the horse thief, one of chinas greatest living filmmakers, has had a difficult career because of his political outspokenness, and this 2002. Dec 01, 2004 springtime in a small town begins with a dedication to the filmmakers of the 1948 version director mu fei, for example, made several films in the two decades before the communist takeover of. I value all recommendations, especially since this is a subgenre i got a real weakness for.
The eightyear marriage of liyan and yuwen has left them both unfulfilled and distant. Spring in a small town is a highly appraised chinese movie from the 1940s. Springtime in a small town is a 2002 chinese film directed by tian zhuangzhuang. 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. With exquisite delicacy, writerdirector tian zhuangzhuang dissects the complexity of a womans heart. The more they talk, the more they realize that they enjoy each other more than the party that they didnt really want to come to the party anyway. It is now hailed by chinese critics as one of the greatest films in shanghai cinema and indeed one of the best films in chinese film history. The film was produced by the wenhua film company in shanghai, one of the two important production companies formed by leftleaning filmmakers in the city to spearhead a postwar revival in chinese cinema. Small towns through the movies rich hill independent. This is tians first film since the blue kite, a decade ago. Springtime in a small town picks no quarrels with the film bureau. Im over your superfluous dramatic snowstorm phase, your obsession with wind, and your new favorite trick of drawing us outside using superbright sunshine, only to slap us.
860 36 1371 1470 441 1491 1428 224 1073 1081 274 826 630 1254 1485 1477 460 1054 254 130 53 716 877 1299 912 396 909 602 1210 924 854 655 111 977 832 830 327 504 328 47