Critics fail to warm to father-son drama
By Xiao Dao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-18 09:37
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Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival. His Shanghai Dreams won the Jury Prize in 2005. This time round though, his work has not enjoyed the same favor with the critics.
Wang is competing for the Golden Palm with his poignant father-son drama Chongqing Blues, which is set in the foggy city in Southwest China and tells the story of an aged sailor's search for the reason for his son's violent death.
Screen Daily speaks highly of the strong performance by veteran actor Wang Xueqi as the father, who "provides emotional ballast", though critic Lee Marshall said his performance "fails to make up for the glacial pacing of the drama."
Variety's Justin Chang notes that the film "opens up with a handful of quietly affecting moments, but elsewhere bogs down in psycho-dramatic flashbacks that ultimately sentimentalize as much as they clarify."
Wang, 44, is known for his hard and sharp looks at China's growing pains. But most of his works have not performed well at the local box office. Chongqing Blues is due to be released in China in June.
However, while the film has received a lukewarm reception at the festival, Wang's leading actress Fan Bingbing has been stealing the show with her glamorous outfits.
Fan, who plays a doctor in Wang's film, walked onto the red carpet at the film's premiere in a "Dragon Robe", co-designed by a Chinese designer and Fan herself.
The dress, featuring a dragon pattern and the yellow color only emperors could use in ancient China, made quite a stir. "I just wanted to wear something very Chinese," Fan says.
Mainland actress Qin Hailu wrote in her blog that Fan is apparently wearing her ambition.
Fan continued to stun the photographers with dresses by Elie Saab Couture and Valentino.
The three dresses ranked 1st, third and fifth in the "Cannes Day 2 best-dressed list" by fashion website www.redcarpet-fashionawards.com.
Chinese director Jia Zhangke is also in Cannes with the film I Wish I Knew, a semi-documentary retrospective of Shanghai, which is part of the world cinema showcase Un Certain Regard.
Rocker Cui Jian was at the festival to promote his first stand-alone feature as a director, The Blue Bone, a music-themed drama set against the upheaval of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).
The festival ends on May 23.