The art of marketing: all things to all men

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-23 09:26

More and more "main melody" auteurs are changing the substance while retaining the label, a technique the Chinese call "new wine in an old bottle". The Knot is supposed to be a parable about the indestructible bond between Taiwan and the mainland, but Yin Li basically turned it into a Titanic-style three-handkerchief romance with little political overtone. However, the film authorities seemed unaware of the not-so-subtle differences among the genres. They submitted the blockbuster to the Oscar, which rarely takes commercial movies or propaganda ones.

Even within traditional demarcation of genres, film promoters have to be supple and show a different face to a different demographic.

Painted Skin, last year's runaway hit that grossed 200 million yuan ($29.3 million), sold to the audience as a horror flick and retained their loyalty as a family drama focusing on the ethics from a love triangle. Yet, its tagline is "China's first oriental fantasy", which hints at non-existent parallels with The Lord of the Ring. It couldn't call itself "a thriller" because horror pictures are nominally banned. Yet, most Chinese bought it as a horror story because it originates from the best-known horror literature in Chinese history.

In dealing with censors, filmmakers have to find ingenious ways to compromise yet keep their artistic integrity. Trouble Makers ruthlessly pierces the blanket of grassroots corruption.

A village in the hinterland is almost taken over by forces of evil, leaving little chance for redemption. Then, out of the blue, a battalion of law-enforcement officers literally jumped from the sky and arrested the bad guys. Audiences were aghast at this turn of plot. But for first-time director Cao Baoping, "I have to abide by the rules of the game", which are often unspecified. For the culturally sensitive, this striking use of "deus ex machine" adds a big dose of satire.

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