MovieChat Forums > Mang jing (2003) Discussion > the best chinese film in years!

the best chinese film in years!

posted 20 years ago by ssf_sunny
14 replies | jump to latest

as a native born chinese, i think this is what i want all chinese to see. luckily i am studying london so i got a chance to see it, and now i can't wait to get a copy of it.

[–] xjing52 19 years ago

I'm chinese too. I bought the DVD in China in this Eastern holiday when I came back China. it is very easy to find this movie in DVD stores in China now.it got a lot of good comments by chinese interviewers in internet in 2003 and 2004.
It is really one of the best movie in china. Except the perfect story and metapher, It demonstrates true lives of miner and the true status of "min gong". I also feel sad this status can't be changed by a good movie.

[–] bex250 19 years ago

Chinese neo realism at it's best! I watched it on World Movies twice in a row. I loved the script, the structure. Come to think of it, it has a certain "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" feel about it. I definately reccomend it.
-Bruno

[–] thunder2 18 years ago

Well said, pure Chinese neo-realism that i mostly miss in many Chinese films these days. Structurally it's quite old-fashiened as well.

[–] smakdaddy99999 18 years ago

This is an alright film. I would like to actually see it remade by an American director...that's b/c I think this film would be more effective as a Tales from the Crypt-style short story rather than a feature length film. Besides, I didn't think the social commentary was all the effective. I do admit that this film was FAIRLY effective in exploring the dark nature of mankind though--which is why I think it is more suitable as a Tales from the Crypt episode.

Shorten it to 30-minutes, make it topical by having the setting take place at a West Virginia mine (especially in light of the recent mine tragedies in that state), add more violence and gore, and I think it will be a hit w/ American audiences. Then again, it would prolly offend some purists who would accuse the remake of "pandering" to a lower-level audience. And I admit its a controversial idea to begin with...

[–] helen-mullane 18 years ago

Please tell me your joking about this.

Please say that you don't really think that to make something topical you must set it in America.

[–] jim_of_oz 18 years ago

You don't find a few hundred monthly buried Chinese coal miners topical? West Virigina coal mines are spas compared with China's. Like someone else mentioned, I hope you're just trying to be satirical.

[–] buff_babydoll 17 years ago

smakdaddy9999

-i find your comment incredibly offensive, first off all you are essentially disregarding the "social commentary" which is actually the main message of the film. i've been to rural china and this film depicts it as it is. all the poverty, suffering and corruption is exactly how people there live everyday.

secondly your suggestions on adding "blood and gore" to make it suitable to American audiences...well lets just say i was left both laughing at such a ludicrous suggestion and shaking my head at the fact that you would think that a film must "be a hit with American audiences" It is attitudes like yours that generate much of the anti-american sentiment in the world.

this film is NOT meant to be a run of the mill horror/murder mystery. It IS an inditement of society and tries to make us more aware and to poke at our conscience. I see that much of this went right over your head.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Rachel1913 17 years ago

I saw this movie today, and it truly depicts the stark realism that is evident in many more Chinese films of today. Making this film into an American blockbuster would only take away from the raw and real message that is shown of the bleak lives that the poor must lead, especially wandering workers. Using more special effects or a studio and such would create a false image of what is actually occurring in China.

[–] kasparhauser44 17 years ago

this is really the worst analysis of this brilliant film i've ever heard.

[–] mac_alain 14 years ago

I would like to actually see it remade by an American director...

I would like to actually see your comment rewritten by someone who knows what they are talking about. Sheesh

[–] KelsiKnightley 14 years ago

I saw this film in class yesterday, it was absolutely amazing.

[–] kasparhauser44 16 years ago

i saw this film in maybe late 2004 or early 2005. it was easily the best new film i had seen in the previous 12 months. it is so different from the contemporary chinese masters zhang yimou or chen kiage. thereis a rawness to it that you don't see in the more polished chinese films that is very refreshing. along with kurdish filmmaker bahman ghobadi, li yang is one of the best new filmmakers of the last 10 years. these are films that could never be made in a conventional manner. the highest praise is deserved for this masterpiece and this master filmmaker.

[–] roytien2006 16 years ago

I agree. Best Chinese film since In The Heart Of The Sun.