Hai zi wang (1988)

Hai zi wang: Directed by Kaige Chen. With Yuan Xie, Xuewen Yang, Shaohua Chen, Caimei Zhang. This film is adapted from the novel of Ah Cheng. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), a young man is assigned to teach in village school.

“Sometimes it happens, but it happened to Cheng Kaige very sadly. I say about the cases when very talented young director, who could have become one of 10 greatest directors in history of cinema, loses his potential greatness by the underestimation of his best film. It happened to Sokurovu0026#39;s u0026quot;The days of eclipseu0026quot;, but not so sadly. It didnu0026#39;t happen to Robert Bresson, because he had very strong will and faith.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhy,this vivid and human film with ambitious vision,did won nothing in Canne, without the most shameful prize for the most boring film!! Juries were fools? Or they refused to give Chinese director any honor to his artistic results(I say it not because Iu0026#39;m an Asian,but because I love film art)? I canu0026#39;t understand it at all.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Hai zi wangu0026quot; is cheerful as Jan Vigou0026#39; films, human as Kurosawau0026#39;s best films, revolutional as Antonioniu0026#39;s best films, beautiful as Tarkovskyu0026#39;s best films. Yes, it has some weakness compared with them, but we can understand the reason. 1987 is the time, when all great directors of older generation had already done their best works or already died. And in China all progressive cinema hadnu0026#39;t shown. Studio system was dead almost everywhere in the world.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe result of this underestimation pushed the director toward Hollywood. The next film was still good, but not as u0026quot;Hai zi wangu0026quot;. The film about two actors of traditional Chinese theater won in Canne, but is was completely different film, with Hollywood style.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe great director Cheng Kaige has lost his way…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe, spectator can still compensate for this. Just watch this human story, with philosophical depth and cinematographic novelty, and remember it as film art. And letu0026#39;s welcome and estimate properly when such films will appear next time.”