Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue
TIFF is currently screening Jai Zhang-ke’s latest film, “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue”. Jai is the greatest and most internationally renowned of China’s “Sixth Generation” directors. “Swimming” is the final panel in his trilogy about the arts in China, following Dong (2006) and Useless (2007). In the intervening years Jia has directed award winning narrative films including Ash Is Purest White, Mountains May Depart, and A Touch of Sin.
Jia Zhang-ke’s latest traces the history of contemporary China through the lives and writings of four of the country’s prolific literary figures.
Lee Jutton or Film Inquiry describes it as “An ode to the importance of art that is a work of art itself, …. a fascinating look at contemporary China.” –
In May 2019, a large number of prominent Chinese writers and scholars gathered in a village in China’s Shanxi Province — which happens to be director Jia Zhang-ke’s native province. Images from this literary event open Jia’s latest work, an 18-chapter “symphony” that follows a quasi-musical structure classic Chinese novels have often used. The story is told through memories of the late writer-activist Ma Feng and the testimonies of three major writers still active today: Jia Pingwa, who was born in the 1950s; Yu Hua, born in the 1960s; and Liang Hong, born in the ’70s. As these writers recount their own lives and literary careers, Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue weaves a 70-year spiritual history of Chinese society.
TIFF Bonus Content: Rental includes an 18-minute conversation with Jia Zhang-ke from the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. (Mandarin, with English and Chinese subtitles.) Scroll down to watch.
Film Critic’s
Katherine Connnell in POV Magazine http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/swimming-out-till-the-sea-turns-blue-jia-zhang-ke
IMDB rating 6.2 / 10
Rotten Tomatoes Tomato Meter for critics
To access the film go to: digital TIFF Bell Lightbox | Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue Price: $11.99 + taxes and fees
The World of Wong Kar Wai
FREE at TIFF
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is mounting an online retrospective on the work of China’s iconic Director Wong Kar Wai. Wong Kar Wai is contemporary cinema’s supreme rhapsodist of romantic longing. He makes mesmerizing mood pieces that swirl around themes of time, dislocation, and the yearning for human connection. His masterpiece, In the Mood for Love, is considered by many to be among the cinematic features ever made.
The information at TIFF’s web site indicates that the festival starts at 10:00 AM December 4 2020 and it is FREE. As of November 30 2020 it is not clear how long The World of Wong Kar Wai will be available on TIFF.
7 films are included in the retrospective: As Tears Go By, Chungking Express, Days of Being Wild, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, and The Hand
Sing Me a Lullaby
Toronto Director Tiffany Hsiung’s personal documentary is available free on CBC’s GEM service. This award winning documentary (Best Short Film – Directors Guild of Canada. A win and a nomination at TIFF 2020. Selected for DOC NYC Awards Short List 2020. Rated at 9.6/10 on IMDB) captured 14 years across two continents. It is a story about a daughter’s search for her mother’s birth parents in Taiwan and the complex tensions between love and sacrifice.
For a review see The Film Stages article, 10 Must See Films at TIFF 2020 https://thefilmstage.com/10-must-see-short-films-at-tiff-2020/
Baby: The Secret Diary of A Mom To Be (North American Premiere)
Directed by Luk Yee-Sum. – Hong Kong 2019. 94 mins. OV Cantonese Subtitles: English/Chinese. Genre: Comedy, Romance
https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/baby-the-secret-diary-of-a-mom-to-be
Carmen (Dada Chan Ching, VULGARIA) is a top-tier marketing professional with a rewarding job, an exciting lifestyle, and a lovable husband in handsome athlete Oscar (Kevin Chu Kam-yin, LION ROCK). Two in their home is enough, so childlessness suits them just fine (mind you, it’s not the preference of Carmen’s mother-in-law, Margaret). Moreover, she sees all too clearly what motherhood means when she visits with her friends. So when Carmen finds out she’s three months pregnant, she’s hardly filled with a maternal glow. Seeing the process through will mean a lot of struggles, with circumstances, with those around her, and most of all with herself.
Hot Docs at Home has recently announced it is screening the documentary: Denise Ho: Becoming the Song
The World Is Bright
*Now Available on Crave TV
Duration: 116 Minutes
When an elderly Chinese couple are notified by the Canadian government about their son Shi-Ming’s sudden death and burial on Canadian soil, they embark on a decade-long investigation to uncover the truth behind his tumultuous life as a young immigrant in Canada. Skilfully employing a docu-thriller style and staying steadfastly committed to the story, director Ying Wang follows the grieving parents for ten years as they navigate a new culture and a complex web of bureaucracy in search of answers. While tracing Shi-Ming’s footsteps through re-enactments and interviews with those closest to him, Wang explores the intricate connection between parental expectations, migration and mental health. A powerful testament to parental devotion, The World is Bright takes a look at mental health within immigrant communities through the sensitive portrayal of two parents channelling their grief into hope. Mariam Zaidi.
Kanopy’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month – Influential Chinese Films
In Canada we celebrate “Asian Heritage Month”. In the United States of America they celebrate “Asian Pacific American Heritage Month”. To mark Asian Pacific American Month Kanopy compiled a list of “Influential” Asian Films. The list includes the 11 Chinese films from mainland China and Taiwan. These films are listed below. They cover a wide range of subjects from the Japanese siege of Nanking in 1937 (an event which still influences Sino-Japanese relations) to several films which were key to the evolution of Kung Fu movies, to detective stories, and experimental art films. These films were released between 1977 and 2019.
Kanopy is an award-winning video streaming service providing access to more than 30,000 independent and documentary films ─ titles of unique social and cultural value from The Criterion Collection, The Great Courses, Media Education Foundation, and thousands of independent filmmakers. Kanopy offers high quality films and documentaries from art-house classics to world cinema, available to play on your PC, phone, tablet and digital media player. Kanopy’s catalogue of films is available through most North American libraries (including the Ottawa and Gatineau Public Libraries) and educational institutions.
If you belong to the Ottawa or Gatineau Public Library you can stream up to 4 films per month without a fee. Information on accessing Kanopy through the Ottawa Public Library is here. https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/resources/kanopy
City of Life and Death
On December 9, 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to the Chinese capital of Nanking, beginning a reign of terror that killed as many as 300,000 civilians — an infamous tragedy now referred to as the Rape of Nanking. The first big-budget fiction film by the Chinese to deal with this seminal event in their modern history, CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH is a visceral, heartbreaking portrait of life during wartime, and an unforgettable masterpiece of contemporary world cinema.
Running Time 137 mins
Year 2009
Filmmakers Lu Chuan
Features Hideo Nakaizumi, Wei Fan, Ye Liu
Long Day’s Journey Into Night
Bi Gan follows up his knockout debut, Kaili Blues, with this noir-tinged stunner about a lost soul on a quest to find a missing woman from his past. Following leads across Guizhou province, he crosses paths with a series of colorful characters. When the search leads him to a dingy movie theater, the film launches into an hour-long, gravity-defying sequence shot that plunges its protagonist–and us–into a labyrinthine cityscape.
Nominated for a Un Certain Regard Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“A densely layered and slowly mesmerizing cinematic feat.” – Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter
Running Time 139 mins
Year 2019
Filmmakers Bi Gan
Features Hong-Chi Lee, Jue Huang, Sylvia Chang, Wei Tang, Yongzhong Chen
Languages Mandarin
Chan is Missing
Acclaimed filmmaker Wayne Wang’s first feature film CHAN IS MISSING follows the adventures of two cabbies on their search through San Francisco’s Chinatown for a mysterious character who has disappeared with $4,000 of their money. Their quest to figure out what happened to Chan and their missing cash leads them on a humorous journey that illuminates the pitfalls of Chinese-Americans trying to assimilate into contemporary American society.
Winner of Best Experimental/Independent Film at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. Selected for preservation by the National Film Preservation Board, USA.
“A whimsical treasure of a film that gives us a real feeling for the people of San Francisco’s Chinatown.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Running Time 77 mins
Year 1982
Filmmakers Wayne Wang
Pushing Hands
Academy Award Winner Ang Lee (The Life of Pi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) made his directorial debut with this acclaimed drama about an elderly Tai chi master’s struggles to fit into American society.
Having just moved from Beijing, elderly Tai chi master Mr. Chu struggles to adjust to life in New York, living with his Americanized son Alex. Chu immediately butts heads with his put-upon white daughter-in-law, Martha, a writer who seems to blame him for her own paralyzing inability to focus. But when Chu begins teaching Tai chi at a local school, his desire to make a meaningful connection comes to fruition in the most unexpected of ways.
Winner of Best Leading Actor (Sihung Lung) and Best Supporting Actress (Lai Wang) and nominated for Best Film and Best Director at the Golden Horse Film Festival.
Running Time 106 mins
Year 1992
Filmmakers Ang Lee
Features Lai Wang, Sihung Lung
Languages Taiwanese
City On Fire
This tense Hong Kong crime thriller is known best as the film upon which Quentin Tarantino borrowed heavily for his 1992 debut, Reservoir Dogs. Those who criticized the American director for lack of originality have perhaps missed the point. In the highly commercialized, formulaic crime genre of Hong Kong, very few thrillers are truly original, and innovation comes in the form of style, action choreography, and dramatic tension.
City on Fire, directed by Ringo Lam, is no exception. The story, told in a more traditional narrative form than Reservoir Dogs, follows Chow Yun-Fat as Ko Chow, an undercover cop who infiltrates a ring of jewel thieves. When a heist goes wrong, Chow is wounded, and tension among the robbers escalates as they begin to suspect a traitor among their ranks. Film students and action fans alike will be engrossed with this gripping thriller.
Running Time 101 mins
Year 1987
Filmmakers Ringo Lam
Features Chow yun Fat, Danny Lee, Suen rei
Terrorizers
An uncompromising look into urban life from the eyes of a voyeuristic photographer, a rebellious teenager, and a married couple teetering on the edge of adultery. This acclaimed drama from the late Taiwanese auteur, Edward Yang (Yi Yi, A Brighter Summer Day), is presented in never-seen-before digitally remastered condition.
Winner of Best Feature Film and nominated for Best Leading Actress (Cora Miao) and Best Screenplay at the Golden Horse Film Festival. Winner of the Silver Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.
Running Time 110 mins
Year 1986
Filmmakers Edward Yang
Features Cora Miao, King Shih-chieh, Ku Pao-ming, Wang An
Languages Taiwanese
The River
In this festival-winning drama from acclaimed auteur Tsai Ming-lian, a young man develops a mysterious pain in his neck after floating in a river for a film shoot.
Winner of the Silver Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Winner of the Channel 4 Director’s Award – Special Mention at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
“… As a somber metaphor for contaminated lives [THE RIVER] is masterful.” – Erik Childress, RogerEbert.com
“Tsai is adept at pacing and mood, and so good at capturing a sense of yearning, that his film draws us in…” – Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Running Time 117 mins
Year 1997
Rating R
Filmmakers Tsai Ming-liang
Features Ann Hui, Chen Chao-jung, Chen Shiang-chyi, Lee Kang-sheng, Lu Shiao-lin, Lu Yi-ching, Tien Miao, Yang Kuei-mei
Languages Taiwanese
7 Grandmasters
A 42nd street classic that played for over six months on it’s initial release. Sang Kuan Chun is an old kung fu master who is getting ready to retire from martial arts. But just as he is about to put up the kings signboard and call it quits, he receives a note alleging that he’s not the best. Thus begins his journey for one last challenge with each of the Seven Grandmasters to prove his superiority. As Sang Kuan Chun and his three students travel from one challenge to the next, the foursome acquires a fifth–a young man named Siu Ying who wants desperately to train under master Sang Kuan Chun to avenge his father’s death. So he tags along, despite the master’s insistence that he will not accept any more students. Eventually we learn more about the master’s past. His own teacher, before he died, left him the secret book of The Pai Mei Twelve Strikes.
However a masked man soon stole several pages of the book, leaving only nine strikes. So, somewhere out there, is this unknown man, and he has the final three strikes of Pai Mei, which are the most deadly and can beat even the other nine strikes. Sang Kuan Chun soon accepts the seemingly devout Siu Ying and teaches him the nine known strikes of Pai Mei. Siu Ying ends up learning from his “uncle” that Sang Kuan Chun (who was set up) killed his father during a friendly tournament. Siu Ying is taught the final 3 strikes from a mysterious figure and almost kills Sang Kuan Chun until he being a loyal good student couldn’t break his teacher’s rule of “Never kill anyone if it can be avoided”. This all leads up to an exciting climax, where we learn the identity of the masked man who stole the Pai Mei final strikes and the identity of the man who killed Siu Ying’s father. 7 Grandmasters is considered the ‘gold standard’ of the kung fu movie genre.
Running Time 89 mins
Year 1977
Filmmakers Joseph Kuo Taiwanese
Features Jack Long, Lee Yi Min, mark Long
Languages English
The Mission
When someone attempts to take out a mob boss named Mr. Lung, his brother Frank (Simon Yam) puts together a team of five bodyguards to protect him. At first the team is bored as nothing happens. After a close call, they pull themselves into a ruthlessly efficient unit.
Slowly, the personalities of the individual bodyguards come to light in snapshot scenes. But when the threat to Mr. Lung is resolved, their troubles really begin. One of them is accused of having an affair with Lung’s wife, and the others must kill him or be killed themselves. Director Johnnie To is considered the natural successor to action maestro John Woo.
Running Time 84 mins
Year 1999
Filmmakers Johnnie To
Features Anthony wong, Francis Ng, Roy Cheung
The Eagle Shooting Heroes
Executive produced by Wong Kar-Wai, Jeffrey Lau’s “absurd 1993 masterpiece” (Austin Chronicle) Eagle Shooting Heroes is a fast, funny, flamboyant, and wildly imaginative martial arts farrago.
Running Time 104 mins
Year 1993
Filmmakers Jeffrey Lau
The Iron Monkey
Iron Monkey is the nickname of a young gambler who becomes the sole survivor of a Manchurian massacre. After burying his family, a fate-filled road leads Iron Monkey to the confines of Shaolin Temple. Full of vengeance, the young victim of circumstance endures humiliation from his classmates and rigorous training from the infamous Bitter Monk. An all-time Kung Fu classic!
Running Time 92 mins
Year 1977
Filmmakers Kuan Tai Chen
Features Kuan Tai Chen, Kuan-Chun Chi, Sun Chia Lin
Languages English
May 1 to May 31
CBC GEM Chinese and Chinese-Canadian Film Offerings in Asian Heritage Month Programme
SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
A-Yi
Duration 16:56
Description Rating E
An elderly Chinese can collector strikes up an unexpected friendship with a house full of friends in East Vancouver.
A Sweet and Sour Christmas
Duration 16:35
Description Rating E
A Sweet & Sour Christmas is the story behind a family-run Chinese restaurant spreading their deep-fried holiday cheer and also taking a bit of time during the seasonal rush for their own holiday celebration.
Night Strike
Description Rating E.
Duration: 12:36
Johnny Tai is a blind martial artist and self-defense instructor. Underneath his independence lies an instinct for survival that sustained him throughout his tumultuous and abusive family life.
FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
Earth: One Amazing Day (Mandarin narration)
Description: Documentary Rating E.
Duration 1:33:42
An astonishing journey that reveals the awesome power of the natural world, tracking the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles. (Narrated by Jackie Chan in Mandarin)
FEATURE LENGTH FILMS
Double Happiness
Description Rating 14+
Duration 1:27:20
Jade Li is a feisty, 20-something Chinese Canadian, trying to achieve that happy medium between giving in to her parent’s wishes and fulfilling her own needs and desires – double happiness. Naturally, something’s got to give and when love beckons in the shape of Mark, a white university student, the facade of the perfect Chinese daughter begins to slip.
Eve & the Fire Horse
Description Rating PG.
Duration: 1:30:30
Eve is a precocious nine-year-old girl with a wild imagination growing up in a traditional Chinese immigrant family in Vancouver.
Films about China or the Chinese Canadian experience can affect us as individuals in deeply personal ways. In Personal Favourites we will present some background about a member of the Film Committee and their personal favourites.
Meditation Park
Description Rating PG.
Duration: 1:28:31
The story of devoted Chinese-Canadian wife and mother Maria Wing, whose life is altered when the discovery of her husband’s infidelity forces her to confront how powerless she truly is. Maria’s efforts to find out the truth send her on a journey of liberation.
WINDOW HOURSES
Description Rating G.
Duration: 1:28:27
A young Canadian poet with Chinese and Persian parents travels to Iran to perform at a poetry festival.