Feng Xiaogang: The Face of Modern Chinese Film
This article was written by Sean Fitzgerald and was originally published on www.unicafemedia.com
In modern day Chinese cinema, there is a constant push and pull of market driven commercialism, and government oversight, interference, and censorship. However, Feng Xiaogang is one of very few Chinese directors to successfully walk this line, both adhering to, and challenging commercialism, and the Government at the same time, while still putting a modern twist on the films he directs. While many Chinese films focus solely on ‘the national’, Xiaogang has been able to integrate a patriotic view of China, as the Government expects, into a more internationally cultured view of the world.
Born November 28, 1958, Feng Xiaogang is a Beijing screen actor, writer, producer and director, who specialises in a genre called ‘Hesui Pian’ or ‘New Years Celebration Films’, a form of Chinese comedy. In 1985, Xiaogang began to write screenplays, working closely with, and studying under Chinese film director, Zheng Xiaolong.
In 1994, Xiaogang directed his maiden film, ‘Lost My Love’, a romantic comedy. However, he was not seen as an established director until directing, ‘Dream Factory’, and ‘Be There or Be Square’, which was the first Chinese film to be shot entirely in the United States. Both of these were highly successful films that topped the Chinese box office. Xiaogang has been praised as one of the first Chinese film directors to have financial and artistic success throughout China against the dominance of Hollywood.
While the landscape of Chinese cinema is shifting towards a stronger domestic film industry, Hollywood films still currently dominate the Chinese box office; despite the fact that the Government only allows 36 foreign films into the country each year. What’s more, many foreign films undergo severe change to be adapted to what the Government deems as suitable for Chinese audiences, meaning that people are not seeing the full, unedited versions of the blockbuster style of films they enjoy. This is where Xiaogang has found his success.
Xiaogang has spearheaded a new era in Chinese film, representing the dual nature of a communist regime, and one of the largest commercially driven economies in the world, in a modern Chinese setting. In fact, many of his films actually take a stance against the rapidly developing commercial attitude of China, but at the same time, to continue being successful, he has to please China’s commercial expectations. However, through Xiaogang’s film techniques, themes, portrayal of characters, and the representation of Chinese national identity, he has been able to produce confronting yet commercially successful films.
A consistent characteristic of a lead role in a Xiaogang film is that they are often lost, confused, and searching for something. Contrary to popular Chinese culture, which has clearly defined gender roles, and shows an attitude towards male superiority, male characters in his films are often in admiration, or are searching for strong women.
Female leads are portrayed as three-dimensional characters, with their own thoughts, joys, and problems, which they have a strong desire to overcome. This representation is challenging the way women are perceived in Chinese culture, and may stem from the fact that Xiaogang was raised solely by his mother, thereby influencing his view of women.
This three-dimensional portrayal of women was the foundation of Xiaogang’s most successful film. Aftershock , a period drama about the search for family following the Tangshan Earthquake of 1976. At the time of its release, Aftershock was the highest grossing film in domestic history, as well as being nominated for an Oscar in the foreign language category.
In ‘Aftershock’, a mother is made to choose between leaving her son or her daughter for dead following a devastating earthquake. She chooses to save her son. Unbeknownst to the family, the daughter survives the earthquake, and with no one to claim her after the city’s evacuation, she is thrust into foster care in a military camp. After enduring many hardships, and searching for her family for years, she gives up and tries to get on with her life, settling down with a family in America.
Through a chance meeting, she is eventually reunited with her lost family. A scene in the film shows her offering a heartfelt apology to her mother for giving up on searching for the family, stating that it was all her fault; even knowing her mother had left her to die. This is both an example of the Chinese male dominated attitude, and Xiaogang’s portrayal of the resiliency of the female character to understand and cope with these hard cultural truths.
When it comes to cinematography and other technical aspects of film, Xiaogang has most often preferred to keep the ‘wow’ factor, in elements such as camerawork, minimal. The reason for this is to keep the audience focused more on the storyline, in a technical medium they feel comfortable with. By integrating a western style of cinematography into his films, people are more accustomed to the visual elements, and therefore, focus more on the themes and lessons in the story, which Xiaogang deems to be the most important element.
Nevertheless, while the technical style of Xiaogang’s films can be traced to Hollywood, the themes in his stories are more traditionally Chinese. Themes such as the depravity of human beings, the irrational expansion of commercialisation and consumerism, ethical issues as a result of rapidly developing technologies, immorality, infidelity, alcohol and depression are also used throughout many ofhis films.
However, the use of traditional Chinese themes is perhaps most evident in Xiaogang’s brand of comedy. While conventional Hollywood comedies often rely on physical comedy, or the situation itself being humorous, Xiaogang’s films have a much darker, satirical undertone. Xiaogang playfully works comedy into situations that an audience may find confronting or depressing.
One such comedy is If You Are the One, a Xiaogang ‘New Years Celebration Film’. The premise of the film is that the girlfriend of the main character, has committed suicide. After having spiralled into an alcohol-fuelled depression, the man decides to try and get his life back on track. He meets a woman on an online dating site, courting her throughout the film. But as the audience discovers she has issues of her own, she too, attempts to commit suicide. Determined not to let history repeat itself, the two main characters work together to emotionally understand and deal with their individual issues. This is just one example ofmany dark and sombre storylines, mixed with a major amount of comical quips, observations, and innuendos that define a Xiaogang film.
Xiaogang’s push and pull with the conventions of both the Chinese Government and cinema have not often been attempted before, and certainly not in the comedy style of film that Xiaogang is so famous for. While being a commercially successful Chinese director, Xiaogang has expressed his frustration at the limitations and restraints put on him by his country, and has presented these frustrations in his films. The instantly recognisable characters, themes, and rebellion against a system in which he plays a major role, demonstrate Xiaogang’s contribution to both Chinese, and world cinema.
In an extensive career of fifteen films so far, Feng Xiaogang has demonstrated a film style, combined with a recognisable group of themes and motifs, that have never before been seen in Chinese cinema. He is the director of the most successful Chinese film of all time, and through his struggle with Hollywood and the Chinese Government, he has paved the way for a new era in Chinese cinema. One that in the near future, is expected to financially rival Hollywood.
