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Judging by the number of international awards Chinese filmmakers have been taking home, and the sheer size of the population, one would think the cinema industry would be booming.
Even as it celebrates its centenary this year, the Chinese film industry is still yet to bounce back from its decline since 1977 when box office receipts reached a record high of 29 billion views.
Cinema attendance was an abysmal 200 million in 2004, a year that was widely considered to have produced a bumper harvest of popular films.
What has gone wrong? There is no shortage of talented moviemakers in the country, as there are internationally acclaimed directors and movie stars such as Zhang Yimou and Zhang Ziyi.
Neither is there a lack of major international film awards accorded to Chinese movies, at the Cannes or Berlin festivals, or even at the Oscars.
Of course, as the world's most populous country, there is no shortage of potential moviegoers.
The country needs a credible film review system, a factor that is crucial to the healthy development of a home-grown movie industry.
Since Red Sorghum, or Hong Gaoliang in Chinese, won the 1988 Golden Bear award at the 38th Berlin Film Festival, a prize that shot its director Zhang Yimou to instant international fame and brought great returns for the film itself, many Chinese filmmakers, inspired by his success, began to set their sights on winning international awards.
Although the criticism, sometimes scathing, among Chinese audiences that director Zhang is catering for Western eyes is widespread, it has not deterred many of his peers from following in his footsteps.
Winning major international film prizes by satisfying a few selected jury members or Western audiences' thirst for the exotic seems to be paramount for some filmmakers.
Most directors, especially from the younger generation, see grabbing a major international award as their moviemaking aim.
To make things worse, our movie critics and media are acting like conspirators in this venture.
They tend to pile up rave reviews of films once they have captivated major international film festivals, conferring star-status on those connected with prize-winning movies.
If a film fails to snatch an award, especially an international one, even if it is good, it is unlikely to be endorsed by the critics.
To some, a major foreign film festival award is like a beacon directing how they will review a movie.
Otherwise, they may be oblivious of well-made movies that may not have satisfied the festival crowds.
This is especially true of art house movies like Shanghai Dreams (Qing Hong). Before it won the Jury Prize at the 58th Cannes Film Festival in late May, the film, directed by Wang Xiaoshuai, had received a lukewarm, if not cold, reception from critics and paltry media coverage.
Almost no one, including Wang himself, pinned much hope on the commercial potential of an art house film.
But once it was awarded the Jury Prize, a media blitz of rave reviews ensued, transforming its fortunes.
It began to be screened across the mainland on June 7, two months ahead of schedule. Although its box office performance, which totalled 2.58 million yuan (US$311,000) during its first week, is not eye-popping, it is rather good for an art house flick.
Peacock (Kong Que), which pocketed the Jury Grand Prix award at the Berlin Film Festival in late January, followed a similar path.
This blowing hot and cold attitude to films is just the latest demonstration of how movie critics and media go about their business.
The lack of a functioning movie review mechanism and a pool of objective film critics is undoubtedly harming the film industry.
Merely using winning awards as the barometer for approving or critical reviews, rather than evaluating a film on its own merits, will only drive more filmmakers to tailor their products to a small elite of juries selected to preside over festivals.
If this continues, the chances of rejuvenating the film industry will be slim as many of these films tailored for international film festivals are art house movies that usually have a limited following back home.
As the cinema industry turns 100 this year, it is hoped the film critics' circle and media alike will also come of age, and never again blindly follow instructions issued at international awards ceremonies.
(China Daily July 15, 2005)
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