Chinese director, Jia Zhangke, has said he doesn't expect to
scoop box office success with his Venice Golden Lion Best Film
Still Life.
Still Life will be released nationwide on December 14
but a number of home grown commercial movies, including director
Zhang Yimou's new release Curse of the Golden Flower, will
be hitting Chinese screens at approximately the same time.
"Still Life may not stay in cinemas for long. It's
impossible to compete at the box office with the likes of Curse
of the Golden Flower," Jia said at a press conference in
Shanghai Wednesday.
The movie tells the story of two separated couples in the
Yangtze River town of Fengjie and how they deal with the relocation
of the community to make way for the world's biggest hydroelectric
project the Three Gorges Dam.
"Too many Chinese movies focus on commercial gain and
entertainment. I want to portray the struggles of China's working
class and to express my concern for ordinary people," Jia said.
Jia's previous movies weren't well received by Chinese audiences
because of his documentary style and weak story lines.
The 12-million-yuan The World recovered just over one
million yuan (US$125,000) in domestic box office sales last year.
However, it won four international awards including Best Feature
Film and Best Cinematography at the Sixth Las Palmas International
Film Festival.
Jia's Pickpocket (1997) and Platform (2000)
were not permitted to screen in China.
By contrast, Chinese director Feng Xiaogang's latest commercial
epic The Banquet had raked in 100 million yuan (US$12.5
million) in China by the end of September. That was two weeks after
its nationwide debut.
"Movies are an art form and should not be evaluated only in
monetary terms," said Jia Zhangke, "I don't hold high box office
expectations for my work."
Low-and-medium-budget home produced movies often have difficulty
achieving satisfactory box office returns in China and tend to be
yanked quickly from cinema screens. Chinese filmgoers are
unsophisticated and impatient with anything that doesn't achieve
quick commercial success.
A record 260 films were made in China last year but only 90
actually made onto the screen. Of these many were withdrawn a few
days after release due to a lack of interest.
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2006)
