Chinese movie master Zhang Yimou still studying his craft with Shadow
Chinese director Zhang Yimou eager to keep learning
He has made some of the most acclaimed Chinese films of recent decades, but Zhang Yimou is still studying his craft.
The Oscar-nominated director of Raise The Red Lantern, Hero and House Of Flying Daggers picked up the Glory to the Filmmaker Award at last month's Venice Film Festival, where he also premiered his latest movie, Shadow.
It is the front runner at this year's Golden Horse Awards, dominating the list with 12 nominations, including Best Feature Film, Best Director as well as Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress for celebrity couple Deng Chao and Sun Li respectively.
The awards ceremony will take place in Taipei on Nov 17.
"In China, we think that if you have a long life, you have a long time to study and learn. I think that although I have been making films for 40 years, I still need to study," said the 68-year-old, who also directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"If you are passionate about your job, you don't want to keep repeating yourself, you strive to improve and make something that is better than your previous work and this is what keeps me going forward."
Opening here tomorrow, Shadow is a martial arts epic with Shakespearean overtones set in a royal court of ancient China, about a man (Deng Chao) who acts as a body double for the king's military commander as he must choose whether to keep the peace or declare war on a rival city state. The fight scenes are memorable for the use of lethal umbrellas as weapons, wielded in the half-light of an imposing river valley where the endless rain gives the rocks a silver glow.
"It (has been) many years that I wanted to make this kind of a film, (one) that is inspired by Chinese traditional painting," Zhang said.
"It is different from my previous, very colourful films. What makes Chinese painting particular is that it has a deep philosophy and meaning behind it, things are not just black or white.
"Ink and water mix together in a fluid and dynamic way; black and white mix together and give a rich variety of shadows. I wanted to explore this because I think human nature is the same, it is complex, it is not as simple as black and white."
Zhang added: "In Chinese culture, there must have been numerous cases where body doubles were used, but their stories have not been told, certainly not in Chinese cinema, so I have wanted to do that for many years (too)."
Chinese actor Zheng Kai, who plays the king in Shadow as a man at the centre of court intrigue in the mould of Macbeth or King Lear, described the role as a step up from his appearance in Zhang's 2016 China-US production The Great Wall that starred Matt Damon.
"The last time I was the man standing beside the king... and this time I am the king. So it is kind of a promotion for me," Zheng joked.
Zhang, who made stars out of his leading ladies Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, cast Chinese actress Guan Xiaotong as the king's sister who refuses to be treated as his property.
"Guan's character represents... a young woman of today, (a) character who calls the shots. Her fate is not decided by the games played by men. She follows her own interests to assert her dignity," he said. - REUTERS/AFP
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