THE ASSASSIN AFA10

Youth

2016 2017 2018

Afa11 Afa12

A master in making sly social commentaries, Feng Xiaogang lampooned the incompetence of Chinese society and bureaucracy with I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY in which politics and relationships supersede justice. Fan Bingbing plays a rural woman bent on clearing her name in a trivial divorce case by taking on the Chinese legal system at all costs. Feng’s absurdist dark comedy is potent in pointing out social ills while eliciting reflections through satire. The images, framed in circle and square, alluded to the Chinese philosophy of “circular heaven and square earth” that mirrors the character’s precarious journey through the maze-like legal framework. Fan Bingbing played against type as a plain yet fierce village woman and won Best Actress at the Asia Film Awards over strong contenders including Kara Wai, Kuroki Haru and Son Ye-jin.

After winning Best Film at the Asia Film Awards for I AM NOT MADAME BOVARY, Feng Xiaogang repeated the feat with YOUTH the very next year. The coming-of-age film is set against the sweeping historical canvas of China’s Cultural Revolution and Sino-Vietnamese War during the 1970s and 1980s. The film is drawn from Feng’s own experiences in the military art troupe during his youth combined with the semi-biographical novel by screenwriter Yan Geling. Basked in dreamy soft focus and lush colors, the youths experience the joys and tribulations of growing up. However, their aspirations and future are crushed by the wheel of time. For the filmgoers, Feng’s deeply personal film also evokes nostalgia and resonance. YOUTH also featured Zhong Chuxi who charmed the audience in her film debut as the clever and good-natured dance troupe member.

日本導演是枝裕和擅寫家庭，作品處處流露人文關懷。為是枝裕 和贏得康城金棕櫚大獎的《小偷家族》，與他在 2004 年拍攝的《誰 知赤子心 》同出一轍，聚焦被社會遺忘的貧困階層生活。是枝裕 和在拍攝《誰調換了我的父親》中叩問家庭的定義，來到《小偷家 族》，一群淪落人組成比很多有血緣關係的親人更有愛的家庭，彼 此扶持相濡以沫，顛覆傳統家庭概念。與是枝裕和合作多年的殿 堂級演員樹木希林離世前動人演出，配合本屆亞洲電影大獎最佳 原創音樂得主細野晴臣的樂章，有如流水行雲，令人低迴。