Chinese Film Searches for Its "Missing Gun"

By TANG YUANKAI

A scene from The Missing Gun.

THE ceremonious premiere was recently held of a Chinese film whose theme is the grim search by a policeman in a small town for his missing gun. The film is the maiden work of a young director. It starred Jiang Wen, currently the most popular actor in China, and the premiere was hosted by Feng Xiaogang, the most sought after and successful Chinese director.

The Missing Gun is an ambitious film for its attempt to break out of contemporary cinematic norms. Apparently heedless of its overall effect, the film has one point in common with the aspirations of other current Chinese films: its quest for a balance between art and market appeal. "The Missing Gun" might be seen as analogous to the direction Chinese filmmakers are heading in their attempt to attract audiences and extricate the Chinese film industry from its present abyss.

Some directors are, however, like the film's leading character, inclined to be impatient and imprudent in this search for their "gun," foregoing fluid cinematography, and sometimes even using a "borrowed" gun - scenes undeniably reminiscent of Western films. As is the fate of some of the characters in the film, other directors get lost along the path of their chosen quest.

It must be remembered that Chinese film once had its "gun." A genre of Chinese classic films was created in the 1930s and 40s that represented a glorious era in Chinese film history. After the founding of New China, a series of highly artistic and cultural films again emerged, despite the contemporary excessively Leftist thinking, and the collision of different artistic viewpoints.

China once proudly proclaimed to the world a film audience of 29.3 billion, but this figure was soon to drop by over 100 million annually. Its box-office value dropped from 2 billion yuan at its zenith to 800 million yuan last year.

What makes matters worse is that the Chinese box office places increasing reliance on imported films, and more and more Chinese filmgoers consequently prefer to hook up to a VCD or DVD. In an attempt to draw audiences back to the cinema, relevant departments and individuals examined all possibilities before coming up with a series of concrete measures. In Beijing, one such measure was the classification of star-rated cinemas carried out in 2000. Though cinema managers have invested heavily in upgrading their facilities so as to comply with "star" standards, attracting a larger audience is still dependent on good quality, reasonably priced films rather than on a comfortable and pleasing ambience. Unfortunately, Chinese cinemas have only a minimal repertoire of such films.

Director Lu Chuan (first right) on set.

The unprecedented progress the Chinese film industry has made in recent years must, however, be acknowledged. Its international film festival awards, and the emergence of internationally acclaimed directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige bear testament to this. Yet, compared with the films being produced throughout the world, Chinese films are generally wanting. On a superficial level, their subject matter and expressive approaches are pedestrian. This reflects the narrow perspective and underdeveloped cinematographic concept of Chinese directors, and the low level of research into the mentality of the audience, and cinematography itself. Furthermore, creativity is overlooked in favor of "short-cuts" and "schematic convenience."

Filmmakers also have their grievances to air. Many cite lack of funds and poor distribution as the cause of the current cinematic slump. There are many who have not actually learned how to run their films as a business, and who know little of marketing. Some believed they had found a powerful "machine gun" - hype through the media - for the distribution of their films. Zhang Yimou's Happy Time filmed two years ago is such an example. The audience was not, however, overly impressed by what the media had to say, and so did not spend their money on seeing the film at the cinema. It consequently scored the lowest box office sales of the year. When hype is not backed up by good quality, the audience response is to stay at home.

Many encouraging developments have nevertheless occurred in the course of looking for the "gun." For example, on June 1, 2002, China commenced a cinema-line system, whereby filmmakers or film distributors formulate a film distribution and screening network by means of exchanges of assets or contracts. Weng Li, chief editor of Chinese Film Market, considers the cinema-line system to be one facet of China's tripartite distribution reforms. The other two are the eradication in the early 1990s of the China Film Corporation's monopoly on film purchases and distribution, and of the practice of importing foreign films on the basis of profits divided between the Chinese and foreign parties. The cinema-line system aims to achieve more effective film marketing through scale operation.

Though the road to effective film marketing remains rugged for Chinese filmmakers and distributors, as long as they maintain their "gun-searching" zeal, it will not be too long before Chinese audiences see domestic productions of high artistic quality that also have market appeal.