Zhang Yimou returns to his roots with 'Coming Home'
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E-mail Xinhua, May 23, 2014
It was no surprise when Zhang Yimou's latest film, "Coming Home", raked in 82.4 million yuan (about 13.47 million U.S. dollars) at the box office on its opening weekend.
The highly anticipated drama pulled in 30 million yuan on May 16, an opening-day record for a Zhang movie, according to production company Le Vision Pictures.
Critics predict the film will earn between 200 million and 300 million yuan, which would be a record for an art film in China.
Zhang has seldom had to worry about box office takings, especially for films like "Hero" (2002), one of China's highest grossing films ever, which took 250 million yuan.
But this time he abandoned commercial appeal to return to one of his favorite themes: a love story with twists and turns.
"Coming Home" is a return to Zhang's artistic roots, according to critics.
Based on the last 30 pages of the novel "The Criminal Lu Yanshi" by Yan Geling, "Coming Home" starring Gong Li and Chen Daoming tells how a former professor tries but fails to make up with his wife when he is transferred from one labor camp to another in the early 1970s. He returns home after three years only to find his wife has amnesia.
The romance has three main characters and its plot and settings are simple, similar to Zhang's other love stories like "Red Sorghum" (1987) and "Ju Dou" (1992).
"In this film, Zhang Yimou doesn't use magnificent scenery to impress audiences, rather he tries to evoke their emotions in an aesthetic way," said Professor Yin Hong at Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication.
Zhang has returned to his respect for art and soul from the road of commercialism and consumerism, according to Prof. Yin.
The pinnacle of Zhang's career as a director came in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during which he focused on the gritty realities of life. In 2002, Zhang began to direct commercial blockbusters with his first epic "Hero".
During the following years, Zhang directed expensive martial arts films with epic scenes, including "House of Flying Daggers" (2004), "Curse of the Golden Flower" (2006) and "A Simple Noodle Story" (2009). They received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences.
Zhang has the artistic capacity to depict emotion and sex to their extremes, said Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University. The focus on the suffering emotions between Lu Yanshi and Feng Wanyu in "Coming Home" is Zhang's attempt to return to his gritty style.
"Coming Home" was the first collaboration between Gong Li and Zhang since "Curse of the Golden Flower" in 2006.
"Gong Li is Zhang's exquisite inspiration for every film during Zhang's peak period," said Zhang Yiwu.
Working with Gong was another sign of Zhang returning to his artistic roots, he said.
"But, one film like 'Coming Home' doesn't mean Zhang will simply return exclusively to art films," said Zhang Yiwu.
The innovative director reveals something new in every film, he added.
Zhang's films are noted for their rich use of color. The muted use of color in his latest movie means it is different from his earlier art films, including "Red Sorghum" and "Raise the Red Lantern" (1991).
"Coming Home" attracts a niche audience. The prospects for Chinese cinema is bright, but finding an audience is a different question for every Chinese director, Zhang Yimou included, said Zhang Yiwu.
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