Last year's House of Flying Daggers, A World without Thieves and Kung Fu Hustle made 2004 a film year to remember, and proved that Chinese movies were able to combine commercial success with critical acclaim. The success of Chinese films overseas has also moved forward with more and more joining in the race for international awards such as the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards.

It seems that 2005 is likely to outshine 2004 with movies by established heavyweight directors, such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, and a new generation of directors whose avant-garde filming techniques used to be shunned by the mainstream market.

Here we pick six of the most eagerly awaited Chinese films in 2005, in the hope that the Chinese movie scene will get ever larger and more influential this year, at home and abroad.

The cooperation of three big names has attracted a lot of media attention to this movie project, even before filming began last month.

Wang Anyi, one of the most established Chinese women writers, won the fifth Mao Dun Literature Award for her novel A Legend of Long Regret, which instantly became the target of many directors who intended to move the story onto the big screen.

Acclaimed Hong Kong director Stanley Kuan finally got permission and recruited Hong Kong pop queen Sammi Cheng to portray the movie's heroine. Sammi Cheng's personal charm and previous fabulous box-office results have already assured the movie some success, in spite of the doubts about whether she is capable of portraying a complicated Shanghai lady.

One of the leading members of China's fifth generation of filmmakers, Chen, whose credits include Farewell My Concubine, has always been touted a master of artistic value and commercial success.

The Promise will prove that again. With a strong cast including Golden Horse Best Actor Liu Ye, Hong Kong pop sensations Cecilia Cheung and Nicholas Tse, and South Korean star Jang Dong-kun, the film attracted a lot of foreign investment, which has ensured not only high-level production, but the promise of overseas commercial success as well. Despite these factors, Chen's expertise in interpreting historical topics is still the biggest reason why people go and see his movies.

After directing several commercially acclaimed martial arts movies, Zhang Yimou has decided to resume his earlier style and focus on human values and ordinary lives.

In Lonely Ride over a Long Distance, Zhang Yimou has abandoned his longtime working partner, Zhang Ziyi, and used the unknown Jiang Wen, who has had little performing experience. Also capturing the newspaper headlines was the casting of veteran Japanese actor Takakura Ken who accepted the invitation of Zhang Yimou after years away from the screen.

Set in the 1920s, the movie tells the story of an old Japanese man accompanying his ailing son to learn opera in Yunnan Province where the son falls in love with a girl. Digging into the inner world of ordinary people, the movie marks Zhang's pursuit of higher art, while reaping success at the box office.

Departing from his previous style marked by black humor, Feng Xiaogang will present a Chinese Hamlet-like tragedy in his 2005 production Night Feast.

Based on the ancient Chinese picture Night Feast of Han Xizai, the film portrays a Tang Dynasty (618-907) official Han Xizai who seeks revenge for the murder of his father.

Combining a historical Chinese background with a story Westerners are familiar with, can Night Feast follow the success of its predecessor A World without Thieves and earn Feng record-breaking box-office success again? It remains to be seen, but the participation of many heavyweight actors such as Ge You, Gong Li and Jang Dong-kun will undoubtedly add to its winning potential.

Since the Infernal Affairs trilogy, no Hong Kong movie has attracted such wide media attention as Seven Swords, veteran Hong Kong director Chui Hak's latest martial arts epic.

Judging from the strong cast, which includes almost all the most glamorous actors from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and South Korea at the moment, we can sense Chui Hak's box-office ambition and expect something big.

However, this movie is not just about making money. Director Chui Hak was prolific when younger but he has been silent in the past few years. Can Seven Swords revitalize Chui's career and at the same time revive Hong Kong's sluggish movie market?

Taking place during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), the War of the Red Cliff inspired John Woo. The injection of 300 million yuan (US$36m) makes it the largest investment ever in Chinese film history.

Hong Kong film star Chow Yun-fat will play the leading role as the King of Shu, Liu Bei. With Chinese martial arts movies stealing the limelight in the global market, Woo distanced himself from the assumption that this flick would be yet another martial arts movie aimed at a foreign audience.

John Woo said the purpose of this movie was to fully display the spirit and sophistication of the Chinese people and the splendor of China's landscape.

(Shenzhen Daily January 7, 2005)