Anthony Minghella, a best director Oscar winner of The English Patient, has written the preface for The Promise, an Oscar candidate film by Chinese director Chen Kaige.

Minghella wrote the preface in the past month to communicate accurately to Western audiences the soul of eastern culture in Chen's film, the US producer of The Promise was quoted by Yi Jianmei, who is in charge of the film's promotion in China as saying. She did not give the name of the producer.

"I'm glad to do everything for the film after watching it," Minghella was quoted in Chinese by Yi as saying.

Minghella also invited his wife to translate the actors' lines into English, while the film's last line by Jang Dong-gun, a film star from the Republic of Korea, was written by her.

The Promise will make a test run in select cities in the United States later this month, after which the film will be qualified to vie for all the Academy Awards - not only the Best Foreign Film, Yi said.

The film has obliterated the new high of the opening weekend box office in the mainland by hitting 74.52 million yuan (about US$9 million) from its formal release on December 15 in China to Sunday, defeating Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle with 63 million yuan.

Chen made The Promise in 1,090 days, trekking for nearly 10,120 kilometers, with the cost of 340 million yuan (about US$42 million), so far the most expensive film in Chinese cinematic history.

The film has secured the only qualification from the Chinese government for vying for 78th Oscar nomination representing the Chinese mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2005)