- You are here: Home > Closing Ceremony > Back to 1942
You are here
Cast:
Adrien Brody, Tim Robbins, Zhang Guoli, Zhang Hanyu, Fan Wei, Feng Yuanzheng, Xu Fan, Chen Daoming, Li Xuejian
Production:
China Film Co., Emperor Motion Pictures, Huayi Brothers, Media Asia Films
Program:
Studio Cinema -
Sunday, April 13, 2014 - 20:00
Original title:
Yi jiu si er
Section:
Written by:
Liu Zhenyun
Synopsis:
Caught between the devastating fury of a seemingly never ending draught and the havoc of WWII, the people of the Henan province in Central China embark on one of the biggest exoduses of the 20th century. For them, a mere statistic for the authorities, fights Theodore H. White (Adrien Brody), Time magazine correspondent. In his efforts to help them, he leaves no stone unturned, but to no avail. For the military rulers of the time, national interest comes first, so their fate is sealed. Their road to the Shaanxi province is the story of over three million lost souls. But although they fights for a lost cause, people like Master Fan (Zhang Guoli) refuse to give up, in a film that reveals horrible truths and leaves room for hope at the same time. China’s official proposal for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2014 Academy Awards.
Director:
Upon graduating high school, he joins Beijing Military Region Art Troupe as a stage designer. He moves on to become an art designer at the Beijing Television Art Center, and then a script writer, which introduces him to director Zheng Xiaolong. He becomes the master of the Hesui Pian genre: every New Year’s Eve, the typical Chinese family gathers in front of the TV set and watches a Xiaogang Feng movie. Dubbed “the Spielberg of China”, he switches from light comedy to historical drama, produced by the Wang Brothers. BACK TO 1942 is not the first time he’s worked with Hollywood stars: in 2001’s BIG SHOT’S FUNERAL, American actor Donald Sutherland plays a director working on a remake of THE LAST EMPEROR in the Forbidden City in Beijing. An American remake of A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES is in the making.
Selected filmography:
- 2010 AFTERSHOCK / TANG SHAN DA DI ZHEN
- 2008 IF YOU ARE THE ONE / FEI CHENG WU RAO
- 2007 ASSEMBLY / JI JIE HAO
- 2004 A WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES / TIAN XIA WU ZEI
- 2001 BIG SHOT’S FUNERAL / DA WAN
Festivals, awards:
- Asia Pacific Screen Award 2013 for Achievement in Cinematography (Lü Yue)
- Beijing Student Film Festival 2013: Jury Award for Best Film
- Golden Horse Film Festival 2013: Best Supporting Actor (Li Xuejian)
- Golden Rooster Awards 2013: Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography
- Hong Kong Film Awards 2013: Best Chinese Language Film from the Two Coasts
- Huabio Film Awards 2013: Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Adapted Screenplay, Outstanding Film
- Rome IFF 2012: Associazione Italiana Autori della Fotografia Cinematografica (AIC) Award
- Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2013: Film of Merit, Best Director and Best Actor (Guoli Zhang)