{"id":8741,"date":"2011-05-07T18:05:20","date_gmt":"2011-05-07T18:05:20","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-07T23:05:23","modified_gmt":"2011-05-07T23:05:23","slug":"A-Director-s-Message-in-Buddha-Mountain-","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=8741","title":{"rendered":"A Director\u2019s Message in \u2018Buddha Mountain\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past decade, Li Yu has emerged as one of China\u2019s most provocative art-house film directors. Her movies have often run afoul of mainland authorities because of the taboo and sensitive subjects they take on. Her latest, \u201cBuddha Mountain,\u201d which opened this week in Hong Kong, also explores potentially delicate social topics but it has been less fraught with troubles over censorship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The story looks at the lives of three friends on the threshold of adulthood. The trio \u2014 a woman (Fan Bingbing) and two men (Chen Po Lin and Fei Long) \u2014 drift aimlessly, rejecting any form of responsibility. Having abandoned the idea of attending university, they spend their days wandering around Chengdu in Sichuan province. (The action takes place in 2009, and demolished buildings from the 2008 earthquake offer a quiet metaphor for China\u2019s many challenges.) Seeking sanctuary from their unhappy home lives, the three rent a room in an apartment from an aging Chinese-opera performer (Sylvia Chang). Angry and grieving over the recent death of her son, she eventually becomes a surrogate mother to her new housemates. The poignant, tragic, funny film makes pointed observations about the many social changes facing China as it races toward modernity.<\/p>\n

Ms. Li takes subtle aim, for instance, at the country\u2019s one-child policy, put in place in 1980. \u201cNow we\u2019re seeing the bad results of the policy,\u201d she says. China has created a generation of \u201cvery self-centered\u201d children, many of whom \u201ctend to be irresponsible.\u201d If people pursue too much materialism, she says, \u201ctheir soul will be lost.\u201d \u201cBuddha Mountain,\u201d produced on a budget of 17 million yuan ($2.6 million), has earned more than 69 million yuan at the China box office since it opened on March 4, according to Beijing-based media-research firm EntGroup Inc. It had its premiere in October at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where it won two awards \u2014 for best artistic contribution and best actress for Ms. Fan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trailer: Buddha Mountain<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n