CHINA/FILE: ONE OF CHINA'S TOP FILM DIRECTORS & ACTORS JIANG WEN WINS GRAND PRIZE AT CANNES FOR 'DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP' BUT HAS PROBLEMS WITH CHINESE CENSOR

Record ID: 546351

  • Title: CHINA/FILE: ONE OF CHINA'S TOP FILM DIRECTORS & ACTORS JIANG WEN WINS GRAND PRIZE AT CANNES FOR 'DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP' BUT HAS PROBLEMS WITH CHINESE CENSOR
  • Date: 19th July 2000
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) JIANG WEN, FILM DIRECTOR OF "DEVILS ON THE DOORSTEP", SAYING: "As an artist - I'm opposed to war and that's what this film is about. I just don't understand why everyone is against a film that is about opposing war." BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 19, 2000) (REUTERS) PEOPLE STANDING OUTSIDE CINEMA COUPLE LOOKING AT FILM POSTERS POSTER FOR OLD GERMAN FILM "U-5
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BEIJING / SHANGHAI / PANJIAKOU, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA
  • City:
  • Country: China France
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAATXFO13OA2D3V9BDP1O0B7AUZ
  • Story Text: One of China's top film directors and actors, Jiang Wen, may have won the Grand Prize at Cannes for his film "Devils on the Doorstep", but at home, the film remains unscreened, running foul of the Chinese censor.
    Earlier this year, Chinese film director Jiang Wen was the toast of Cannes - his movie "Devils on the Doorstep"
    clinching the Grand Prize.
    The movie is a powerful wartime tale of a wounded Japanese soldier held by Chinese villagers at the end of World War II.
    But while the film may be wowing audiences worldwide, one place where it has yet to be screened is in Jiang's homeland, China.
    The film appears to have incensed the nation's film censors, but in a Kafkaesque twist, Jiang has yet to receive any formal notification that the film has in fact been banned.
    "I'm just not sure what's going on because no one has talked to me about it (banning his film). There are lots of rumours, but I haven't received a formal article yet. I'm feeling very uncomfortable - it's like a Hitchcock film, you hear a terrible sound but you can't see where it's coming from."
    In "Devils on the Doorstep" - which Jiang Wen also acted in - villagers treat Japanese soldier well for a time and then decide to trade him back to the Japanese for grain.
    The Japanese occupation is still a deeply sensitive topic in China with a well of resentment running deep in old and young people alike.
    In a memo to the film's producers in April, The Film Bureau's censorship body criticised "Devils on the Doorstep"
    because it did not show Chinese resistance to Japan and highlighted the strength of the Japanese army.
    Officials have also said that the film was shown abroad without prior approval.
    But the film bureau declined to comment directly on the issue - leaving Jiang confused and apprehensive about his future as an artist in China.
    "The first time I met with an official from the China Film Bureau after I came back from Cannes, they told me they weren't going to talk about this business (banning his film) unless I first brought back all the negatives from Australia. But I don't have the authority to bring the negatives back - it's a decision that's up to the investors."
    "As an artist - I'm opposed to war and that's what this film is about. I just don't understand why everyone is against a film that is about opposing war."
    Jiang Wen is one of China's most talented directors and actors - playing key roles in Zhang Yimou's (pronounced zchang yee-mou) upbeat film "Keep Cool" and the earlier and more sombre "Red Sorghum".
    But like many of China's film directors, he may never see "Devils on the Doorstep" work released back home.
    Authorities vet films carefully - and the works of prominent film makers like Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou have in the past been cut or banned from showing in cinemas.
    Instead, cinemagoers have a simple choice between a handful of imported blockbuster movies or propaganda films such as the recent "Long March".
    Amid rumours that Jiang may even be barred from making or acting in movies, the future for one of China's leading film makers looks grim.
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