There is not much doubt that Hero was the most successful film to come out of China last year. The work of renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou, the blockbuster set several new records for the Chinese film industry. It involved an investment of 30 million US dollars, the largest ever in the history of Chinese cinema, and its box office takings exceeded 25 million US dollars in China’s mainland in two months, an all time high.

Director Zhang Yimou, who has won awards in several international film festivals, was quite satisfied with his work, especially in terms of commercial success.

“We’d recovered our costs before the movie was premiered. Its copyright overseas garnered 10 million US dollars, one third of its cost, while that in China was a record high of over 2 million US dollars. In addition, the copyright for advertisements, novels, stamps and cartoons based on the film was sold for more than 10 million yuan. So I think it was a successful operation.”

Hu Ke, from China Film Art Research Center, says that all the records created by Hero will have a far-reaching impact on China’s film market. He believes that the success of Hero is evidence that the Chinese movie industry is more than capable of facing up to the challenges brought about by membership of the WTO.

“Generally speaking, the movie industry is seeing a very good development trend, and is both active and healthy. Since China’s entry into the WTO, great changes have taken place in the film market. Through a number of successful films, the Chinese film industry has at least gained the confidence to face increasingly fierce international competition.”

Hu Ke explains that according to WTO agreements, the import quota of foreign films has doubled from ten to twenty per year. However, optimistic movie makers and critics don’t see this as being a fatal blow to the Chinese film industry. Instead, they see it as an impetus to push forward its growth. From his point of view, it has been proven that Chinese films have not buckled under the pressure; rather it has forced it to pull itself out of the stagnant market situation of the past few years.

The glamour of Hero didn’t overshadow other films, which won acclaim from industry insiders and audiences alike. Another veteran Chinese film-maker, Chen Kaige, also made his contribution last year with two noted works. Killing Me Softly, though it received more criticism than praise, was his first attempt to enter Hollywood. The other, entitled Together, was bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for 1.5 million US dollars to be distributed in North America, and the predicted box office takings of 10 million US dollars have already been surpassed. Its overseas revenue alone has helped recover its costs, and its takings in China exceeded 1 million dollars.

Film research fellow Hu Ke says that China’s entry into the WTO brings the double edged sword of challenge and opportunity for the Chinese movie industry.

“So long as we make breakthroughs with big investment and big profit films, we will be able stand out in the world movie market. After China’s entry into WTO, it is not only foreign movies that have come to China and put pressure on the Chinese film industry. Chinese movies are also responding by stepping into the world market.”

Hu Ke says that China’s film industry has been experiencing unprecedented prosperity in 2002. A number of attractive scenarios have come into being, laying a solid foundation for this prosperity. Moreover, in addition to pursuing their artistic vision, film makers have paid more attention to achieving commercial success, which has also helped boost the industry.

Hu Ke adds that the past year has seen the emergence of many young filmmakers. In the last year alone, there were over 20 debut works by new directors, attracting wide public interest. For example, the film Missing Gun directed by Lu Chuan was the most successful of the works by this new wave of directors. With a breathtaking plot and featuring an A-list of actors, the film won plaudits in a number of international film festivals and was successful in both domestic and overseas markets. Spring Subway directed by Zhang Yibai won audiences over with its delicate and beautiful cinematography; Chicken Poets directed by Meng Jinghui was one of the more avant-garde and alternative success stories of the year, and famous pop figures Gao Xiaosong and Li Chunbo also tried their hand at making films.

2002 also saw 23-year-old director Wu Bing shoot his first film Bitter Camellia, which won him the Best New Director accolade at the Huabiao Awards, one of China’s official film awards. He says:

“The dash and drive in the debut works of new directors are quite special. Some of them are excellent works, like Spring Subway, and each of them has something for me to explore and study.”

Hu Ke says that though on the whole, the works of new directors were not as mature as those of their more seasoned mentors, they have injected great vigor and diversity into the industry.

“The trend of making purely artistic films has been changed somewhat in the hands of these newly emerging directors. Now, they have also become more relevant to the audience.”

The booming growth of domestic films has lured more and more movie-goers to the cinema.

“We now have access to films of various styles, as well as films from various countries, including the latest Hollywood hits. Personally speaking, I prefer domestic movies, as they are closer to our own lives.”

Hu Ke says that although the growth of Chinese films has been promising, people in the business are under no illusions as to the challenges that lie ahead. He says that compared with blockbusters from Hollywood, domestic films on the whole are in an inferior position. To secure a bigger market share has become the common pursuit of Chinese film makers in this competition.

(China Radio International March 1, 2003)