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Other offerings that struck gold on nation's silver screens
2022-01-13 

Last year, China produced 740 films, with 565 being feature-length dramas. However, public attention focused on a few blockbusters which dominated the headlines and were heavily marketed.

But there are a number of comparatively smaller-budget, yet beautifully written, stories that were worth a trip to the cinema to see. China Daily looks at the reviews and ratings of some popular comment aggregators to present a list of films well worth watching.

1 I Am What I Am

Most of China's popular animated films, like Monkey King: Hero Is Back and Ne Zha, are inspired by well-known figures from ancient China's rich mythology, but I Am What I Am employs a breakthrough perspective, turning the lens on "left-behind" children-referring to those children who remain at home, normally with elderly relatives, while their parents go off to find work, often menial jobs, in big cities.

Inspired by the "lion dance", a traditional celebration of Spring Festival, the film tells the story of an underdog teenager and two friends who pursue their dream to win a lion dance competition.

Despite the fact that the "slanted eyes" of the characters have riled up some people online, who believe the animators are catering to Western stereotypes of Chinese people's facial features, the film has still won widespread acclaim from industry insiders and theatergoers. Its popularity was exemplified with its score of 8.3 points out of 10 on China's popular review site Douban, making it one of the highest ranked Chinese films last year.

2 B for Busy

The directorial debut of 1990s-born Shao Yihui, who also wrote the movie, this romantic drama with its Mandarin title-borrowed from Italian master Federico Fellini's 1969 fantasy film Fellini Satyricon-is a dark horse.

Set in western Shanghai, the film recounts how Lao Bai, an artist, tries to start a romance with Ms Li, an advertising veteran raising her daughter alone after filing for divorce from her British husband. However, his plan to enjoy a romantic night is disturbed by several unexpected visitors, including a troublesome student, his still jealous ex-wife, and a nosy neighbor.

With the dialogue in the local dialect, the film features a distinctive flavor of Shanghai, as it examines middle-aged romance.

3 White Snake

Before movies, of course, theater was the main attraction, so it's interesting to see this form of entertainment being portrayed on screen.

As the first such Cantonese Opera film shot in ultrahigh definition, White Snake recounts the story of a love affair between a white snake spirit and a handsome young man.

With classic scenes, such as shuiman jinshan (the spirit summoning a flood to fight her enemy), brought to life in stunning 4K resolution, the opera film, which has around 1,300 scenes featuring visual effects created by artists in Australia, New Zealand and China, has posted 8 points out of 10 on Douban.

4 Saturday Fiction

Director Lou Ye is widely regarded as a master of Chinese art house film, but only a few of his works have been screened in cinemas domestically, thus making Saturday Fiction-one of his biggest-budget directorial efforts-a highly anticipated offering for avid fans.

Living up to Lou's reputation, the film teams actress Gong Li with actor Mark Chao to recount a World War II espionage story.

With a strongly personalized style and presented in black and white, the movie takes an in-depth and intriguing look into the desire and the complexity of people during wartime chaos.

5 Sister

Touching on China's previous family planning policy, the film recounts an adult sister's struggle after discovering that she is the sole, yet unwilling guardian, of her younger brother after their parents are killed in a car accident.

Starring actress Zhang Zifeng as the sister, the protagonist's growing pains, caused by resolute gender discrimination from her parents, has struck a chord with a female audience, propelling the movie to "sleeper hit" status early last year.

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