After flop, Zhang Yimou back to filming a realistic drama
This project has been a long-term concept for many years and is a memory of cine film.
BEIJING: After the spectacular flop of The Great Wall ( 2016), award-winning director Zhang Yimou is seeking to bounce back with a realistic drama — something that he does best.
Filming has begun on his latest project with the working title One Second. Zhang is the director and co-writer with Zou Jingzhi.
Previously, they had collaborated on two films, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005) and Coming Home (2014).
This week, Zhang started rolling the cameras in Dunhuang, an iconic northwestern city in Gansu province. It is located at at the crossroads of two trading routes on the ancient Silk Road.
Both Hero starring Jet Li and The Great Wall were filmed at the same location. Adding to the familiarity of the project are the recalling of many old colleagues.
Said Zhang: “This project has been a long-term concept for many years and is a memory of cine film.” Set in the mid-1970s in northwestern China, One Second tells the story of a movie fan in remote farmland and a homeless female vagabond. Actor Zhang
Zhang Yimou, director
Yi will play the leading role, while the identity of the leading actress has not been disclosed.
Huanxi Media, which recently entered a deal with Zhang, will produce the film.
Despite his enormous fame and reach within China’s film industry, Zhang’s unconventional vision has not always played well with the public.
He suffered both box office and critical failure for his Hollywood monster fantasy movie The Great Wall.
Later this year, he hopes to bounce back with the film Shadow, a historical epic set in the Three Kingdoms era ( 220-280). Financial backing has come from China’s digital economy giant, Tencent. Also with substantial stakes in the movie are Perfect Village Entertainment and Le Vision Pictures.
The action drama reimagines an epic story from the Three Kingdoms period, and is visualised in the style of a Chinese ink brush painting.
Deng Chao stars with twin roles as an ailing general and his body double. Other cast include
Sun Li, Zheng Kai, Wang Qianyuan, Guan Xiaotong, Wu Lei, Hu Jun and Wang Jingchun.