SYNOPSIS

Chen Minglian (Jiang Wen) meets Wu Fang (Zhao Wei/Vicki Zhao) on a blind date. They don’t get on well, but Chen tries to continue their meetings. Each meeting follows a similar routine; he takes a coffee, she has a green tea; he presses her on why she goes on so many blind dates, she says she wants to get married; he asks why she just doesn’t want to have fun, she says she is conservative in nature – too conservative according to her friend. This routine brings the subject back to her mysterious friend, a continuing story she elaborates on further each time. Eventually Chen presses his attentions and his interest in her friend too far, Fang gets angry and walks off, leaving Chen with his work cut out to convince her to meet again. Rinse and repeat.

Chen meets another girl Lang, a glamorous pianist in a night-club. She is everything than Fang isn’t – talkative, outgoing. Fang ties her hair back and wears glasses, Lang wears her hair down and wears colourful and glamorous dresses. In behaviour and attitude, the two women couldn’t be more different, yet Chen is convinced Lang and Fang are the same person, or if they aren’t he doesn’t know which of the two very different women he is really attracted to.

TECHNICAL DATA

Director:Zhang Yuan
Screenplay: Zhang Yuan, Tang Danian.
Cast: Jiang Wen, Zhao Wei, Fang Lijung, Zhang Yuan and Wang Haizhen.
Cinematography: Christopher Doyle
Runtime: 83 min. Language: Mandarin. Subtitles: Spanish.

DIRECTOR

BIOGRAPHY

Zhang Yuan was born in Nanjing in 1963. After he graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1989, Zhang directed a trio of socially conscious dramas and documentaries before completing his higher education, though it wasn't until graduation that his pace truly accelerated. Unafraid to tackle such difficult subjects as homosexuality and disability, it didn't take long for Zhang to earn a reputation as something of a maverick in the realm of Chinese cinema. In 1997, he was arrested by the communist government as a result of his homosexual-themed drama East Palace West Palace (1996). The tale of a young, gay Chinese man who becomes attracted to a police officer, the film detailed the persecution of the gay community by police in a telling and compelling manner. Thanks to friends, a print was smuggled out of China for screening at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Frequently alternating between documentary and drama work, the influence of the former can often be seen in the latter due to Zhang's sharp eye for realism and his ability to coax convincing performances from his actors. After detailing the effects of alcoholism on a typical Chinese family in Sons (1996), Zhang turned his lens on motivational speaker Li Yang for the documentary Crazy English (1999). His haunting 1999 film Seventeen Years told the story of a young girl released from prison after serving 17 years for the accidental murder of her step-sister — a metaphor for Chinese totalitarianism. After 2003's I Love You, a tender tale of love and loss, Zhang remained focused on issues of the heart with the romantic drama Green Tea.

FILMOGRAPHY

- Mama (1992)- Director
- East Palace West Palace (1996)- Director, producer and screenwriter
- Seventeen Years (1999)- Director, producer
- Wo ai ni (2003)- Director, producer and screenwriter.
- Little Red Flowers (2006)- Director, producer and screenwriter.