Directors prepare to battle at Golden Horse

By Yu Sen-lun
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Dec 01, 2000, Page 7

It's time again for the annual showdown tomorrow night at the 37th Golden Horse Awards (GHA, 金馬獎), the Oscars of the Chinese speaking world, with the two giants of Chinese-language film, Wong Kar-wai (王家衛) and Ang Lee (李安), facing off over a slew of nominations.

For Taiwan though, this year's lineup of participating films is the cause of some embarrassment, since only about a third of the 44 films taking part this year are from Taiwan. Films from Hong Kong account for much of the remainder. This is a symptom of Taiwan's low annual production of films -- less than 20 productions per year.

But despite indications that the slump in Taiwan's movie industry is far from over, the coming together of such major figures as Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, Tony Leung (梁朝偉), Maggie Cheung (張曼玉) and Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) cannot but generate excitement in local film circles. It may not guarantee a boost to the Chinese-language film market, but at least it boosts confidence and hope.

In Ann Hu's Shadow Magic, Chinese actor Xia Yu plays the young photographer fascinated by Western silent movies. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CENTRAL MOTION PICTURE CORPORATION

In addition to its box office success, Ang Lee's exhilarating martial art film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍), nominated in 13 categories, has the largest number of nominations in this year's awards. It is closely followed by Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love (花樣年華), which has nine nominations. In the Mood won three major awards at Cannes this May and is clearly a strong contender.

Chu Chung-heng meets his beloved Rie Miazawa, a policewoman in The Cabbie. PHOTO: COURTESY OF CENTRAL MOTION PICTURE CORPORATION

"A specialty of this year's Golden Horse is the abundance of excellent films," said the award's jury chairperson Lo Hui-min (羅慧明), when nominations were released last month.

According to film critic Wen Tien-hsiang (聞天祥), the most spectacular Chinese-language films this year are In the Mood For Love, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Edward Yang's (楊德昌) A One and A Two (一一), the latter winning the best director prize at Cannes 2000. "Because Yang did not join this year's Golden Horse, this year's awards are basically a competition between Crouching Tiger and In the Mood. Any film aside from the two winning the best picture can be seen as a dark horse," Wen said.

Lee Ang's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon tells an epic tale through the intertwined lives of two women struggling against their fates. PHOTO: COURTESY OF BUENA VISTA FILM CO., LTD.

However, quite a few dark horses have been crowned with gold in past Golden Horse ceremonies.

Mixed beginnings

In Little Cheung, Fruit Chan looks at Hong Kong's handover to China through the innocent eyes of lower-class children. PHOTO: COURTESY OF NEW ACTION ENTERTAINMENT CO., LTD.

In the 1960s, the award was generally given to patriotic propaganda films. The word "golden horse" is a homophone for the abbreviation for Kinmen and Matzu, Taiwan's frontline islands opposite China. It was not until James Soong (宋楚瑜) became head of the Government Information Office in the late 1970s that the format of the GHA was changed to imitate that of the Oscars.

The GHA is a combination of the Oscar and European film awards, said Wen. "On one hand, it has the abundant technical awards of the Oscars. On the other, it has adopted the jury system used at the Cannes or Berlin Film Festivals," he said.

Wong Kar-wai vividly portrays 1960s Hong Kong while telling an ambiguous love story in the film In the Mood For Love. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MATA ENTERTAINMENT CO. LTD.

As its ideological color faded over time, the GHA has gradually become an award to encourage and applaud achievement in Chinese-language films from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, said Lee Hsing (李行), chairman of Golden Horse Executive Committee.

To a certain extent, the GHA remains the most anticipated cinematic award in the global Chinese film market. "First, it is the oldest. The Hong Kong Film Awards (香港電影金像獎) did not begin until 1980, and it only accepts films produced in Hong Kong," Wen said. Moreover, the GHA's Chinese counterpart, the Golden Rooster Award (中國電影金雞獎), still has too much ideological bias in its selection process, Wen said.

Best Picture 1.The Cabbie (運轉手之戀) 2.The Mission (鎗火) 3.Shadow Magic (西洋鏡) 4.Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) 5.Little Cheung (細路祥) 6.In The Mood For Love (花樣年華) Best Director 1.To Kei-Fung (杜琪峰): The Mission (鎗火) 2.Ann Hu (胡安): Shadow Magic (西洋鏡) 3.Ang Lee (李安): Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) 4.Wong Kar-Wai (王家衛): In The Mood For Love (花樣年華) Best Leading Actor 1.Francis Ng (吳鎮宇): The Mission (鎗火) 2.Chu Chung-Heng (屈中恆): Pure Accident (純屬意外) 3.Leslie Cheung (張國榮): Double Tap (鎗王) 4.Leung Chiu-Wai (梁朝偉): In The Mood For Love (花樣年華) Best Leading Actress 1.Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊): Crouching Tighter, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) 2.Zhang Zi-Yi (章子怡): Crouching Tighter, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍) 3.Cheung Man-Yuk (張曼玉): In The Mood For Love (花樣年華) 4.Sammi Cheung (鄭秀文): Needing You (孤男寡女) Best Supporting Actor 1.Cheung Ka-Nin (太保): The Cabbie (運轉手之戀) 2.Lam Suet (林雪): The Mission (鎗火) 3.Hsia Ching-Ting (夏靖庭): Hidden Whisper (小百無禁忌) 4.Tai Li-Jen (戴立忍): Fleeing By Light (夜奔) Best Supporting Actress 1.Cheng Hsiu-Ying (程秀瑛): The Cabbie (運轉手之戀) 2.Chao Mei-Ling (趙美齡): Lament of The Sand Rive (沙河悲歌) 3.Hsiao Shu-Shen (蕭淑慎): Pure accident (純屬意外) 4.Teresa Mo (毛舜筠): And I Hate You So (小親親) Best New Performer 1.Huang Yao-Nung (黃耀農): Lament Of The Sand River (沙河悲歌) 2.Yiu Yuet-Ming (姚月明): Little Cheung (細路祥) 3.Debbie Tam (譚潔雯): Spacked Out (無人駕駛) 4.Yen Mu-Tsuen (顏木村): Bundled (我叫阿銘啦)

So the GHA is the only award able to bring Lee, Wong and Chinese filmmakers to compete in the same arena.

Strong contenders

Chinese American filmmaker Ann Hu's Shadow Magic (西洋鏡), which is nominated in seven categories, could be the dark horse for best picture this year. Shadow Magic is an intriguing East-meets-West movie that depicts how foreigners helped make China's first silent movie in the days of imperial China.

There are two other Hong Kong contenders for best picture. Jonnie To's (杜琪鋒) gripping action film The Mission, which won To best director honors at last year's Hong Kong Film Awards, and Fruit Chan's (陳果) Little Cheung (細路祥), which won an award at the Lucarno Film Festival.

The only purely Taiwanese film is Chen Yi-wen's The Cabbie (運轉手之戀), which is a romantic comedy about a young taxi driver, and it does not feature in the most high-profile competitions.

"The Mission is a well-made, very enjoyable film," said film critic Regina Ho (何瑞珠), but suggested that as gangster films are not a popular genre with the GHA, it may get pushed out of contention.

Ho and Wen predict that Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung will take the two top acting awards this year. Both play in Wong Kar-wai's exquisite "mood movie" In the Mood For Love.

Despite an outstanding performance, Cheung, as the winner of three previous best actress awards, will face stiff competition from either Zhang Zi-yi (章子怡) or Michelle Yeoh, both of whom star in Crouching Tiger, Wen said.

Also worth noting are two made-in-Taiwan films by young filmmakers. Hung Chih-yu's surprising debut Pure Accidents (純屬意外), an urban comedy about a man's fantasy of extra-marital affairs. The film gave Chu Chung-heng (屈中恆) a nomination for best actor, and Suzanne Hsiao(蕭淑慎) for best supporting actress. Vivian Chang's Hidden Whisper has Hsia Ching-ting nominated for best supporting actor.

Unlike their predecessors, Ho Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Edward Yang and Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮), who presented their works as masterpieces, these local newcomers seem less self-consciously out to make art. "They have a stronger desire to communicate with the audience," Wen Tien-hsiang said.