After a conspicuous and pride-busting absence from the three biggest European film festivals, Chinese movies staged a surprise comeback at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, known as Berlinale, which runs from Feb 6 to 16. As many as three Chinese films have been selected for the 23-film-strong main competition, including No Man's Land, Ning Hao's dark take on humanity that took four long years to go through the censorship pipeline. The film, which opened on Dec 3, 2013, in China, was both a critical and commercial hit, raking in 260 million yuan at the box office.
The other two contenders have not been released in their homeland yet, but Massage is a well-known story adapted from Bi Feiyu's widely acclaimed novel. Last year saw the birth of both the stage play and the television drama series, and Lou Ye's film treatment could not possibly embed any narrative spoilers. However, those who love the story, about a bunch of blind people who make a living from the massage business, may compare the different artistic approaches and conclude which one successfully comes out of the shadow of the literary original.
Black Coal, Thin Ice is set against the wintry landscape of Northeast China where the desolate scenery may reflect the mental state of the main characters. Director Diao Yinan loves film noir, but his style of portraying murder and misery is uniquely his own, where the cop, the perpetrator and the hapless bystander are not suave or sophisticated enough to spew bon mots. "I love black because it gives a sense of discontinuity, and it blends social realism with surrealistic fantasy; I love to subvert conventions," Diao explains.
More Chinese-language films are competing in the Panorama section: Dante Lam's supernatural thriller That Demon Within, Fruit Chan's adaptation of an online novel The Midnight After, Tsai Ming-liang's new segment of his experimental Walker series titled Journey to the West, The Rice Bomber by Cho Li, Ice Poison by Midi Z and Zhou Hao's auspicious debut The Night. This heavily Asian program is designed to promote art-house cinema with a clear auteur inclination.
Cao Baoping's Einstein and Einstein, about a teenage girl and her dog, is among the First Generation sidebar. The Movable Feast is picked for the Culinary Cinema program.
Besides those in competition, several Chinese-language films are on sale at the European Film Market, which runs alongside Berlinale. Most notable is The Golden Era, Ann Hui's upcoming biopic on female writer Xiao Hong. The pairing of Hui and Tang Wei is keeping many cinephiles in blissful prayer for something great.
Back to the main competition, Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, a favorite with auteur filmmakers, is sitting on the judging panel, further arousing interest in China. As many as 73 percent polled on Sina.com were hopeful that Chinese-language films may bring home some kind of trophy.
中国电影缺席欧洲三大电影节之后，在第64届柏林国际电影节上强势回归。今年的柏林电影节将于2月6日至16日举行。本届电影节主竞赛单元共有23 部电影，其中3部是中国电影。历时四年通过审查的《无人区》，由宁浩执导，反映了人性的黑暗。这部电影于2013年12月3日在中国上映，是一部叫座的商 业大片，票房高达2.6亿元。
其它两部提名电影还没有在中国上映。《推拿》改编自毕飞宇的著名小说。去年同名舞台剧和电视剧都已上映，所以娄烨的电影不进行任何的剧透。小说讲述 的是一群盲人从事推拿以谋求生存的故事，所以，那些喜爱这个故事的人们免不了要将不同的艺术版本进行比较，看看哪一个成功的摆脱了原著的束缚。
《白日焰火》在中国东北取景，荒凉的景色可以反映出主演的心理状态。导演刁亦男喜爱黑色电影，但是他描述谋杀与神秘的风格却是独一无二的。警察、罪 犯以及倒霉的旁观者还没有柔和或复杂到蹦出智慧警句。“我喜欢黑色电影，因为他给人一种间断感，并将社会现实与超现实主义幻想融合在一起。我喜欢颠覆传 统。”刁亦男说。
全景单元更有多部华语电影：林超贤导演的超自然惊悚片《魔警》，陈果改编自网络小说的《那夜凌晨，我坐上了旺角开往大埔的红VAN》，以及蔡明亮导 演的新作《西游》，卓立导演的《白米炸弹客》，赵德胤导演的《冰毒》，周豪的处女作《夜》。这次的亚洲重磅计划意在推广导演们的艺术电影。
曹保平导演的《狗十三》入围新生代单元竞赛，讲述的是一个小姑娘和她的狗狗的故事。电影《总铺师》入围美食单元竞赛。
除了入围电影，还有多部华语电影意在开拓欧洲电影市场，在柏林电影节期间上映。最值得一提的是许鞍华导演的即将上映的传记电影《黄金时代》，讲述的是女作家萧红的故事。众多影迷期待汤唯的精彩演出。
让我们再回到主竞赛区，香港演员梁朝伟是导演制片人们最喜欢的演员，本次电影节将坐镇评审席，这将会激起欧洲对中国的更大兴趣。新浪网进行的调查显示，高达73%的网民希望华语电影在本届电影节上可以多拿几个奖杯。