Chinese director Zhang Yuang will not be attending Cannes this year to accompany his film. Chinese border guards at Shenzen confiscated his passport as he crossed from Hong Kong to China in April. He is also rumoured to be under house arrest. The confiscation of Zhang's passport is believed to be directly related to the presentation of Dong Gong Xi Gong at Cannes. Of course, no official reason has been given by the Chiinse authorities.
Zhang Yuan is perhaps the most well-known of China's 'outlaw' or 'Sixth Generation' directors. This group of filmmakers, who came to international attention around 1993, produce films independently outside China's official studio system, a practice that (for feature films) was declared illegal in June last year. Prior to this, the Beijing authorites had hindered their work by issuing directives forbidding equipment hire companies, etc, to work with them and protesting to international film festivals which showed their work.
Aside from the loss of control that results from independent productions, the authorities are wary of the contemporary subject matter of these films. Even the official Studios have a tough time getting approval for contemporary-set films. Zhang has a social agenda, and has often blended real and documantary footage to show the downside of today's China. His debut Mama focussed on life in a mental home while Beijing Bastards was a look at the city's fledgling rock scene.
Dong Gong Xi Gong , which premiered at the Pusan International Film Festival last year, takes its title for a meeting place for homosexuals on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. The film centres on a young gay writer who is held by the police for intensive interrogation. Fragments of his life surface in flashbacks, and the film portrays his first sexual experiences, forced labour on a farm, and his search for a meaningful relationship.
As the movie develops, a bond develops between the captive and captor, who oscillates between revulsion and fascination. Zhang dramatises the sitaution by having Ah-Lan, the writer, desire the policeman, who seems to become more and more amibivalent about his sexuality.
Zhang, who is straight, says that he chose the topic because 'I feel that homosexuality is little understood, especially in China.' Homosexuality in China is not actually illegal, but gays are harrased and beaten all the same.
Dong Gong Xi Gong , bugeted at around US$260,000, shows Zhang move away from his documentary style to something more dramatic. Technically, it is his most proficient movie to date. It has also been produced as a stage play. Richard James Havis
Prod Co: United Films, Quelqu'un d'un Autre Productions
Producers: Zhang Yuan, Christophe Jung, Christophe Menager
Dir: Zhang Yuan
Scr: Zhang Yuan, Wang Xiabo
Ph: Zhang Jian
Mus: Xiang Min
Art Dir: An Bing
Ed: Vincent Levy Cast Si Han, Hu Jun
Running Time: 90mins
Int Sales: Fortissimo
