Mama (film)
Encyclopedia
Mama is a 1990 Chinese film
directed by Zhang Yuan
. Zhang Yuan's directorial debut, Mama is today considered a seminal film in the history of Chinese independent cinema, and by extension, as a pioneering film of the Sixth Generation of which Zhang is a member.
Shot on an extreme budget within Zhang Yuan's apartment, Mama, follows the story of a mother and her grown mentally challenged son.
while at the same time dealing with an absent and unresponsive husband. The story garnered much criticism from state-censors, who found the film too dark.
While the film was originally written to end on the dour note of the mother euthanizing her son, director Zhang Yuan eventually opted for a more open-ended and ambiguous conclusion.
. Zhang Yuan at the time was still a student in the Beijing Film Academy
's cinematography
department and was slated to serve as the film's director of photography, with Fifth Generation graduate Sun Chen slated to direct. For three months, Zhang worked with screenwriter (and planned lead actor) Qin Yan and Sun storyboarding The Sun Tree. The studio, however, ultimately decided that the film was not profitable and canceled production.
The project was then picked up by the August First Film Studio, now with Gong Yiqun set as the director. During this second production period, Zhang Yuan again was set to serve as cinematographer and conducted several location-scouting trips to Dunhuang
. However, August First canceled the production shortly after the Tiananmen Square incident
, in part because Dai Qing
had supported the demonstrations and was now a problematic figure politically.
With the project seemingly dead, Zhang Yuan and Qin Yan decided to produce the film independently, asking friends and family for funds. Zhang, Qin, and Zhang's wife, screenwriter Ning Dai also went back to rework the film's original story. The result was a film, in Zhang's words, that "was completely different" and "something much closer to the everyday reality of average Chinese people."
While Zhang Yuan's friend, director Wang Xiaoshuai
, was originally set to direct, Zhang himself eventually took over directing duties.
The film was ultimately shot in 1989 in Zhang's apartment on a budget of only ¥100,000, shortly after Zhang had graduated from the BFA.
leanings, as Mama also intercuts actual interviews with parents of autistic children throughout the narrative.
Today the film is considered a pioneering work and the "first independent Chinese film since 1949." It was selected to screen in the 2005 62nd Venice International Film Festival
, as part of that festival's retrospective on Chinese cinema.
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Zhang Yuan
Zhang Yuan
Zhang Yuan is a Chinese film director who has been described by film scholars as a pioneering member of China's Sixth Generation of filmmakers...
. Zhang Yuan's directorial debut, Mama is today considered a seminal film in the history of Chinese independent cinema, and by extension, as a pioneering film of the Sixth Generation of which Zhang is a member.
Shot on an extreme budget within Zhang Yuan's apartment, Mama, follows the story of a mother and her grown mentally challenged son.
Plot
The film focuses on a librarian struggling to raise her mentally handicapped son in modern day BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
while at the same time dealing with an absent and unresponsive husband. The story garnered much criticism from state-censors, who found the film too dark.
While the film was originally written to end on the dour note of the mother euthanizing her son, director Zhang Yuan eventually opted for a more open-ended and ambiguous conclusion.
Production history
The film that was to become Mama began as a screenplay in the Children's Film Studio for a film entitled The Sun Tree as based on a story by writer Dai QingDai Qing
Dai Qing, born in August 1941, is a journalist and activist for China-related issues; most significantly against the Three Gorges Dam Project. Dai is also an author who has published many influential books, articles, and journals.-Early life:Dai, also called Fu Ning , was born in Chongqing,...
. Zhang Yuan at the time was still a student in the Beijing Film Academy
Beijing Film Academy
Beijing Film Academy is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institution specialised in the tertiary education for film and television production in Asia...
's cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
department and was slated to serve as the film's director of photography, with Fifth Generation graduate Sun Chen slated to direct. For three months, Zhang worked with screenwriter (and planned lead actor) Qin Yan and Sun storyboarding The Sun Tree. The studio, however, ultimately decided that the film was not profitable and canceled production.
The project was then picked up by the August First Film Studio, now with Gong Yiqun set as the director. During this second production period, Zhang Yuan again was set to serve as cinematographer and conducted several location-scouting trips to Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
. However, August First canceled the production shortly after the Tiananmen Square incident
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, in part because Dai Qing
Dai Qing
Dai Qing, born in August 1941, is a journalist and activist for China-related issues; most significantly against the Three Gorges Dam Project. Dai is also an author who has published many influential books, articles, and journals.-Early life:Dai, also called Fu Ning , was born in Chongqing,...
had supported the demonstrations and was now a problematic figure politically.
With the project seemingly dead, Zhang Yuan and Qin Yan decided to produce the film independently, asking friends and family for funds. Zhang, Qin, and Zhang's wife, screenwriter Ning Dai also went back to rework the film's original story. The result was a film, in Zhang's words, that "was completely different" and "something much closer to the everyday reality of average Chinese people."
While Zhang Yuan's friend, director Wang Xiaoshuai
Wang Xiaoshuai
Wang Xiaoshuai is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He is commonly grouped under the loose association of filmmakers known as the Sixth Generation of the Cinema of China....
, was originally set to direct, Zhang himself eventually took over directing duties.
The film was ultimately shot in 1989 in Zhang's apartment on a budget of only ¥100,000, shortly after Zhang had graduated from the BFA.
Style
Filmed mostly in black and white, the film's small budget often shows in its minimalist style. Mamas small cast of characters and minimal plot would become trademarks to Zhang's films. The film is also notable as an example of Zhang's documentaryDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
leanings, as Mama also intercuts actual interviews with parents of autistic children throughout the narrative.
Reception
Mama was registered with the state-run Xi'an Film Studio, but was given only a minimal distribution in its native China. Instead the film received numerous accolades abroad, screening at several international film festivals and winning the Special Jury Prize at the Nantes Three Continents Film Festival in 1991.Today the film is considered a pioneering work and the "first independent Chinese film since 1949." It was selected to screen in the 2005 62nd Venice International Film Festival
62nd Venice International Film Festival
The 62nd Venice International Film Festival opened on August 31, 2005 with Tsui Hark's Seven Swords and closed on September 10, 2005 with a screening of Peter Ho-sun Chan's musical Perhaps Love. The lineups were announced by the festival director Marco Müller on July 28, 2005 in Rome...
, as part of that festival's retrospective on Chinese cinema.
External links
- Mama at the Chinese Movie Database