The 57th Berlin Film Festival opened last night with distinctive
French undertones as La Vie en Rose, a film about Edith
Piaf's rise from seedy poverty to glory, starting proceedings.
Two Chinese movies, Lost in Beijing and Tu Ya's
Marriage, are vying for the Golden Bear, competing along with
such major productions as George Clooney's The Good German
and Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd.
Hong Kong film producer Shi Nansun, who is also director Tsui
Hark's wife, is a member of the Berlinale jury headed by Paul
Schrader, who will be premiering his thriller The Walker out
of competition.
Lost in Beijing is young director Li Yu's latest film
after her movie Dam Street, which won several awards
internationally. Lost in Beijing catalogues the odd
relationships and conflicts between two couples and seeks to
explain ethical conflicts caused by differences in social
status.
This movie will have its world premiere in Berlin on February
16.
The other Chinese entry, Tu Ya's Marriage, by director
Wang Quanan, casts a uniquely female look at life. Lead actress Yu
Nan plays a Mongolian woman who is urged to remarry by her own
husband after he becomes paralyzed. The poignant story looks at the
ramifications of the couple's divorce and the heroine's pressures
to remarry.
The prizes will be awarded on February 17.
The Berlinale vies with Venice for the title of Europe's
second-largest cinema festival after Cannes.?
(CRI.cn February 9, 2007)