Lou Ye
Lou Ye | |
---|---|
Chinese name | 婁燁 (traditional) |
Chinese name | 娄烨 (simplified) |
Pinyin | Lóu Yè (Mandarin) |
Born | 1965 (age 58–59) Shanghai |
Occupation | Filmmaker |
Years active | 1990s-Present |
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Lou Ye (Wade–Giles: Lou Yeh), born 1965, is a Chinese screenwriter-director who is commonly grouped with the "Sixth Generation"[1][2][3] directors of Chinese cinema.
Films
Born in Shanghai, Lou was educated at the Beijing Film Academy. In 1993, he made his first film Weekend Lover, but it was not released until two years later in 1995 and had its world premiere at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg where it also received the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Award. Lou, however, did not gain international prominence until his second film, the neo-noir Suzhou River. That film dealt with questions of identity and proved quite controversial upon its release in China. Upon its release, international audiences praised Suzhou River, which several critics felt evoked Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, particularly in how both films focus on a man obsessed with a mysterious woman.[4][5]
In 2003, Lou Ye made the film Purple Butterfly starring Zhang Ziyi. The film, which took place during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, with its tale of revenge and betrayal, as well as its complex narrative structure again borrowed heavily from the film noir tradition.
Lou's next film, Summer Palace (2006) which dealt with two lovers in the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, again brought Lou into conflict with Chinese authorities, resulting in a five-year ban for both him and his producer. His latest film, Spring Fever, was therefore shot surreptitiously in Nanjing and was registered as a Hong Kong-French coproduction to avoid censors. The film was shown in competition at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival[6] where it won the prize for best screenplay for writer Mei Feng.
In 1998, Lou Ye founded with Nai An the film company Dream Factory.
Controversy
Lou Ye's films have proven controversial in their content, and often deal with issues of sexuality, gender, and obsession. Government censors banned his first film Weekend Lover for two years, while his breakout film Suzhou River is still banned (with Lou receiving a 2-year ban from filmmaking).
Later, after Lou submitted Summer Palace to the 2006 Cannes Film Festival without approval from Chinese censors, he was banned from film-making again, this time for five years.[7] The film itself was also banned, though according to Lou this was because it was not up to the SARFT's standards for picture and sound quality.[8]
Filmography
Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Weekend Lover | 周末情人 | Werner Fassbinder Award for Best Direction at the 1996 Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival |
2000 | Suzhou River | 苏州河 | Tiger Award at the 1999 International Film Festival Rotterdam |
2001 | "In Shanghai" | 在上海 | Short video film |
2003 | Purple Butterfly | 紫蝴蝶 | |
2006 | Summer Palace | 頤和園 | |
2009 | Spring Fever | 春风沉醉的晚上 | Prix du scénario award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival |
2011 | Love and Bruises | 花 | |
2012 | Mystery | 浮城谜事 | |
2014 | Blind Massage | 推拿 | Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film |
References
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External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lou Ye |
- Lou Ye at the Internet Movie Database
- Lou Ye at AllMovie
- Lou Ye at the Chinese Movie Database
- Interview with Lou Ye at Telepolis (German)
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