Chen Kaige | |
|---|---|
陈凯歌 | |
.jpg) Chen at the 2013 Tokyo International Film Festival | |
| Born | Chen Aige（陈皑鸽） (1952-08-12)12 August 1952 (age 73) |
| Alma mater | Beijing Film Academy |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Movement | Fifth Generation |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2, includingArthur Chen |
| Parent(s) | Chen Huai'ai (father) Liu Yanchi (mother) |
| Relatives | Chen He (nephew) |
| Awards | Full list |
| Chen Kaige | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 陈凯歌 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳凱歌 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Chen Kaige (Chinese:陈凯歌; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese filmmaker. A leading figure ofthe fifth generation of Chinese directors, Chen is known for his visual flair and epic storytelling.[1][2] ForFarewell My Concubine (1993), Chen became the first Chinese director to win thePalme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival.[3]
Chen Kaige was born in Beijing, China into a family ofChangle,Fuzhou origin, and grew up with fellow Fifth Generation alumnusTian Zhuangzhuang as a childhood friend. His fatherChen Huai'ai [zh] was a well-known director in his own right.[1] His mother Liu Yanchi (刘燕驰) was a senior screenwriter. During theCultural Revolution, Chen joined theRed Guards and denounced his own father, a fateful decision he eventually learned to regret and informs much of his work, notably in the unblinking depictions of the Cultural Revolution inFarewell My Concubine, and in the father-son relationship inTogether.[4] In 1969, Chen became asent-down youth in Xishuangbanna Agricultural Reclamation Bureau before enlisting in thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) next year.[5] In 1975, Chen was discharged from the army and returned to Beijing, where he worked as a worker in Beijing Film Printing Factory. In 1978 Chen joined theBeijing Film Academy, where he graduated in 1982.[1]
Upon graduating, Chen was assigned to the Guangxi Film Studio, along with a fellow graduate,Zhang Yimou.[1] His first movie,Yellow Earth (1984), established itself as one of the most important works of Fifth Generation filmmaking; though simple, its powerful visual imagery, courtesy of cinematography by Zhang, and revolutionary storytelling style marked a sea change in how films were seen and perceived in the People's Republic of China.[1] The film is unique in terms of concept, structure, and style, in line with the "cultural roots seeking" trend that emerged in China in the 1980s. The purpose of filming this film is to attempt to explore the deep cultural heritage of national history and spirit from a cultural perspective.[6]The Big Parade (1986) andKing of the Children (1987) expanded on his filmic repertoire. In 1987, he was awarded a fellowship by theAsian Cultural Council and served as a visiting scholar at theNew York University Film School.[7] Early in 1989, he did further experiment in a music video for the song "Do You Believe in Shame?" byDuran Duran.[8] Later that year, he madeLife on a String, a highly esoteric movie which usesmythicalallegory and lush scenery to tell the story of a blindsanxian musician and his student. In the same year, he was a member of the jury at the39th Berlin International Film Festival.[9]
His most famous film in the West,Farewell My Concubine (1993), follows twoBeijing opera stars through decades of change in China during the twentieth century. The film was nominated for twoAcademy Awards and won thePalme d'Or at1993 Cannes Film Festival and the 1993International Federation of Film Critics Award.[3][10] Chen followed up the unprecedented success ofFarewell My Concubine withTemptress Moon (1996), another period drama starringLeslie Cheung andGong Li. Though it was well received by most critics, it did not achieve the accolades thatConcubine did, and many were put off by the film's convoluted plot line. Almost as famous is hisThe Emperor and the Assassin (1999), an epic involving the legendaryKing of Qin and the reluctant assassin who aims to kill him.
In 2002, Chen made his first, and to-date only, English-language film,Killing Me Softly, a thriller starringHeather Graham andJoseph Fiennes, though it proved to be both a critical and popular disappointment.[11]Together (2002) in the same year, which marked the beginning of his wifeChen Hong as his producer, is an intimate film about a young violinist and his father, showing the desire of young people to grow according to their spiritual guidance.[12] In the short "Ten Minutes, Aging", the finale of the collection "Deep in Flowers," which opened the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2002, Chen selects the theme of urban renewal, a nation-wide program across China at the time characterized by large-scale demolition, and tells the story of the mentally ill "Mr. Feng" moving in a seemingly humorous tone.[13] In 2005, he directedThe Promise, an all-star fantasywuxia picture, which saw Chen shifting to a more commercial mindset, regarded by some as a "radical stylistic turn" from his previous works.[8]
In 2006, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the28th Moscow International Film Festival.[14] In 2008, Chen directedForever Enthralled, a biopic of Peking opera artistMei Lanfang, followed bySacrifice (2010), a re-imagining of the Chinese playThe Orphan of Zhao.[15] His 2012 filmCaught in the Web, a reflection on internet culture—sometimes interpreted as his response to the parody frenzy surroundingThe Promise—was selected as the Chinese entry for theBest Foreign Language Oscar at the85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.[16] His filmMonk Comes Down the Mountain (2015), which may have suffered from editing issues due to the drug scandal involving one of its stars,Jaycee Chan, was a critical failure but achieved commercial success. He then directedLegend of the Demon Cat (2017), a big-budget Chinese-Japanese co-production adapted from the novel of the same name by Japanese fantasy novelistBaku Yumemakura.[17]
Since 2019, Chen directed or produced a series of propaganda films that are sometimes commissioned by the Chinese government, including co-directingThe Battle at Lake Changjin (2021), withTsui Hark andDante Lam. China's highest-grossing film of all time.[18]
In addition to directing, Chen has acted in several films, includingBernardo Bertolucci'sThe Last Emperor (1987) and his ownThe Emperor and the Assassin andTogether.
Chen's first wife was Sun Jialin (孙加林), whom he knew while working at the Beijing Film Factory from 1975 to 1978; they married in 1983 and divorced three years later. His second wife wasHong Huang, daughter ofZhang Hanzhi, a diplomat and English teacher ofMao Zedong. Through his second marriage, Chen obtained a USgreen card.[19] They separated in 1991 and divorced in 1993. From 1991, Chen lived withNi Ping, a television personality, in a six-year relationship.[20][21] In 1996, Chen married actressChen Hong, who has been his producer sinceTogether (2002). They have two sons, Chen Yu'ang and"Arthur" Chen Feiyu.[22]
| Year | English Tltle | Chinese title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Emergency Take-off | 强行起飞 | [35] |
| 2002 | Lubu and Diaochan | 吕布与貂蝉 | [36] |
| Year | English Tltle | Chinese Title | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Something Just Like This [zh] | 青春创世纪 | iQiyi web series | [37] |
| The Eight [zh] | 民初奇人传 | [38] |
| Year | English Title | Chinese Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Last Emperor | 末代皇帝 | Captain of Imperial Guard | |
| 1999 | The Emperor and the Assassin | 荊柯刺秦王 | Lü Buwei | |
| 2001 | The Grand Mansion Gate | 大宅门 | An official | guest |
| 2002 | Together | 和你在一起 | Yu Shifeng | |
| 2009 | The Founding of a Republic | 建國大業 | Feng Yuxiang | |
| 2012 | The Monkey King 3D: Uproar in Heaven | 大闹天宫3D | Dragon King of the East China Sea | Voice role |
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | |||||
| 1988 (41st) | King of the Children | Palme d'Or | Nominated | ||
| 1991 (44th) | Life on a String | Nominated | |||
| 1993 (46th) | Farewell My Concubine | Won | |||
| FIPRESCI Prize | Won | ||||
| 1996 (49th) | Temptress Moon | Palme d'Or | Nominated | ||
| 1999 (52nd) | The Emperor and the Assassin | Nominated | |||
| Berlin International Film Festival | |||||
| 2009 (59th) | Forever Enthralled | Golden Bear | Nominated | ||
| Academy Awards | |||||
| 1994 (66th) | Farewell My Concubine | Best International Feature Film | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | |||||
| 1994 (51st) | Farewell My Concubine | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | ||
| 2006 (63rd) | The Promise | Nominated | |||
| César Awards | |||||
| 1994 (19th) | Farewell My Concubine | Best Foreign Film | Nominated | ||
| Tokyo International Film Festival | |||||
| 2008 | Akira Kurosawa Award | Won | |||
| Montreal World Film Festival | |||||
| 1987 (11th) | The Big Parade | Jury Grand Prize | Won | ||
| Locarno Festival | |||||
| 1985 (38th) | Yellow Earth | Silver Leopard Award | Won | ||
| Prize of the Ecumenical Jury | Won | ||||
| Thessaloniki International Film Festival | |||||
| 2006 (47th) | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won | |||
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Rooster Awards | |||||
| 2004 (22nd) | Together | Best Director | Won | ||
| Best Picture | Nominated | ||||
| 2009 (27th) | Forever Enthralled | Best Picture | Won | ||
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||
| 2020 (33rd) | My People, My Country | Nominated | |||
| 2022 (35th) | The Battle at Lake Changjin | Won | |||
| Hundred Flowers Awards | |||||
| 2020 (35th) | My People, My Country | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Huabiao Awards | |||||
| 2009 (13th) | Forever Enthralled | Outstanding Director | Won | ||
| Outstanding Film | Won | ||||
| 2011 (14th) | Sacrifice | Outstanding Film | Won | ||
| China Film Directors Association | |||||
| 2018 (9th) | Legend of the Demon Cat | Film of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Director of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Chinese Film Media Awards | |||||
| 2003 (3rd) | Together | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| 2011 (11th) | Sacrifice | Filmmaker of the Year | Won | ||
| Huading Awards | |||||
| 2020 (27th) | My People, My Country | Best Film Director Award | Nominated | ||
| Shanghai International Film Festival | |||||
| 2010 (13th) | Chinese-language Film Outstanding Contribution Award | Won | |||
| Beijing College Student Film Festival | |||||
| 2009 (16th) | Forever Enthralled | Best Director | Won | ||
| Best Film | Won | ||||
| 2018 (25th) | Legend of the Demon Cat | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Best Viewing Effect Award | Won | ||||
| Hong Kong Film Award | |||||
| 2004 (23rd) | Together | Best Asian Film Award | Nominated | ||
| 2009 (28th) | Forever Enthralled | Nominated | |||
| Macau International Movie Festival | |||||
| 2018 (10th) | Legend of the Demon Cat | Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||
