Slightly old, from 2007, but still timely, given that China’s national college entrance exam (gaokao) was just two weeks ago, and this documentary is about how students at one particular high school prepare for that exam. This film, which won the Best Documentary award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2006, has been... Read more »
On one hand, I want to call out this director for his whiny first-worldism and paranoia. But on the other hand, I can't imagine the brand of hell that is making a movie in China: the ribbons of red tape, the soul-searing bureaucracy, the endless baijiu banquets and bribing with cigarettes. We're never told what movie this director, Gil Kofman, was working on, or if he ever finished. But we do know that he made a film about the experience, ala Tropic Thunder ("The Making of Tropic Thunder" was the movie that won the Oscar in Tropic Thunder, as you'll remember). The trailer is above.
Shanghai Calling is a movie about a confident, ambitious, career-minded Chinese American named Sam who gets called into his New York law firm’s office one day and told he’s in for some “big news.” As he prepares to humbly accept what he believes is a promotion, he’s told, “We’re sending you to China!” Uh-oh. China... Read more »
