Dada's Dance
Encyclopedia
Dada's Dance is a 2008 Chinese film
directed by the leading sixth generation director, Zhang Yuan
. Unlike earlier films in his career, Dada's Dance successfully negotiated the Chinese censorship apparatus and emerged unedited and unchanged from Zhang's original cut. The film stars Li Xinyun as the titular Dada and was produced by Zhang's own Zhang Yuan Cultural Studios and the Beijing Century Good-Tidings Cultural Development Company.
The film screened once in Beijing, China during the Beijing Screenings event on 25 September 2008 and had its international premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival on 3 October 2008.
) with her divorced mother (Gai Ke) and her mother's leering boyfriend (Wu Lanhui). Her neighbor, Zhao Ye (Li Xiaofeng) spies on her through her open window each morning as she dances to salsa music
and gets ready for the day. Dada, knowing of his crush, teases him mercilessly.
Dada spends much of her time avoiding the crude passes made by her mother's boyfriend. During one of these episodes, an argument occurs and her mother's boyfriend falsely claims that Dada was adopted. Armed with this information, she drags Zhao Ye and heads south to a small village where she meets a woman who could be her birth mother.
events that will settle things once and for all.
in October 2008, western critics seemed to have already ruled the film one of Zhang's lesser efforts. Indeed, early reviews from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter derided the film as "a notch down from [Zhang's] best work" and "light on substance," respectively. Bloomberg News meanwhile called the film "[s]o safe and sedate...that it's little surprise the film cleared Chinese censors without a single cut."
However, the same critics did find aspects of Dada's Dance worthy of praise. The lead actress Li Xinyun was singled out as "never less than watchable," while another critic wrote that "it is the composite of both Li's and Dada's personalities that give the film its soul." Also praised was the film's music by composer Andrea Guerra, whose score was called "ethereal" by Variety,, an "unexpected treat" by Screen Daily, and one of the film's two saving graces by Bloomberg News (the other being Li Xinyun).
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 the leading sixth generation director, 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...
. Unlike earlier films in his career, Dada's Dance successfully negotiated the Chinese censorship apparatus and emerged unedited and unchanged from Zhang's original cut. The film stars Li Xinyun as the titular Dada and was produced by Zhang's own Zhang Yuan Cultural Studios and the Beijing Century Good-Tidings Cultural Development Company.
The film screened once in Beijing, China during the Beijing Screenings event on 25 September 2008 and had its international premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival on 3 October 2008.
Plot
'When she returns to the city, things take a turn for the worse as Dada puts into motion a sequence ofDada (Li Xinyun) is a young woman living in an unnamed central China city (filming took place in WuhanWuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
) with her divorced mother (Gai Ke) and her mother's leering boyfriend (Wu Lanhui). Her neighbor, Zhao Ye (Li Xiaofeng) spies on her through her open window each morning as she dances to salsa music
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and gets ready for the day. Dada, knowing of his crush, teases him mercilessly.
Dada spends much of her time avoiding the crude passes made by her mother's boyfriend. During one of these episodes, an argument occurs and her mother's boyfriend falsely claims that Dada was adopted. Armed with this information, she drags Zhao Ye and heads south to a small village where she meets a woman who could be her birth mother.
events that will settle things once and for all.
Cast
- Li Xinyun as Dada. Li, who starred as the young teacher in Zhang Yuan's previous film, Little Red Flowers plays the titular protagonist in Dada's Dance. Her birth name, Li Xiaofeng is shared by Li's primary costar, Li Xiaofeng, though the two actors use different characters for their names.
- Li Xiaofeng as Zhao Ye, Dada's neighbor who falls in love with her after he sees her dancing through his window.
- Liu Yi as Coco, Dada's best friend and confidante.
- Gai Ke as Dada's mother.
- Wu Lanhui as Chen Jun, Dada's mother's lecherous boyfriend.
Reception
Shortly after the film's international premiere at the Pusan International Film FestivalPusan International Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival , held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan , South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia...
in October 2008, western critics seemed to have already ruled the film one of Zhang's lesser efforts. Indeed, early reviews from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter derided the film as "a notch down from [Zhang's] best work" and "light on substance," respectively. Bloomberg News meanwhile called the film "[s]o safe and sedate...that it's little surprise the film cleared Chinese censors without a single cut."
However, the same critics did find aspects of Dada's Dance worthy of praise. The lead actress Li Xinyun was singled out as "never less than watchable," while another critic wrote that "it is the composite of both Li's and Dada's personalities that give the film its soul." Also praised was the film's music by composer Andrea Guerra, whose score was called "ethereal" by Variety,, an "unexpected treat" by Screen Daily, and one of the film's two saving graces by Bloomberg News (the other being Li Xinyun).
External links
- Dada's Dance at the Chinese Movie Database