Keep Cool (film)
Encyclopedia
Keep Cool is a 1997 Chinese black comedy
directed
by Zhang Yimou
and adapted from the novel Evening Papers News by Shu Ping. The film about a bookseller in love in 1990s Beijing, marked a move away from earlier period pictures of Zhang's earlier work to a more realistic Cinéma vérité
-like period in his career that also saw him make Happy Times
(2000) and Not One Less
(1999). Keep Cool also marked only the second time Zhang placed his film in the modern era and the first time Zhang did not work with actress Gong Li
.
The film was produced by the Guangxi Film Studio.
) who is following his ex-lover An Hong (Qu Ying) home, obviously after an unhappy and one-sided break-up. He tracks the fast-walking An Hong on a bus and later on a bicycle, until she reaches her flat and goes up to her apartment. There, Zhao gets a junk peddler (Zhang Yimou, the director himself, speaking in his native Shaanxi
accent) and another peddler to call out her name and declare his undying love to her at the high-rise flats.
The next day, the temperamental An Hong becomes impressed enough by Xiaoshuai's efforts to take him up her apartment for a quickie, but their tryst is interrupted by another man (Zhao Benshan
) downstairs, reciting some nonsensical poetry through a loudhailer. Apparently, the person is hired by the peddler Xiaoshuai hired the day before (who has absconded from the job). Xiaoshuai tries unsuccessfully to get the man to stop, and in a huff the angered An Hong leaves her apartment. Xiaoshuai is baffled by his ex blowing hot and cold at him.
The scene shifts to some time later. While waiting at a public bicycle stand
Xiaoshuai gets beaten up by nightclub owner Liu Delong and his hired thugs, who warn him never to attach himself to An Hong again (apparently Liu is An Hong's new flame). The concussed Xiaoshuai was sent to a hospital
by well-mannered middle-aged
stranger Mr. Zhang (Li Baotian), who claims Xiaoshuai has accidentally wrecked his brand-new laptop
in the act of him being beaten up. The angry Xiaoshuai refuses to compensate, insisting Zhang finds Liu Delong - the main culprit - for payment.
The bothersome Zhang keeps finding Xiaoshuai over the laptop compensation and Xiaoshuai finally relents: the two decide to get down to Liu's nightclub to get Zhang's compensation. Once there, however, Xiaoshuai is unable to contain himself and launches a reckless physical attack on Liu, which lands him at the police station for seven days. Xiaoshuai is released after a reprimand by the police chief. Some time later, Zhang interrupts Xiaoshuai (again) during his tryst with An Hong to inform that Liu has agreed, somewhat belatedly, to pay up and apologize.
The next scene shows Zhang and Xiaoshuai waiting at a karaoke
restaurant for Liu to make his indemnity and to end their entanglements with one another. Zhang is happy the two can talk, but Xiaoshuai reveals, after some drinks, that he has come, not really to make up, but with an intent – to sever Liu's right hand. Xiaoshuai then compensates Zhang with a new laptop and tells him to leave and not get implicated with his "crime", but Zhang, realizing the import of the matter, leaves and immediately starts looking for a mobile phone
to call up the unsuspecting Liu to stop this "tragedy". Zhang grabs a nearby passer-by's mobile set, but fails to contact Liu. Xiaoshuai, realizing Zhang is about to wreck his revenge mission, convinces passers-by Zhang is a mad relative and drags him back to the restaurant.
Once back to the restaurant, Zhang realizes he must act quickly to grab the restaurant customers' attention. He overturns a table; in the mayhem, to his chagrin, everyone in the restaurant is convinced by Xiaoshuai that Liu is simply stark mad. The restaurant owner gets Zhang tied up and gagged upstairs, after which he leaves, and an irate chef
attacks Zhang for molesting (unwittingly) a fellow waitress whom he fancies. Downstairs, Xiaoshuai waits for Liu. Liu turns up and pays up very amicably, but before Xiaoshuai can launch his attack, the wall-mounted loudspeaker above their table collapses and injures Liu badly. The frantic restaurant owner and customers bring Liu to the nearest hospital, and Xiaoshuai finds himself quite bemused that his revenge plans has turned to nought (although Liu has seemingly had his retribution).
When Xiaoshuai returns upstairs to release the gagged Zhang, he finds a curious scene. Zhang has gone completely berserk and is wreaking havoc by going after the chef with a cleaver. Xiaoshuai tries desperately to calm Zhang, but only manages to see Zhang wreck the new laptop. Like Xiaoshuai, Zhang is detained at the police station for seven days. He is given a light reprimand by the station-master, who advises him to "speak nicely when everyone has something to work out". In an ending requested by the state censors (see below), Xiaoshuai gets someone to pick Zhang up in a van after Zhang's seven-day detainment period is up. Xiaoshuai apologizes in a well-phrased letter for the troubles he caused, promises to curb his violent temper, and pays Zhang a new laptop.
soundtrack
, a roving handheld camera with multiple jump cut
s to give a feel of contemporary Beijing.
, was pulled by Chinese censors at the last minute, ostensibly part of a general retrenchment of Chinese control over its film industry following the release of Zhang Yuan
's homosexual-themed East Palace, West Palace
.
Chinese censors additionally asked for Zhang to implement substantive changes to the film's story, most notably adding a happy ending.
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
and adapted from the novel Evening Papers News by Shu Ping. The film about a bookseller in love in 1990s Beijing, marked a move away from earlier period pictures of Zhang's earlier work to a more realistic Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
-like period in his career that also saw him make Happy Times
Happy Times
Happy Times is a 2000 tragicomedy film directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, starring Zhao Benshan and Dong Jie. It is based loosely on the short story, Shifu: You'll Do Anything for a Laugh by Mo Yan; the story appears in English translation in the collection of the same title translated by...
(2000) and Not One Less
Not One Less
Not One Less is a 1999 drama film by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, adapted from Shi Xiangsheng's 1997 story "A Sun in the Sky" . It was produced by Guangxi Film Studio and released by China Film Group Corporation in mainland China, and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and Columbia Tristar...
(1999). Keep Cool also marked only the second time Zhang placed his film in the modern era and the first time Zhang did not work with actress Gong Li
Gong Li
Gong Li is a Chinese film actress. Gong first came into international prominence through close collaboration with Chinese director Zhang Yimou and is credited with helping to bring Chinese cinema to Europe and the United States....
.
The film was produced by the Guangxi Film Studio.
Synopsis
The film is set in contemporaneous Beijing. It begins with bookseller Zhao Xiaoshuai (Jiang WenJiang Wen
Jiang Wen is a Chinese film actor and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "sixth generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred with Gong Li in Zhang Yimou's debut film Red Sorghum...
) who is following his ex-lover An Hong (Qu Ying) home, obviously after an unhappy and one-sided break-up. He tracks the fast-walking An Hong on a bus and later on a bicycle, until she reaches her flat and goes up to her apartment. There, Zhao gets a junk peddler (Zhang Yimou, the director himself, speaking in his native Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
accent) and another peddler to call out her name and declare his undying love to her at the high-rise flats.
The next day, the temperamental An Hong becomes impressed enough by Xiaoshuai's efforts to take him up her apartment for a quickie, but their tryst is interrupted by another man (Zhao Benshan
Zhao Benshan
Zhao Benshan is a Chinese skit and sitcom actor, and recently turned TV director. He appears regularly on the CCTV New Year's Gala.-Biography:...
) downstairs, reciting some nonsensical poetry through a loudhailer. Apparently, the person is hired by the peddler Xiaoshuai hired the day before (who has absconded from the job). Xiaoshuai tries unsuccessfully to get the man to stop, and in a huff the angered An Hong leaves her apartment. Xiaoshuai is baffled by his ex blowing hot and cold at him.
The scene shifts to some time later. While waiting at a public bicycle stand
Bicycle stand
A bicycle stand,also called a bike rack, is a device to which bicycles may be securely attached. It may be free standing or securely attached to the ground or some stationary object such as a building. Indoor bike racks are commonly used for private bicycle parking, while outdoor bike racks are...
Xiaoshuai gets beaten up by nightclub owner Liu Delong and his hired thugs, who warn him never to attach himself to An Hong again (apparently Liu is An Hong's new flame). The concussed Xiaoshuai was sent to a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
by well-mannered middle-aged
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
stranger Mr. Zhang (Li Baotian), who claims Xiaoshuai has accidentally wrecked his brand-new laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
in the act of him being beaten up. The angry Xiaoshuai refuses to compensate, insisting Zhang finds Liu Delong - the main culprit - for payment.
The bothersome Zhang keeps finding Xiaoshuai over the laptop compensation and Xiaoshuai finally relents: the two decide to get down to Liu's nightclub to get Zhang's compensation. Once there, however, Xiaoshuai is unable to contain himself and launches a reckless physical attack on Liu, which lands him at the police station for seven days. Xiaoshuai is released after a reprimand by the police chief. Some time later, Zhang interrupts Xiaoshuai (again) during his tryst with An Hong to inform that Liu has agreed, somewhat belatedly, to pay up and apologize.
The next scene shows Zhang and Xiaoshuai waiting at a karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
restaurant for Liu to make his indemnity and to end their entanglements with one another. Zhang is happy the two can talk, but Xiaoshuai reveals, after some drinks, that he has come, not really to make up, but with an intent – to sever Liu's right hand. Xiaoshuai then compensates Zhang with a new laptop and tells him to leave and not get implicated with his "crime", but Zhang, realizing the import of the matter, leaves and immediately starts looking for a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
to call up the unsuspecting Liu to stop this "tragedy". Zhang grabs a nearby passer-by's mobile set, but fails to contact Liu. Xiaoshuai, realizing Zhang is about to wreck his revenge mission, convinces passers-by Zhang is a mad relative and drags him back to the restaurant.
Once back to the restaurant, Zhang realizes he must act quickly to grab the restaurant customers' attention. He overturns a table; in the mayhem, to his chagrin, everyone in the restaurant is convinced by Xiaoshuai that Liu is simply stark mad. The restaurant owner gets Zhang tied up and gagged upstairs, after which he leaves, and an irate chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
attacks Zhang for molesting (unwittingly) a fellow waitress whom he fancies. Downstairs, Xiaoshuai waits for Liu. Liu turns up and pays up very amicably, but before Xiaoshuai can launch his attack, the wall-mounted loudspeaker above their table collapses and injures Liu badly. The frantic restaurant owner and customers bring Liu to the nearest hospital, and Xiaoshuai finds himself quite bemused that his revenge plans has turned to nought (although Liu has seemingly had his retribution).
When Xiaoshuai returns upstairs to release the gagged Zhang, he finds a curious scene. Zhang has gone completely berserk and is wreaking havoc by going after the chef with a cleaver. Xiaoshuai tries desperately to calm Zhang, but only manages to see Zhang wreck the new laptop. Like Xiaoshuai, Zhang is detained at the police station for seven days. He is given a light reprimand by the station-master, who advises him to "speak nicely when everyone has something to work out". In an ending requested by the state censors (see below), Xiaoshuai gets someone to pick Zhang up in a van after Zhang's seven-day detainment period is up. Xiaoshuai apologizes in a well-phrased letter for the troubles he caused, promises to curb his violent temper, and pays Zhang a new laptop.
Style
Keep Cool is largely different in style from the rest of Zhang's oeuvre. It is Zhang's first urban comedy, and uses a hip, rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, a roving handheld camera with multiple jump cut
Jump cut
A jump cut is a cut in film editing and vloging in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit causes the subject of the shots to appear to "jump" position in a discontinuous way...
s to give a feel of contemporary Beijing.
Censorship
Keep Cool, originally scheduled for a world premiere at the 1997 Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, was pulled by Chinese censors at the last minute, ostensibly part of a general retrenchment of Chinese control over its film industry following the release of 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...
's homosexual-themed East Palace, West Palace
East Palace, West Palace
East Palace, West Palace is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan starring Hu Jun, Si Han. It is also known as Behind the Forbidden City or Behind the Palace Gates....
.
Chinese censors additionally asked for Zhang to implement substantive changes to the film's story, most notably adding a happy ending.
Cast
- Jiang WenJiang WenJiang Wen is a Chinese film actor and director. As a director, he is sometimes grouped with the "sixth generation" that emerged in the 1990s. Jiang is also well known internationally as an actor, having starred with Gong Li in Zhang Yimou's debut film Red Sorghum...
as The Bookseller; Jiang Wen, one of China's most famous actors and directors, takes a leading role in Keep Cool (his second time working with Zhang Yimou). Zhang referred to the actor as "the best actor in China today, and intelligent. I saw the movie he made [In the Heat of the Sun] and took a video back to my hometown for my parents. We all laughed." - Li Baotian as Lao Zhang; Li Baotian, one of Zhang's regular actors (Ju DouJu DouJu Dou is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang and starring Gong Li as the title character. It is notable for being shot in vivid Technicolor long after the process had been abandoned in the United States...
, Shanghai TriadShanghai TriadShanghai Triad is a 1995 Chinese film, directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. The film is set in the criminal underworld of 1930s Shanghai, Republic of China and spans seven days...
), again provides a pivotal performance for Keep Cool. - Ge YouGe YouGe You is an acclaimed Mainland Chinese actor. A native of Beijing, he is considered by many to be one of the most recognizable acting personalities in the Mainland...
as The Policeman; Ge You, a comedic actor, has a cameo in the film. - Qu YingQu YingJoie Qu Ying is a Chinese model.- Early life :She graduated from the modern drama class at the Artistic School of Hunan Province, and later became a cast member in the Hunan Repertory Theatre. In 1990 she started working as a professional model as she joined a fashion show team in Beijing...
as An Hong; Zhang Yimou selected the model Qu Ying for the only female role in the film. - Zhao BenshanZhao BenshanZhao Benshan is a Chinese skit and sitcom actor, and recently turned TV director. He appears regularly on the CCTV New Year's Gala.-Biography:...
as Junk Peddlar No. 3
External links
- Movie review from Sinologic
- Movie profile from the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
library