Postman (film)
Encyclopedia
Postman is a Chinese film
made in 1995 and directed by He Jianjun
. His second feature, Postman tells the story of a shy mailman played by Feng Yuanzheng who steals and reads the letters of people on his route. The film is considered part of China's sixth generation movement.
The director operated under a ban during Postmans production and only succeeded in screening the film abroad after smuggling a print out of the country and finishing the film overseas.
with his sister. When a coworker is fired for reading people's correspondences Xiao Dou takes over the same mail route. He soon finds himself indulging in the same curiosity, eventually developing an obsession. Xiao Dou chooses to spend time reading letters instead of socializing with friends or coworkers. As he becomes increasingly tied to the letters, he begins to intervene in the lives of those who write and receive the letters.
As Xiao Dou's amorality and detachment become more severe, his obsessions expand, as he engages in an incestuous relationship to his own sister. By the end of the film, Xiao Dou no longer considers the feelings of anyone else.
(1996) or Zhang Yimou's To Live (1994) and Raise the Red Lantern
(1991), Postman was a contemporary snapshot of modern China. Scholars and critics alike grouped the film as part of the up and coming Sixth Generation movement that began with Zhang Yuan
, Wang Xiaoshuai
, and others. Today, Postman is considered one of the more important works to come out of the early years of the movement. China cinema scholar Shelly Kraicer referred to the film as "one of the most disturbing and important recent films out of China" in her review. Critics found the film "transgressive" in its satire and its unblinking depiction of homosexuality, prostitution, drug-use and adultery.
Further illustrating the film's reputation was its inclusion in the Harvard Film Archive
's retrospective on the sixth generation in 2001, "The Urban Generation: Chinese Cinema and Society in Transformation."
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...
made in 1995 and directed by He Jianjun
He Jianjun
He Jianjun is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, He is considered a leading voice in the so-called "Sixth Generation." He is occasionally credited under the name "He Yi."- Career :...
. His second feature, Postman tells the story of a shy mailman played by Feng Yuanzheng who steals and reads the letters of people on his route. The film is considered part of China's sixth generation movement.
The director operated under a ban during Postmans production and only succeeded in screening the film abroad after smuggling a print out of the country and finishing the film overseas.
Plot
Xiao Dou (Feng Yuanzheng) is a shy and naive mailworker living in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
with his sister. When a coworker is fired for reading people's correspondences Xiao Dou takes over the same mail route. He soon finds himself indulging in the same curiosity, eventually developing an obsession. Xiao Dou chooses to spend time reading letters instead of socializing with friends or coworkers. As he becomes increasingly tied to the letters, he begins to intervene in the lives of those who write and receive the letters.
As Xiao Dou's amorality and detachment become more severe, his obsessions expand, as he engages in an incestuous relationship to his own sister. By the end of the film, Xiao Dou no longer considers the feelings of anyone else.
Reception
Reception of Postman in the west was marked by shock and praise. Standing in contrast to many of the more polished filmmaking coming from China during the mid 1990s, such as Chen Kaige's Temptress MoonTemptress Moon
Temptress Moon is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Chen Kaige. It was jointly produced by the Shanghai Film Studio and the Taipei-based Tomson Films...
(1996) or Zhang Yimou's To Live (1994) and Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern
Raise the Red Lantern is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaption by Ni Zhen of the 1990 novel Wives and Concubines by Su Tong...
(1991), Postman was a contemporary snapshot of modern China. Scholars and critics alike grouped the film as part of the up and coming Sixth Generation movement that began with 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...
, Wang Xiaoshuai
Wang Xiaoshuai
Wang Xiaoshuai is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He is commonly grouped under the loose association of filmmakers known as the Sixth Generation of the Cinema of China....
, and others. Today, Postman is considered one of the more important works to come out of the early years of the movement. China cinema scholar Shelly Kraicer referred to the film as "one of the most disturbing and important recent films out of China" in her review. Critics found the film "transgressive" in its satire and its unblinking depiction of homosexuality, prostitution, drug-use and adultery.
Further illustrating the film's reputation was its inclusion in the Harvard Film Archive
Harvard Film Archive
The Harvard Film Archive is a film archive devoted to cinema located in the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It maintains a collection of over 9000 films and related documents, and regularly screens films in its 210 seat theater...
's retrospective on the sixth generation in 2001, "The Urban Generation: Chinese Cinema and Society in Transformation."
Awards
- 1995 International Film Festival RotterdamInternational Film Festival RotterdamThe International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
- Tiger Award (shared with: Kazama Shiori's Fuyu No Kappa and Bogdan Dumitrescu's Thalassa, Thalassa, Return To The Sea)
- FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
Award
- 1995 International Thessaloniki Film Festival
- Golden Alexander
- 1995 Singapore International Film Festival
- Special Jury Prize
External links
- Postman at the Chinese Movie Database