Rain Clouds over Wushan
Encyclopedia
Rain Clouds over Wushan (also known as In Expectation) is a 1995 Chinese film directed by Zhang Ming and written by Zhu Wen
. The film follows the lives of two lonely people living in Wushan on the banks of the Yangtze River
during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam
.
The satirical portrayal of rural life is considered part of the sixth generation movement that began in the early 1990s. Unlike many other films of the movement, however, Rain Clouds over Wushan was produced with help from the state-run Beijing Film Studio.
. Lonely, he is pushed to meet women by his more socially adept friend (Wang Wenqiang. One day, after getting drunk, he meets a young widow, Chen Qing (Zhong Ping). Chen, works in a small inn destined to be flooded when the Three Gorges Dam is complete and dreams of a better life. Mai, thinking she is the woman he dreams of every night, forces her to have sex but is shamed by his actions when he realizes what he has done the next morning.
Chen informs the police and Mai is arrested. Chen, however, decides to tell the police that she has consented to the sex, saving Mai and bringing disdain upon herself. A grateful Mai then decides to propose to Chen.
as part of its retrospective on the so-called "Urban Generation" in 2001. It was also screened at other retrospectives throughout the United States, including the UCLA Film Archive's 2000 "New Chinese Cinema: Tales of Urban Delight, Alienation and the Margins" retrospective.
Internationally, the film was screened at several film festivals, notably winning a Dragons and Tigers Award
from the Vancouver International Film Festival
in 1997, an honor it shared with the South Korean film, The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well. Additionally the film won a FIPRESCI
prize at the Torino Film Festival
, as well as the Best Feature Film award.
Zhu Wen (director)
Zhu Wen is a Chinese short story writer turned director.-Early life and writing:Zhu Wen was born in 1967 in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. He attended Southeast University in Nanjing, and graduated with a degree in electric power...
. The film follows the lives of two lonely people living in Wushan on the banks of the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam
Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei province, China...
.
The satirical portrayal of rural life is considered part of the sixth generation movement that began in the early 1990s. Unlike many other films of the movement, however, Rain Clouds over Wushan was produced with help from the state-run Beijing Film Studio.
Plot
Mai Qiang (Zhang Xianming) is a lonely thirty-year old river signalman living in Wushan, on the banks of the Yangtze RiverYangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
. Lonely, he is pushed to meet women by his more socially adept friend (Wang Wenqiang. One day, after getting drunk, he meets a young widow, Chen Qing (Zhong Ping). Chen, works in a small inn destined to be flooded when the Three Gorges Dam is complete and dreams of a better life. Mai, thinking she is the woman he dreams of every night, forces her to have sex but is shamed by his actions when he realizes what he has done the next morning.
Chen informs the police and Mai is arrested. Chen, however, decides to tell the police that she has consented to the sex, saving Mai and bringing disdain upon herself. A grateful Mai then decides to propose to Chen.
Reception
Since its release in 1996, Rainclouds over Wushan has slowly gained a reputation as a key film in the sixth generation movement of Chinese cinema. It was, for example, part of a retrospective by the Harvard Film ArchiveHarvard 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...
as part of its retrospective on the so-called "Urban Generation" in 2001. It was also screened at other retrospectives throughout the United States, including the UCLA Film Archive's 2000 "New Chinese Cinema: Tales of Urban Delight, Alienation and the Margins" retrospective.
Internationally, the film was screened at several film festivals, notably winning a Dragons and Tigers Award
Dragons and Tigers Award
VIFF Dragons and Tigers Award for Young Cinema is an award from the Vancouver International Film Festival for a film director from Asia-Pacific region. It awards a creative and innovative film, made early in the director's career, which has not yet won significant international recognition...
from the Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
in 1997, an honor it shared with the South Korean film, The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well. Additionally the film won a FIPRESCI
FIPRESCI
The 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...
prize at the Torino Film Festival
Torino Film Festival
The Torino Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival...
, as well as the Best Feature Film award.
External links
- Rainclouds over Wushan at the Chinese Movie Database