Seventeen Years (film)
Encyclopedia
Seventeen Years is a 1999 Chinese film
directed by Zhang Yuan
and starring Li Bingbing
in her feature film debut. Seventeen Years was screened at several international film festivals where it garnered numerous accolades, including the Director's Award at the 56th Venice Film Festival
.
The film is co-produced by Keetman Limited (China) and Fabrica (Italy), as presented by Keetman and the Xi'an Film Studio. It premiered concurrently with Zhang Yuan's documentary feature, Crazy English
in the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival
.
Seventeen Years is seen, at least by some critics, as Zhang Yuan's move away from his "Bad Boy" image, an image that was cultivated after run-ins with Chinese authorities with his previous films, Beijing Bastards
, and the homosexual-themed East Palace, West Palace
. In contrast, Seventeen Years (and Crazy English) was produced under the aegis of the Chinese bureaucracy, though some editing of the film was required before it could be released.
, in northeastern China. Two divorced singles (Liang Song and Le Yeping), marry, each bringing a daughter into their new home. Xiaolan (Li Jun), short haired is fiercely independent and wishes to work in a factory after she graduates from high school. Her stepsister, Xiaoqin (Liu Lin), is more intellectual, and wishes to enter a university. After a dispute over a mere 5 yuan that Xiaoqin accuses Xiaolan of stealing, Xiaolan hits her stepsister over the head. To the surprise of everyone, Xiaoqin succumbs to the injury and dies and Xiaolan is led to jail.
The film then cuts seventeen years into the future. Xiaolan has been selected as one of the lucky inmates allowed a furlough during the New Year holiday
. At the same time, a young prison guard, Chen Jie (Li Bingbing
) is calling her mother to say that she will soon be returning home for the holiday. While waiting for the inmates to be picked up by their families, Chen Jie notices that soon only Xiaolan remains. In an act of charity, Chen Jie offers to help Xiaolan return home. Upon arriving at her old apartment, however, both women discover that the home has long since been torn down, and Xiaolan's parents moved to another part of the city. Chen Jie, however, is now determined that Xiaolan will spend the holiday with her family and the two set out in search of parents who may not want to see their only daughter...
and Zhang's wife, Ning Dai. Yu and Zhu never worked directly with each other, as Zhang asked each to submit a separate draft, which he later edited and consolidated to fit with his concept of the film. Filmed primarily in Tianjin
, China, Seventeen Yearss post-production took place entirely in Italy with editing by Zhang and Jacobo Quadri (who would also work with Zhang on his film Little Red Flowers
). As Zhang's "return to the fold," Seventeen Years did not suffer from the usual governmental intrusion. However, Zhang was asked to explain certain scenes and implement some minor changes, which he did with little protest. Even then, the review process lasted an entire year before the film was allowed to be shown in theaters.
After spending much of his career as the archetypal "underground Chinese filmmaker," Zhang approached Seventeen Years as the film that would finally be screened in China. Zhang felt that Seventeen Years would have a good chance of achieving this goal, in part because the film already needed government approval to film within the prison. Indeed, it was reportedly the first Chinese film allowed to shoot within an active Chinese prison.
) marked a first for Zhang Yuan as the first film directed by Zhang that could be seen by domestic Chinese audiences in theaters.
DVD in the United States
on April 5, 2005 by Kino International. The DVD has an aspect ratio
of 1.66:1 and features the original Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles.
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 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...
and starring Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing is a Chinese actress and singer.-Life and career:Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers...
in her feature film debut. Seventeen Years was screened at several international film festivals where it garnered numerous accolades, including the Director's Award at the 56th Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
.
The film is co-produced by Keetman Limited (China) and Fabrica (Italy), as presented by Keetman and the Xi'an Film Studio. It premiered concurrently with Zhang Yuan's documentary feature, Crazy English
Crazy English (film)
Crazy English is a 1999 Chinese documentary directed by Zhang Yuan. The film premiered along with Zhang's Seventeen Years at the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival...
in the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
.
Seventeen Years is seen, at least by some critics, as Zhang Yuan's move away from his "Bad Boy" image, an image that was cultivated after run-ins with Chinese authorities with his previous films, Beijing Bastards
Beijing Bastards
Beijing Bastards is a 1993 drama film by sixth generation director Zhang Yuan, and is one of the first independently produced Chinese films....
, and the 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....
. In contrast, Seventeen Years (and Crazy English) was produced under the aegis of the Chinese bureaucracy, though some editing of the film was required before it could be released.
Cast
- Li Jun as Tao Xiaolan, a young woman whose accidental murder of her stepsister leads to a seventeen year prison sentence.
- Li BingbingLi BingbingLi Bingbing is a Chinese actress and singer.-Life and career:Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers...
as Chen Jie, a prison guard who takes pity on Xiaoqin and helps her find her parents. - Liu Lin as Yu Xiaoqin, Xiaolan's stepsister.
- Liang Song as Father
- Le Yeping as Mother
Plot
The film takes place in and around the city of TianjinTianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, in northeastern China. Two divorced singles (Liang Song and Le Yeping), marry, each bringing a daughter into their new home. Xiaolan (Li Jun), short haired is fiercely independent and wishes to work in a factory after she graduates from high school. Her stepsister, Xiaoqin (Liu Lin), is more intellectual, and wishes to enter a university. After a dispute over a mere 5 yuan that Xiaoqin accuses Xiaolan of stealing, Xiaolan hits her stepsister over the head. To the surprise of everyone, Xiaoqin succumbs to the injury and dies and Xiaolan is led to jail.
The film then cuts seventeen years into the future. Xiaolan has been selected as one of the lucky inmates allowed a furlough during the New Year holiday
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
. At the same time, a young prison guard, Chen Jie (Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing is a Chinese actress and singer.-Life and career:Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers...
) is calling her mother to say that she will soon be returning home for the holiday. While waiting for the inmates to be picked up by their families, Chen Jie notices that soon only Xiaolan remains. In an act of charity, Chen Jie offers to help Xiaolan return home. Upon arriving at her old apartment, however, both women discover that the home has long since been torn down, and Xiaolan's parents moved to another part of the city. Chen Jie, however, is now determined that Xiaolan will spend the holiday with her family and the two set out in search of parents who may not want to see their only daughter...
Production
The idea for Seventeen Years is said to have emerged after Zhang Yuan watched a television program of a criminal's reunion with his family after many years in prison. Realizing that every prisoner likely had an intricate story, Zhang began to research for a possible film by interviewing several inmates. From this starting point, Seventeen Years eventually shifted its focus from a film about an inmate within the prison walls, to one about a former inmate attempting to reconnect with her family. A screenplay was written by Zhang with the collaboration of the established writers Yu Hua and Zhu WenZhu 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...
and Zhang's wife, Ning Dai. Yu and Zhu never worked directly with each other, as Zhang asked each to submit a separate draft, which he later edited and consolidated to fit with his concept of the film. Filmed primarily in Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, China, Seventeen Yearss post-production took place entirely in Italy with editing by Zhang and Jacobo Quadri (who would also work with Zhang on his film Little Red Flowers
Little Red Flowers
Little Red Flowers is a 2006 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan. The film was a co-production between China's Beijing Century Good-Tidings Cultural Development Company LTD and Italy's Downtown Pictures...
). As Zhang's "return to the fold," Seventeen Years did not suffer from the usual governmental intrusion. However, Zhang was asked to explain certain scenes and implement some minor changes, which he did with little protest. Even then, the review process lasted an entire year before the film was allowed to be shown in theaters.
After spending much of his career as the archetypal "underground Chinese filmmaker," Zhang approached Seventeen Years as the film that would finally be screened in China. Zhang felt that Seventeen Years would have a good chance of achieving this goal, in part because the film already needed government approval to film within the prison. Indeed, it was reportedly the first Chinese film allowed to shoot within an active Chinese prison.
Reception
Seventeen Years (and to a lesser extent Crazy EnglishCrazy English (film)
Crazy English is a 1999 Chinese documentary directed by Zhang Yuan. The film premiered along with Zhang's Seventeen Years at the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival...
) marked a first for Zhang Yuan as the first film directed by Zhang that could be seen by domestic Chinese audiences in theaters.
Awards and nominations
- 56th Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, Italy, 19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
- Special Director's Award— Zhang YuanZhang YuanZhang Yuan is a Chinese film director who has been described by film scholars as a pioneering member of China's Sixth Generation of filmmakers...
- Special Director's Award— Zhang Yuan
- Gijon Film Festival, Spain, 19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
- Best Director — Zhang YuanZhang YuanZhang Yuan is a Chinese film director who has been described by film scholars as a pioneering member of China's Sixth Generation of filmmakers...
- Best Director — Zhang Yuan
- Singapore Film Festival, 20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
- Best Director — Zhang YuanZhang YuanZhang Yuan is a Chinese film director who has been described by film scholars as a pioneering member of China's Sixth Generation of filmmakers...
- Best Actress (tied) — Liu Lin & Li Bingbing
- Best Director — Zhang Yuan
- Fajr Film Festival, Iran 20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
- Crystal Simorgh for Best Screenplay
DVD release
Seventeen Years was released on Region 1DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 5, 2005 by Kino International. The DVD has an aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
of 1.66:1 and features the original Mandarin dialogue with English subtitles.