Lou Ye

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lou.
Lou Ye
娄烨

Born 1965
Flag of the People's Republic of China Shanghai, China
Occupation Director, Screenwriter

Lou Ye (simplified Chinese: 娄烨; traditional Chinese: 婁燁; pinyin: Lóu Yè; Wade-Giles: Lou Yeh), born 1965, is a two-time Palme d'Or nominated Chinese writer-director who is commonly grouped with the "Sixth Generation" directors of Chinese cinema and is currently banned from filmmaking by the Chinese government for five years as a result of controversy surrounding his film, Summer Palace.[1][2][3]

Contents

[edit] Films

Born in Shanghai, Lou was educated at the Beijing Film Academy. In 1993, he made his first film Weekend Lover, but it was not released until two years later in 1995. Lou, however, did not gain international prominence until his second film, the neo-noir Suzhou River. That film dealt with questions of identity and proved quite controversial upon its release in China. Upon its release, international audiences praised Suzhou River, which several critics felt evoked Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, particularly in how both films focus on a man obsessed with a mysterious woman.[4][5]

In 2003, Lou Ye made the film Purple Butterfly starring Zhang Ziyi. The film, which took place during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, with its tale of revenge and betrayal, as well as its complex narrative structure again borrowed heavily from the film noir tradition.

Lou's most recent film, Summer Palace which deals with two lovers in the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, have made waves both for its sexual and political contents.

[edit] Controversy

Lou Ye's films have proven controversial in their content, and often deal with issues of sexuality, gender, and obsession. PRC censors banned his first film Weekend Lover for two years, while his breakout film Suzhou River is still banned (with Lou receiving a 2 year ban from filmmaking).

Most recently, Summer Palace led to Lou's second ban from film-making, this time for five years. Indeed, though Lou submitted the film to the 2006 Cannes Film Festival as the only Asian film in competition for the Palme d'Or, he and his producers had not received approval from Chinese censors, thus instigating his official censure. The longer term of punishment is indication that it is Lou's second offense.[6] Lou, however, has stated that the reason for the ban was for "technical reasons" in that the film was not up to the Beijing Film Bureau's standards for picture and sound quality.[7]

He and the movie's producer were forbidden by to make any new films for five years.

[edit] Filmography

Year English Title Chinese Title Pinyin Notes
1995 Weekend Lover 周末情人 Zhōu mò qíng rén Werner Fassbinder Award for Best Direction at the 1996 Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival
2000 Suzhou River 苏州河 Sūzhōu hé Tiger Award at the 1999 International Film Festival Rotterdam
2003 Purple Butterfly 紫蝴蝶 Zǐ húdié
2006 Summer Palace 頤和園 Yíhé yuán

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Valens, Grégory (2003). Purple Butterly. FilmFestivals.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  2. ^ Hu, Brian (2005-02-03). Above Ground and Over His Head. Asia Pacific Arts. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  3. ^ The Daily Telegraph staff (2006-28-02). Above Ground and Over His Head. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  4. ^ A.O. Scott (2000-03-25). Film Festival Review; A Chill Scene for Shadowy Characters. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  5. ^ Think Global, Act Local. The Village Voice (2000-03-20). Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
  6. ^ Variety Staff (2006-09-04). China gives 'Palace' pair 5-year bans. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-20.
  7. ^ Arthur Jones (2007-02-08). 'Banned filmmaker' is a relative term. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-29.

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Films directed by Lou Ye
Weekend Lover (1995) • Suzhou River (2000) • Purple Butterfly (2004) • Summer Palace (2006)
v • d • e
Cinema of China