Representation of China - Essay Example

? Representation of China is Flowers of Shanghai Flowers of Shanghai is a movie directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsein. The story of the movie is based upon a novel penned by Han Zuyin. The film was released in 1998 and became so popular that it was voted as the third best film of the decade in the Village Voice Film Poll conducted in 1999. The film won the awards for best director and best art director at the Asia Pacific Film Festival in 1998. The director of the movie also won the Golden Crow Pheasant at the Kerala International Film Festival in 1999. Moreover, the film was also nominated for the Gold Palm awards however the movie did not won this award (Reichert, 2003). The director of the movie Hou Hsiao-hsein is an award winning director and one of the leading contributors to the new wave cinema movement in Taiwan. He has been regarded among the best movie directors of 1990s on creating master piece like Flowers of Shanghai. Some movie critics called it an innovative and prettiest movie however, at the same time the movie also invited waves of criticism and it was also expressed by some movie critics that it was a static, dull and boring movie that does not truly deserves to be listed among the top ten best movie of 1990s. Flowers of Shanghai is widely appraised and viewed as finely blended presentation of artistry, beauty, restrain and patience through its major characters. The plot of the story revolves around four prostitutes living in a Shanghai brothel. The movie depicts the power struggle of prostitutes called flower girls, gentlemen callers and the powerful Auntie who run the show for the prostitutes. The flower girls always look for the favour from the auntie that she will give them the richest customers and will send more customers to them. Though the movie is filmed in a brothel but there are no sex scenes in the movie. The girls are shown feeding the men and serving them opium and in exchange they were looking for someone to pay their debts and arrange livelihood for them. When the men show their willingness to marry any girl, the auntie plays the role of merchandiser and books them. It is more focused upon the problems and the efforts of the girls to get out of the problem rather depicting the sex scenes. The plot of the movie is set in the time of late nineteenth century where Shanghai was divided in to several foreign concessions and there are several luxurious flower houses created in the British concession that were meant for the make elite of the city. These brothels were not for the common Chinese people but only the elites for whom they were established could visit at these flower houses. These brothels have their own self-contained world and people use their own language. The visitors came here not only for satisfying the sexual desires but also to dine, smoke opium and to relax their mind with different games. The women working at these brothels were given the name of flowers of shanghai and the movie flower of shanghai is mainly based upon the inner lives of these brothels and the flowers of Shanghai working there. The movie uses single stain of music that is repeated over and over. The repetition is an attempt to convey the message that is real life also same incidents occur again and again only the faces of the players are changed but the game remain the same no matter who win and loss. The movie sets the scene of Shanghai, the capital city of China however, it was not filmed in China but it is the proficiency of the director that he selected the set in such a way that the entire film is shot indoor and not even a single shot of sky or outdoor is included in the movie (Reichert, 2003). The director has close connections with China that could be seen in the movie as well. The way he set up the scene of China outside the country shows his strong imaginations and affiliations with the Chinese environment and culture. There are several cinematic techniques used in the movie that add depth and meaningfulness to the story and at the same time it is also found that these techniques have allowed the director to create typical Chinese environment even the movie was not shot in China (Hoberman, 2001). The director has employed the technique of exceptionally long shot in which the dialogues are used from the day to day language of China. The language used in the movie is typical language spoken in Shanghai often referred as Shanghainese that is the name given to the Wu dialect language being spoken in Shanghai and surrounding regions. The use of this typical language is also an indication of deep observation of the director and careful selection of suitable language for the movie. If he would simple used the Chinese language in the movie it will help creating a Chinese environment but it would not help in creating the typical environment of Shanghai and its surroundings. The proficient reflection of the Chinese environment in the movie also makes the audience feel that they are witnessing the occurrence of these incidents and China and they are also living in the same environment as the character of the movies are shows. The plot is very strongly represented through this perfect creation of typical Chinese setting. The director became succeed to do all this with the help of getup of the actors, props and adequate set designing complimented by artistic camera and lighting work (Feiyi Lu, 2005). The movie evokes the feeling among the audience that they are witnessing the happening in China. The hairstyle and dresses of the characters are not wisely selected because their appearances and looks have played important role in the creation of Chinese situation. The makeup artists have also done great job for the movie that they have made the actors look like Chinese people living in the surrounding of Shanghai. Though the movie tells the tale of the flower girls and their struggle with each other to have rich and more customers but it is also reflection of the problems and efforts of the Chinese women that choose this way to resolve their financial problems. The story tells that women were surrounded by debts and other financial problems that they have no other way in front of them to arrange money and they started looking for someone else to take the burden of their problems in exchange for their prostitute services (Hoberman, 2001). The tale reflects the difficulties of Chinese women and their efforts to survive in Chine where they found no respectable way to get out of their problems. However, it is also possible that the women selected this way by their choice because it seems easier, short and fruitful as compared with the other ways of arranging money (Reichert, 2003). There are just candle lights used in the movie to lighten almost all the scenes of the movie. There are no while lights or bulbs used for lighting in any of the scene of the movie. This technique has made the movie orange and impressionistic and at the same time it has also worked to reflect the true Chinese culture and atmosphere where it is common to used candle and dim yellow lights instead of bright white lights. The typical environment of the Chinese brothel is very well created with the use of candle lights and it helps the audience feel the true essence of the environment depicted in the movie (Anderson, 2003). The function of the brothel and its working patterns are very well explained in the movie and after watching the movie one could have good idea of the working of brother in the Chinese society and the main issues that take the Chinese women towards this way of life. In order to represent the true essence of a Chinese brothel the director also not filmed a single shot out of the brother and the entire movie is filmed at the same brothel where the prostitutes are shown duelling with each other over rich client and other characters also gossiping about each other. It implies that the decision to shoot the entire movie inside the brothel was also an intelligent decision of the director that allowed him creating an environment that very well reflects China (Hoberman, 2001). The movie is focused upon the tale of slower girls and their efforts in the nineteenth century to get some way of managing finance for their lives. The girls were at the Shanghai brothel and their conversation let the audience understand the problems of Chinese women related with the finance and the failure of some of them to find other way of arranging money for their livelihood. The story of each of the women is described in very interesting manner and the story of each girls tell about the problems of common Chinese women having little option in front of them to solve their financial issues (Feiyi Lu, 2005). The depiction of the financial problems of the prostitutes in the movie is an important issue that allows the audience to feel the problems and difficulties of a woman in Chinese society that has no source of income to manage her livelihood or to pay off her debts. The failure to find any other workable way of getting money takes the women towards the flower house where they selected the way of pleasing the customers and getting money from them to solve their problems. The role of Auntie also reflects the cold and selfish characters of the society looking for their own interests and benefit and directing others to act in certain manner that can bring those benefits and profit. The costuming and art direction is also done in such a perfect manner that is allowed making the audience present in the Chinese environment. The credit of creation of typical Chinese environment also goes to the art director and costume designer that they have also kept the typical Chinese culture in mind while doing their works and eventually the movie succeeded to give the very first impression to the audience that it is the environment of a Chinese city and they are viewing a unit established in the main city of China (Hoberman, 2001). The director has well created the scene of a flower house operating in the late nineteenth century where the behaviours of the people were directed by ritualized codes and standards. It makes the viewer understanding the working of the Chinese society at the end of the nineteenth century. Though the movie only tells about the brother but the tales of the people present in the brother tell much more about the Chinese society and problems of people at that time and not simply about the functioning of brothel in the Chinese society at that time. It implies that the director has used all of his efforts and technique to truly represent China in his movie. He has worked very keenly with the lighting techniques, set designing, props selection, make-up of the actors and the costume selection to make sure that the movie would give the impression of Chinese setting though it was not really shot in Shanghai. Along with the representation of the visible environment of China, the director has also shown the problems of Chinese women in the movie along with their difficulties and the response of other people in solving their issues by playing part in their selected profession (Hoberman, 2001). The director has deep and close understanding of the Chinese culture so it became possible for him to reflect the same in the movie but it is an important point that he was not showing the Chinese society of the present time in the movie but he took the audience to the late nineteenth century and showed them the Chinese society of that time. It is a very brilliant and successful effort of director that he created the setting of almost century ago and made the audience feel the same environment as shown in the movie. The director has done great job to represent China in the movie by using appropriate and proficient cinematic techniques. Since he was also born in a Chinese island he had great observation of the Chinese culture, environment and the problems of the women in the Chinese society that he has depicted in the movie in very proficient manner. His close connections with the Chinese culture could be clearly seen in the movie because he has directed all his efforts to depict the true Chinese setting in the movie and the way people like the movie shows that he is successful in his efforts and made people feel the Chinese setting and problems related with the brother functioning in a Chinese city. References Anderson, J. (2003). Flowers of Shanghai (1998). In: Combustible Celluloid. Retrieved from http://www.combustiblecelluloid.com/flowshang.shtml Feiyi Lu (2005). Island on the edge: Taiwan new cinema and after, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press Flowers of Shanghai (1998). Director: Hsiao-hsien Hou, Taiwan Hoberman, J. (2001). Film Comment's Best of the 90s Poll: Part Two. In: Film Comment. Retrieved from http://www.filmlinc.com/film-comment/article/film-comments-best-of-the-90s-poll-part-two Reichert, J. (2003). In Pursuit of Perfection. Retrieved from http://www.reverseshot.com/article/flowers_shanghai Udden, J. (2009). No Man an Island: The Cinema of Hou Hsiao-hsien, Hong Kong University Press Read More