Better Days

Set during the decline of the Tang Dynasty, as rebels challenge the corrupt government, House of Flying Daggers was director Zhang Yimou’s second film in the wuxia (“martial heroes”) genre. Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau star as police officers assigned to assassinate the unknown leader of a rebel group that has been gaining popularity. The two set a plan to arrest a dancer (Zhang Ziyi) with connections to the rebels, but a love triangle complicates their goal as hidden identities, secret plots, and double-crosses are revealed. The film was China’s official selection for the International Feature Film category at the Oscars and was nominated for Zhao Xiaoding’s cinematography.

Lilian Lee’s epic novel was the source material for this drama detailing the lifelong friendship of two Peking opera performers, set against the backdrop of the Chinese Civil War. Initially banned in China due to its gay themes and the unflinching portrayal of harsh government tactics during wartime, the film was later released in a censored form. Initially shortened for distribution in the United States, it was recently restored to its original uncut length. Farewell My Concubine was nominated in the International Feature Film and Cinematography categories at the 66th Oscars and is the only Chinese-language winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or to date.

Cinematographer Christopher Doyle teamed with Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-wai on seven features, and In the Mood for Love may be their most visually sumptuous and achingly beautiful collaboration. Contemporary cinema icons Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung play neighbors in 1962 Hong Kong who discover their spouses are having an affair and soon find themselves becoming helplessly attracted to each other. The luscious, moody cinematography by Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bing is matched by the exquisitely detailed costume and production design. This modern classic of cinematic romance was Hong Kong’s official selection for the 73rd Oscars, though the film was not nominated.

Set in Hong Kong and Shanghai in the late 1930s and early 1940s, internationally celebrated Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee’s follow-up to the culture-shifting Brokeback Mountain (2005) depicts a group of college students and their attempt at a government insurgency. Lee’s steamy adaptation of Eileen Chang’s novella earned the filmmaker his second Golden Lion win after Brokeback Mountain and was Taiwan’s initial submission for the International Feature Film category at the Oscars that year. Ultimately, the Academy asked the country to withdraw the film from consideration, citing concerns that the film was not a majority-Taiwanese production.

Director Zhang Yimou collaborated with cinematographer Christopher Doyle to create a visually stunning drama where color palettes drive the narrative in equal measure to the acting and action onscreen. This tale of a master swordsman secretly plotting revenge as he tells his king stories of defeating previous assassins features a cast of internationally acclaimed actors and martial artists led by Jet Li and including Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Donnie Yen. On its United States release, the film debuted in the number one spot at the box office two years after it was nominated in the International Feature Film category at the Oscars.

Filmmaker Ang Lee in conversation with Academy President Janet Yang.

Marking their tenth film collaboration, Andy Lau and Deannie Ip star in director Ann Hui’s heartwarming drama inspired by the personal experience of producer Roger Lee. Lau plays Roger, an unmarried filmmaker who takes on the role of caregiver after his longtime live-in maid Ah Tao, played by Ip, has a stroke. With Hui’s naturalistic directing and touches of humor, along with Lau and Ip’s nuanced performances, the film won all the top awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards and became Hong Kong’s official submission for the International Feature Film category at the Oscars.