the Beijinger

We’re still waiting for things to get back into full swing around here, but that means you have some time to: 1) take some photos to try and win a month or two’s rent money, 2) catch up on web news like the accusations of Han Han not being a real writer and China getting snubbed at the Oscars, and 3) sleep. If you don’t like those ideas, you can get your fill of more movie screenings, and aspiring thespians: don’t miss a workshop teaching you how to audition for the stage.

Forgive me, I’ve been less on top of artsy news this week because I’ve been too busy trolling the internet at odd hours to keep up with this Jeremy Lin business. Yes, I am the world’s most intermittent basketball fan. But that’s beside the point. There are actually quite a few exciting things going on this week, like Capital M Literary Festival tickets going on sale, great indie films, a blind movie-watching experience and your last chance at several art exhibits! Click through for more.

For those who tire of the formulaic martial arts aesthetic that dominates in everything from Chinese epics to the likes of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes franchise, this indie film with a purist attitude will be a breath of fresh air. (And a very nerdy one, at that.) Xu Haofeng, whose credentials include martial arts training, a major in film directing and several successful novels under his belt, released his directorial debut, The Sword Identity, last year. (He's also the scriptwriter for Wong Karwai's highly-anticipated Ip Man biopic, The Grandmasters.)

In this film, the story unfolds around a fighter trying to open a new martial arts school to keep his master's legacy alive, but who faces resistance from the old guard because they mistake his weapon for a Japanese katana – a big no-no in that day. The film was praised for its directorial precision, character development and no-nonsense aesthetic after its showing at the Toronto International Film Festival, and now BC MOMA's hooking us up with a Beijing premiere (tonight, Feb 10) and followup screening Feb 18. But first, we chat with the director to plumb the depths of his martial arts cred ...

                                 A Nazi meeting in Buenos Aires, 1938

Just after the close of WWII, a group of Nazi scientists began construction on a top-secret project on a remote island in Argentina.

The goal of “Project Huemul” was to produce limitless nuclear fusion energy – and along with it, enough power and nuclear weapons to rule the world.

I was present at January's Mr. Gay China Pageant the night it was suddenly cancelled just an hour before it was set to start. Following the numerous LGBT events that had not been cancelled in 2009, the Mr. Gay China pageant felt like another step toward the community's "coming out," making its cancellation all the more devastating. I think Ryan Dutcher of Gayographic, the gay PR firm that had organized the event, said it best in a statement to the press when asked whether the cancellation was a major setback for China. Dutcher replied: "It's hard to say. It's something that's happened before. Not a step back, but definitely not a step forward."

Now the Queer Film Night at CNEX is presenting a screening of the documentary Comrades, You've Worked Hard, which aims to tell the full story of the Mr. Gay China Pageant and its cancellation.

If I were a certain kind of man, I might make a joke along the lines of: “I like my movies how I like my women: beautiful, dramatic and ultimately hollow. That’s why this one was great!” Thankfully (for all of us), I am not that man. So instead, let's talk about crying.

Set against the Japanese conquest of the city of Nanjing in December of 1937, the film hones in on a motley collection of civilians sequestered in a Catholic cathedral, hiding out from the atrocities of the massacre. Headliner Christian Bale plays John Miller, a mortician out to make a quick buck by burying the cathedral’s head priest, but whose conscience soon (and rather unconvincingly) drives him to help look after the others. Who are these others? In a boarded up basement, a band of prostitutes led by an alluring woman named Mo (played by newbie actress Ni Ni), and upstairs, a group of convent schoolgirls. As you can imagine, all the characters must negotiate the strange waters of heroism, mutual contempt and even sexual attraction. (Yes, audiences and this Hollywood Reporter review have cringed at the crassness of the heightened sexuality in a film set during a period of civilian killings and rape.)

In a nutshell, we were wowed by Zhang’s stark-but-still-beautiful imagery and big-budget production values (blah blah Saving Private Ryan blah blah). We cried. We screamed. We averted our eyes. But mostly we look back and see what could have been, and for that, we really weep.

A typical day at home for young Ernest Chin would be anything but normal for the rest of us. Down the hall from the 13 year old’s bedroom, hookers get down to business. Beggars barge up the stairs. Then there’s his stern Chinese mother, who’s more judgmental of her son’s every test score than her guests’ biggest transgressions, literally handing those shady strangers keys to the front door.

The Motel tells the story of a traditional immigrant family renting out rooms to their sleazy New York neighbours. It’s a unique glimpse of immigrant life through second-generation teenage eyes and has garnered nominations for the Independent Spirit Award and the Humanities Prize at Sundance. Watch the film and meet one of the producers, George Huey, at The Culture Yard on Friday, but in the meantime, pull up a chair as we chat with Mr. Huey himself.

It’s a little early, but in America, halls were being decked before Thanksgiving, so I think we’re OK getting a peek at the gifts tucked away in the closet. Just yesterday The Bookworm had their Christmas Carol reading, and this week we’ve got more to look forward to: a solar Christmas tree installation at the Opposite House, a screening of It’s a Wonderful Life complete with mulled wine, and the unwrapping of tons of new exhibits.

They’re everywhere in Beijing.  Alongside late night hairdressers,  adult sex shops (成人保健) have become a fixture of the city’s landscape, as the sex toy industry has exploded in China. Now the phenomenon is soon hitting movie screens, with Sam Voutas’ Red Light Revolution, a comedy about a Beijinger’s attempts to open a sex shop. It promises to be a Chinese-language movie unlike any other.