Weekend Lover

Weekend Lover (Chinese: 周末情人; pinyin: Zhōu mò qíng rén) is the 1995 directorial debut by Chinese director Lou Ye. The film stars actors Jia Hongsheng and Ma Xiaoqing. Fellow director Wang Xiaoshuai also plays a minor role.

Weekend Lover
Directed byLou Ye
Produced byZhang Haimin
Nai An
Written byXu Qin
StarringJia Hongsheng
Ma Xiaoqing
Wang Zhiwen
Music byZhang Shaotong
CinematographyZhang Xigui
Release date
Turin:
November 13, 1995
Running time
96 min.
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin Chinese

The film follows a young man, A Xi, who is recently released from prison. Once released, he seeks out his old girlfriend Li Xin, who has since begun a relationship with La La, a young musician. As the two men vie for her attention, tension and violence escalate.

Cast
  • Jia Hongsheng — A Xi, a young man recently released from prison where he had served a term for murder of a fellow teenager.
  • Ma Xiaoqing — Li Xin, A Xi's ex-girlfriend.
  • Wang Zhiwen — La La, Li Xin's new boyfriend.
  • Nai An — Chen Chen, the film's narrator.
  • Wang Xiaoshuai — Zhang Chi, a musician in La La's band.

Production

Weekend Lover served as Lou Ye's first feature-film since graduating from the Beijing Film Academy in 1989 and is notable for having the youngest production team in Chinese cinematic history upon its release.[1] Shot and produced in 1993 and 1994, once complete, the film was banned for two years by the Chinese film censors; after the ban ended, Weekend Lover was released internationally at the tail end of 1995.[2][3]

Reception

Weekend Lover's noir-style and tales of violent disaffected youth led to its comparison with similar films of the period, notably Zhang Yuan's Beijing Bastards. Like that film, Weekend Lover is also considered a defining film for the "Sixth Generation" of Chinese cinema, particularly in its tone and subject matter that focuses on modern urban life instead of traditional Chinese history.[1] Less positive reviews often praised the film as technically assured, but convoluted in its plotting leading at least one reviewer to refer to it as a "minor festival curio."[3]

Premieres and awards

The film managed to premiere at a handful of foreign film festivals, notably the Turin Young Cinema Festival in 1995.[3] It eventually went on to win the Werner Fassbinder Award for Best Direction at the 1996 Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival.[1]

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References
  1. "Cannes International Film Festival-Purple Butterfly". Filmfestival.com. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  2. Watts, Jonathon (2006-09-09). "Interview: Lou Ye, Camera obscured". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  3. Rooney, David (1995-11-13). "Weekend Lover Review - Film Reviews". Variety. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
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