The China Experience – Post 5

I’m back from China.

It is necessary to write a final post about my experience. It is difficult.  I realize now there is no finality to working in a country like China therefore no illuminating conclusions. At best there is an opening of questions.  

The film industry there gave me an insight into China’s hunger for escapism through success.

One young man described China as without hope. He asked if I thought it ironic that China looked to America and saw Hollywood instead of seeing justice or freedom. It surprised me as much as him. Perhaps my surprise was at his own clarity. 

I was interviewed a number of times. I was asked what I thought of Chinese Cinema and how China could be more like Hollywood?  The Chinese took great pride in their status as the 'soon to be' greatest film market in the world and eagerly want the worlds attention. They are worthy of attention. They also desperately want to make films to rival the (American) films they love. How can we do it I was asked?

My thoughts on Chinese film were difficult to address. I am guilty of knowing very little Chinese cinema history. I thought it odd actually. Why? I have found, Italian, French, Japanese, Korean even Indian film so much more accessible. I answered that film was as accessible through story as it was through a lineage of filmmaking. Lineage will take time. The Cultural Revolution left a break in Chinese Cinema lineage. It will take time for artists to build the necessary bridge.  

The above task of course may be difficult when enthusiasm is channeled toward commanding a market place rather than embracing cinema as an artistic discussion.  I found it difficult to answer the question of how does China match Hollywood? Deep down I though it was the wrong question.  The best I could answer was that they were already doing everything they should. Making movies and investing in artists is the only way I know of to improve in making movies.  I hope it's the path toward great movies.

I was able to identify the strengths of their art department and construction as well as their weaknesses around leadership.  I had a great time developing a design language and a creative structure with the artists in my team. The artists were outstanding. A few rivaled anyone in the world. There was no lack of talent and creativity.  Channeling it in the right direction was the key. I hope I instilled confidence in those artists as well as the producers to empower them further.

I suspect the Chinese film industry is more mature than it knows. Like anywhere in the world it is trying to find a balance between art and industry when in reality there is no balance between the two. It is in its nature a conflict, rather than a communion, that bears fruit. At the moment the China Industry is a heavyweight. Soon, I suspect, the world will meet the artists that can match that weight class. I can't wait!

The young man I spoke of earlier had said ‘China is without hope. We can’t trust the air. We can’t trust the food. We can’t live off our earnings.  The only hope we have is getting rich.  That’s what the Hollywood images promises. Wealth.

No wonder there is a hungry market for movies. Escapism is in high demand. But aren't we all guilty of this?  Fortunately in my experience there is a great deal to be hopeful about.  The people I met in that pursuit of success were also hungry to make great work. They wanted to make art and potentially something that China would be proud of.  They want Films the world would take notice of.  In that journey there will be much more to success to discover than just wealth. I learnt a great deal and am honored to have had the experience to develop filmmaking a little further with an outstanding team.

I look forward to the show. I have no doubt it’ll smash records in China. The footage was outstanding.  How they are pulling it off still leaves me in awe. As I said in the beginning this doesn’t feel like an ending. Instead I have had an insight. An involvement in something far too big for me to fathom. The experience will resonant for a long time. The impact will be clearer in time with the benefit of hindsight and hopefully a stack of great Chinese films to watch.