"Back in the 1980s and 90s, Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern) was acclaimed as one of the most talented directors to emerge from China's fifth generation, film-makers whose work broke with the socialist realist style of their predecessors. While still working within the establishment industry, the fifth generation including Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhuang were considered to varying degrees if not quite dissident, at least somewhat heterodox and anti-authoritarian."
"Either way, having started out as a cinematographer, Zhang quickly became an arthouse darling abroad, feted for his lush visual style, his command of highly kinetic action sequences (as seen in wuxia extravaganzas like Hero and House of Flying Daggers) and eye for spotting and showcasing great female actors, such as Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi."
"If, unlike Wim Wenders, you can't entirely separate politics from art, then Zhang's latest, Scare Out, looks like pro-state propaganda, given it is about spies trying to flush out a mole among their ranks who is smuggling super-secret tech to nefarious western rivals. Mind you, the screenplay credited to Chen Liang, has little to say about ideology or technology, except in so far as they help serve up all the bangs and whizzes the film wants to deliver."
Zhang Yimou emerged in the 1980s and 90s as a leading figure of China’s fifth generation, breaking from socialist realist conventions and winning international praise for lush visuals and kinetic action. He helped launch the careers of major actresses and became known for wuxia extravaganzas. In recent years he has taken on establishment roles, directing state-sponsored ceremonies and large-scale spectacles. Scare Out follows spies hunting a mole who is smuggling military tech, but emphasizes drones, AI gadgetry and action over ideological analysis. The film reframes ideology as issues of personal loyalty and prioritizes spectacle above substantive commentary.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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