Dam Street
Encyclopedia
Dam Street is a 2005 Chinese film
directed by Li Yu
. Dam Street is Li's second feature film, after 2001's Fish and Elephant
and was produced by screenwriter Fang Li's Laurel Films
and Sylvain Bursztejn's French company, Rosem Fims.
Dam Street, shot in Sichuanese
, follows the life of a young woman, Xiaoyun in a corner of China's central Sichuan
province. The film premiered at the 2005 Venice Film Festival
on September 8, and also received a handful of other showings at other festivals, notably Toronto
(2005) and Deauville
(2006).
Together, the mother and sister lie to Xiaoyun, claiming the child died in birth, while actually arranging for his adoption across the river. Ten years later, Xiaoyun's life is at a standstill in the same small town. She makes a meager living as a singer in a local troupe but otherwise has never left. Eventually she strikes up a friendship with a ten-year old boy, Xiao Yong who becomes her closest confidante and defender in the community that scorns her.
placed the film in the same vein of other European-inspired Chinese films such as Wang Chao
's Day and Night and Wang Xiaoshuai
's Shanghai Dreams
(the latter of which takes place in roughly the same time period of the 1980s); a movement highlighted by muted emotional palettes. At the same time, however, Elley found that the muted emotion went too far, resulting in a film that lacked "dramatic heft."
Manohla Dargis
of The New York Times
reviewed the film when it was part of the Museum of Modern Art
's Global Lens 2007 series. She noted primarily the film's grim outlook on post-Mao alienation, though she also paid special attention to the film's more unique comments on sexual politics.
Cinema of China
The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...
directed by Li Yu
Li Yu (director)
Li Yu is a female Chinese film director and screenwriter. Li began her career in entertainment at a young age, serving as a presenter at a local TV station...
. Dam Street is Li's second feature film, after 2001's Fish and Elephant
Fish and Elephant
Fish and Elephant is documentary filmmaker and former TV hostess Li Yu's feature film directorial debut. The film is also often referred to as the first Chinese mainland film to broach the topic of lesbian relationships in China....
and was produced by screenwriter Fang Li's Laurel Films
Laurel Films
Laurel Films is an independent Beijing-based production company, operated by producer and screenwriter Fang Li. The company has produced several independent films from directors like Wang Chao, Li Yu and Lou Ye....
and Sylvain Bursztejn's French company, Rosem Fims.
Dam Street, shot in Sichuanese
Sichuanese Mandarin
Sichuanese Mandarin , commonly known as Sichuanese, Szechuanese or Szechwanese , is a branch of Southwestern Mandarin, spoken mainly in Sichuan and Chongqing, which was part of Sichuan until 1997, and the adjacent regions of their neighboring provinces, such as Hubei, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan and...
, follows the life of a young woman, Xiaoyun in a corner of China's central Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
province. The film premiered at the 2005 Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
on September 8, and also received a handful of other showings at other festivals, notably Toronto
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
(2005) and Deauville
Deauville Asian Film Festival
The Deauville Asian Film Festival takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema...
(2006).
Story
Dam Street tells the story of Xiaoyun , a sixteen year old girl in Sichuan who discovers that she has become pregnant, shocking her family and community. When the school discovers the scandal, Xiaoyun and her boyfriend, Wang Feng are expelled, with Wang Feng being sent to a vocational school in another city. Xiaoyun, meanwhile, is screamed at by her mother, a teacher at the high school, and her boyfriend's elder sister Wang Zhengyue, a nurse who also helps deliver her child.Together, the mother and sister lie to Xiaoyun, claiming the child died in birth, while actually arranging for his adoption across the river. Ten years later, Xiaoyun's life is at a standstill in the same small town. She makes a meager living as a singer in a local troupe but otherwise has never left. Eventually she strikes up a friendship with a ten-year old boy, Xiao Yong who becomes her closest confidante and defender in the community that scorns her.
Cast
- Liu Yi as Xiaoyun, the film's heroine, a young girl who due to an unforeseen pregnancy sees her life go off-track.
- Liu RuiLiu RuiLiu Rui is a Chinese curler.After a slow start in the 2009 World Men's Curling Championship, Liu switched to throw 4th stones while Fengchun Wang continued to call the game and throw 3rd stones.-Teams:...
as Wang Feng, Xiaoyun's high school boyfriend. - Huang Xingrao as Xiao Yong, a ten-year old boy who befrends Xiaoyun.
- Li Kechun as Teacher Su, Xiaoyun's mother, a teacher a the school.
- Wang Yizhu as Wang Zhengyue, Wang Feng's elder sister, a nurse.
Reception
The film, the second by mainland helmer Li Yu, was shown to only a handful of audiences, though it did receive a limited screening in New York, 2007, two years after its premiere in Venice. Critics like Derek Elley of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
placed the film in the same vein of other European-inspired Chinese films such as Wang Chao
Wang Chao (director)
Wang Chao is a Chinese film director and screenwriter, sometimes considered part of the loosely defined "sixth generation." Wang began his career serving as an assistant director to the fifth generation auteur, Chen Kaige, working with the elder director on epics like Farewell My Concubine and...
's Day and Night and Wang Xiaoshuai
Wang Xiaoshuai
Wang Xiaoshuai is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He is commonly grouped under the loose association of filmmakers known as the Sixth Generation of the Cinema of China....
's Shanghai Dreams
Shanghai Dreams
Shanghai Dreams is a 2005 Chinese film directed by Wang Xiaoshuai and starring Gao Yuanyuan, Li Bin, Tang Yang, Wang Xiaoyang, and Yao Anlian. The film was produced by Stellar Megamedia, Debo Films Ltd...
(the latter of which takes place in roughly the same time period of the 1980s); a movement highlighted by muted emotional palettes. At the same time, however, Elley found that the muted emotion went too far, resulting in a film that lacked "dramatic heft."
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewed the film when it was part of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's Global Lens 2007 series. She noted primarily the film's grim outlook on post-Mao alienation, though she also paid special attention to the film's more unique comments on sexual politics.
Awards and nominations
- Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, 20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
- C.I.C.A.E. Award
- Flanders International Film Festival, 20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
- Best Director, Li Yu
- Golden Rooster AwardsGolden Rooster AwardsChina Golden Rooster Film Festival also known as Golden Rooster Awards are the most prestigious awards in film given in mainland China, equivalent the China's Academy Awards. The awards are given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981...
, 20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
- Best Supporting Actress, Li Kechun (nominated)
- Deauville Asian Film FestivalDeauville Asian Film FestivalThe Deauville Asian Film Festival takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema...
, 20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
- Lotus du Meilleur Film
External links
- Dam Street from the Global Film InitiativeGlobal Film InitiativeThe Global Film Initiative is a non-profit film organization that supports cinematic works from developing nations and promotes cross-cultural understanding through an innovative use of film and non-traditional learning resources...
- A review of Dam Street from Celluloid Notes