Spring Subway
Encyclopedia
Spring Subway is a 2002 Chinese
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...
romance film
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
directed by Zhang Yibai
Zhang Yibai
Zhang Yibai is a Chinese film director.-Directorial career:Zhang began his career in television and music videos before directing his debut, Spring Subway in 2002....
and starring Xu Jinglei
Xu Jinglei
Xu Jinglei is an actress, director and editor most famous in her native mainland China. Xu graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in 1997. Along with Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, the mainland Chinese media considers her a member of the Four Young Dan actresses...
and Geng Le. Sixth Generation director Zhang Yang also plays a role. The film represents a relatively new genre in China, the artistic "commercial film" with its international urban sensibilities designed to appeal to young middle class Chinese. Spring Subway is a stylistic film that plays with chronological conventions and flashbacks, and with characters that often break the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
to directly address the audience.
The film was produced by China Youth Film Studio and the independent Electric Orange Entertainment (run by screenwriter, Liu Fendou
Liu Fendou
Liu Fendou is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and film producer.- Biography :Born in Beijing, Liu Fendou spent some time in the United States in his youth doing "generally doing a whole lot of nothing" until returning to Beijing in 1995.Upon his return to China, Liu entered into the film...
). Distribution was handled by Media Asia Entertainment Group
Media Asia Entertainment Group
Media Asia Entertainment Group , Media Asia Group , is a Hong Kong production company and distributor for films made in Hong Kong and throughout China. It is a subsidiary of Lai Sun Development Company Ltd.- History :...
.
Plot
Jianbin (Geng Le) and Xiaohui (Xu JingleiXu Jinglei
Xu Jinglei is an actress, director and editor most famous in her native mainland China. Xu graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in 1997. Along with Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, the mainland Chinese media considers her a member of the Four Young Dan actresses...
) are a young couple living in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
who have been married for seven years. As the film starts, the couple has begun to grow bored with their existence bringing their relationship to an impasse. Xiaohui, who works at a designing firm, tentatively begins a flirtatious relationship with one of her customers, Lao Hu, a coffee-shop owner (played by director Zhang Yang). Jianbin, meanwhile, has recently been laid off, though he keeps it a secret from his wife by dressing for work every morning, hiding his briefcase in a public bathroom and riding the Beijing metro
Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway is a rapid transit rail network that serves the urban and suburban districts of Beijing municipality. It is owned by the city of Beijing and has two operators, the wholly state owned Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp., which operates 12 lines, and the Beijing MTR...
for most of the day.
While riding the subway every day, Jianbin (and the audience) becomes aware of various romances and relationships blossoming around him. Wang Yao (Fan Wei
Fan Wei
Fan Wei , born September 2, 1962 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese skit and sitcom actor and film actor, best known for his performances with Zhao Benshan in CCTV New Year’s Galas since 1995. In recent years, he has been featured in such films as Cell Phone, A World Without Thieves, If...
), a thirty-four-year-old cook is despondent when his blind date, Li Chuan (Wang Ning), is seriously injured in a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
explosion. Meanwhile, a fellow subway passenger, a health food saleswoman (Ke Lan) who hawks her goods every day on the same subway car, discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her and has decided to leave her. The unlikely pair of the cook and the saleswoman eventually find love and become engaged to be married. Another relationship also begins in the subway between Da Ming (Tu Qiang), a young man, and a photo-development salesgirl, Tian Ai (Gao Yuanyuan
Gao Yuanyuan
Gao Yuanyuan is a Chinese actress.-Biography:Gao was born in Beijing on October 5, 1979 and entered the entertainment industry in 1996. Known for her fresh looks and chaste spirit, Gao, unlike other mainland Chinese actresses, did not graduate from any drama academic institutions...
). The man, painfully shy, takes pictures of himself with a note asking to meet the girl, but he flees at the last moment. When Tian Ai finally finds and confronts him, he is too ashamed to speak, but manages to communicate to her his cell phone number as the train pulls away.
As for Jianbin, his life seems to spiral more out of control. Unable to pay the rent, and quickly running out of money, he also becomes aware that his wife may be having an affair, though Xiaohui keeps her relationship with Lao Hu strictly platonic. Jianbin, however, tells his wife that his "work" has decided to send him to France for training, and he begins to contemplate leaving Xiaohui while he visits the blinded schoolteacher after learning about her from Wang Yao. Pretending to be the cook, the two begin a close friendship. After Jianbin decides to confront Lao Hu in a scene where he lights the latter man's newspaper on fire, Jianbin and Xiaohui's relationship seems to be on the brink of self-destruction, as neither is willing to reveal the truth about themselves. Xiaohui, however, finally learns that Jianbin has lost his job and has been riding the subway for the past six months from Wang Yao, just as Jianbin leaves for his "trip." Instead of heading to the airport, Jianbin heads to the hospital to see Li Chuan's bandages to come off. But he leaves before she can see him, as Jianbin realizes that he still loves his wife. Xiaohui and Jianbin then meet in the same subway station where they first arrived in Beijing seven years ago as the film ends.
Cast
- Geng Le as Liu Jianbin, a 28 year old in Beijing, Liu has recently lost his job, though he still pretends to go to work everyday, spending much of his time riding Beijing's subway;
- Xu JingleiXu JingleiXu Jinglei is an actress, director and editor most famous in her native mainland China. Xu graduated from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in 1997. Along with Zhao Wei, Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, the mainland Chinese media considers her a member of the Four Young Dan actresses...
as Chen Xiaohui, Liu's wife of seven years; - Zhang Yang as Lao Hu, a customer at Xiaohui's design company;
- Wang Ning as Li Chuan, an injured schoolteacher;
- Fan WeiFan WeiFan Wei , born September 2, 1962 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese skit and sitcom actor and film actor, best known for his performances with Zhao Benshan in CCTV New Year’s Galas since 1995. In recent years, he has been featured in such films as Cell Phone, A World Without Thieves, If...
as Wang Yao, a cook; - Ke Lan as a saleswoman, the film never names her, and she is credited only as Public Relations;
- Gao YuanyuanGao YuanyuanGao Yuanyuan is a Chinese actress.-Biography:Gao was born in Beijing on October 5, 1979 and entered the entertainment industry in 1996. Known for her fresh looks and chaste spirit, Gao, unlike other mainland Chinese actresses, did not graduate from any drama academic institutions...
as Tian Ai, a shopgirl and the object of Da Ming's affection; - Tu Qiang as Da Ming, a young man who Jianbin meets on the train.
Production history
The film is Zhang Yibai's first feature film directorial effort. Until Spring Subway, Zhang had worked primarily in the music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
genre and in television. Spring Subway is also the first film to come out Liu Fendou's independent Beijing-based Electric Orange Entertainment. The film is also Liu's first attempt at both producing and screenwriting. Unlike many independent films in China, however, Spring Subway was made with official approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television
The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television is an executive branch under the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
.
The film's tagline in Chinese translates as: "After 7 years, is there still love?"
Music
The film's music was scored by Zhang Yadong and features vocals by the pop rock band Yu QuanYu Quan (pop duet)
Yu Quan is a popular soft rock duet from Mainland China. They were founded in June 1998 as a duo between Chen Yufan and Hu Haiquan. They are from Beijing and Shenyang, respectively. Both members were born in 1975. They signed with Taiwan music distributor Rock Records in 1999. Since then the duo...
.
Reception
Spring Subway is significant in that it represents a new style of Chinese film. Unlike the more controversial works of Sixth Generation directors Jia ZhangkeJia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke is a Chinese film director. He is generally regarded as a leading figure of the "Sixth Generation" movement of Chinese cinema, a group that also includes such figures as Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Yuan....
or 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....
, whose films often are banned by state authorities, Zhang Yibai's Spring Subway enjoyed state approval. As a result, it is, as one critic suggests, an example of the "ambitious independent Chinese film" that avoids major state-owned studios but nevertheless retains a significant amount of both international and domestic popularity. In particular, Zhang's film reflects a new optimism that is a break from typical Chinese international fare, while others have commented that the film is indeed more "international" in its sensibilities. One critic at the Hawaii International Film Festival
Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...
praised the film's universal appeal in that the film's story could have "take[n] place in any city, and surely anyone who has loved has experienced at least part of what these characters come to know."
Spring Subway has found some success on the film festival circuit, including Udine, Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, Seattle
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
and others. It was also released domestically in China in May 2002.
External links
- Spring Subway at the Chinese Movie Database
- Distributor Media Asia