Zhang Yimou

Zhang Yimou (born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer.

Born on December 31, 1965, Gong Li is a renowned Chinese actress. Hailing from Shenyang, Liaoning, China, she is the youngest of five siblings. Her upbringing was influenced by her parents’ professions — her father was an economics professor, and her mother was an educator — and she spent her formative years in Jinan, Shandong’s capital. In 1985, Gong’s talent earned her a spot at Beijing’s esteemed Central Academy of Drama, where she graduated in 1989. During her time there, Zhang Yimou, an upcoming director, spotted her and cast her as the lead in his directorial debut, “Red Sorghum.”

Gong’s breakthrough on the global stage was significantly influenced by her collaborations with Zhang Yimou, particularly after her award-winning performance in “The Story of Qiu Ju” in 1992. She played a pivotal role in introducing Chinese films to Western audiences. In 2008, Gong chose to become a Singaporean citizen.

Her remarkable acting skills have earned her several accolades, including the New York Film Critics Circle Award for “Farewell My Concubine” and the National Board of Review Award for “Memoirs of a Geisha.” She’s a recipient of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards on multiple occasions and has been honored with the Berlinale Camera and the Cannes Festival Trophy. Some of her notable works include roles in “Ju Dou,” “Raise the Red Lantern,” “2046,” and “Miami Vice.”

Zhang Yimou filmography

Poster for the movie "Full River Red"

Full River Red

A pawn tries to get rid of a traitorous minister, Qin Hui, when he leads an army to the border for talks with a Jurchen mission.

Poster for the movie "Under the Light"

Under the Light

An urban crime drama film which will cover topics from anti-corruption to anti-crime. The story revolves around Su Jian Ming and Li Hui Lin jointly investigating an undercurrent criminal case involving a huge interest group. In order to investigate the case, Su Jian Ming ignores the persuasion of his powerful father Zheng Gang, and rushes to the “Hongmen Banquet”, hosted by rich businessman Li Zhi Tian. More and more clues gradually surface. The undercurrent surging … Read more

Poster for the movie "Sharpshooter"

Sharpshooter

The story of sharpshooter Zhang Taofang, a young army recruit who at age 22 sets a record during the Korean War by reportedly killing or wounding 214 American soldiers with 435 shots in just 32 days.

Poster for the movie "A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop"

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

Wang is a gloomy, cunning and avaricious noodle shop owner in a desert town in China. His neglected, sharp-tongued wife is involved in a secret affair with Li, one of Wang’s employees. A timid man, Li reluctantly keeps the gun his lover has bought to kill her husband. But Wang is watching their every move. He bribes patrol officer Zhang to murder the illicit couple. It seems like a perfect plan: the affair will come … Read more

Poster for the movie "Lumière and Company"

Lumière and Company

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Poster for the movie "Cliff Walkers"

Cliff Walkers

Set in the puppet state of Manchukuo in the 1930s, the film follows four Communist party special agents who return to China after receiving training in the Soviet Union. Together, they embark on a secret mission code-named “Utrennya”. After being sold out by a traitor, the team find themselves surrounded by threats on all sides from the moment they parachute into the mission. Will the agents break the impasse and complete their mission? On the … Read more

Poster for the movie "One Second"

One Second

A story about a movie fan in a remote farmland who strikes a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.

Poster for the movie "Shadow"

Shadow

The film is set during China’s Three Kingdom’s era (AD 220–280). Set during China’s Three Kingdom’s era (AD 220-280). The story of a great king and his people, who will be expelled from their homeland and will aspire to claim it. The king, violent and ambitious, of mysterious methods and motives; his general, a visionary who yearns to win the final battle but needs to prepare his plans in secret; the women of the palace, … Read more

Poster for the movie "The Great Wall"

The Great Wall

European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.

Poster for the movie "Coming Home"

Coming Home

Lu and Feng are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner during the Cultural Revolution. He finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife no longer remembers him.

Poster for the movie "The Flowers of War"

The Flowers of War

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan’s rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

Poster for the movie "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles"

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

Takada, a Japanese fisherman has been estranged from his son for many years, but when the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. Through a series of obstacles and relationships, he is brought unexpectedly closer to both an understanding of himself and of his son. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles is a 2005 Chinese / Japanese drama film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Ken Takakura.

Poster for the movie "The Story of Qiu Ju"

The Story of Qiu Ju

The Story of Qiu Ju is a 1992 Chinese comedy-drama film. The film was directed by Zhang Yimou and, as in many of his films, stars Gong Li in the title role. The screenplay is an adaption of Chen Yuanbin’s novella The Wan Family’s Lawsuit. The film tells the story of a peasant woman, Qiu Ju, who lives in a rural area of China. When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village … Read more

Poster for the movie "Shanghai Triad"

Shanghai Triad

A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord’s mistress.

Poster for the movie "The Road Home"

The Road Home

Prompted by the death of his father and the grief of his mother, a man recalls the story of how they met in flashback.

Poster for the movie "Not One Less"

Not One Less

Teacher Gao loves the students in his poor village and is devoted to educating them in the hope of their greater futures. When he is called away to tend to his dying mother for a month, the Mayor calls in an inexperienced 13 year-old replacement, Wei Minzhi; much to Teacher Gao’s dismay. Teacher Gao cannot stand the thought of losing anymore students: he has already lost twelve to ever-increasing attrition, and he promises Wei an … Read more

Poster for the movie "Keep Cool"

Keep Cool

China, the 1990s. A young bookseller is in love with a woman. The woman is now with another guy, a rich man. The rich man sends his people to beat the bookseller. In the fight, the laptop computer from a man looking at the scene gets broken. Who will pay for the computer? The bookseller wants revenge. Will it be useful? The bookseller and the laptop owner are from different ages and classes. They are … Read more

Poster for the movie "Under the Hawthorn Tree"

Under the Hawthorn Tree

The daughter of a right-winger, schoolgirl Jing Qiu (Zhou Dong-Yu) is sent to the countryside for reeducation, and tasked to help write a textbook. There she meets Lao San (Shawn Dou), a young soldier with a bright future ahead. Despite the class divide and parental disapproval, romance blooms against turbulent times.

Poster for the movie "To Live"

To Live

In China, Fugui and Jiazhen navigate tumultuous events as their status transitions from affluent landowners to common peasants.

Poster for the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower"

Curse of the Golden Flower

During China’s Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Poster for the movie "Red Sorghum"

Red Sorghum

An old leper who owned a remote sorghum winery dies. Jiu’er, the wife bought by the leper, and her lover, identified only as “my Grandpa” by the narrator, take over the winery and set up an idealized quasi-matriarchal community headed by Jiu’er. When the Japanese invaders subject the area to their rule and cut down the sorghum to make way for a road, the community rises up and resists as the sorghum grows anew.

Poster for the movie "Raise the Red Lantern"

Raise the Red Lantern

China in the 1920’s. After her father’s death, 19 year old Songlian is forced to marry the much older lord of a powerful family. With three wives already, each living in a separate house within the great castle, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained. This competition gets out of hand…

Poster for the movie "Ju Dou"

Ju Dou

A woman married to the brutal and infertile owner of a dye mill in rural China conceives a boy with her husband’s nephew but is forced to raise her son as her husband’s heir without revealing his parentage in this circular tragedy. Filmed in glowing technicolour, this tale of romantic and familial love in the face of unbreakable tradition is more universal than its setting.

Poster for the movie "House of Flying Daggers"

House of Flying Daggers

In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem. At its height, the Tang Dynasty was one of the most enlightened empires in Chinese history. But in 859AD, the Dynasty is in decline.

Poster for the movie "Happy Times"

Happy Times

Zhao is an old laid-off worker who’s dreaming of getting married. After trying unsuccessful proposals, he finally pair off with a gargantuan divorcée with two children. She, however, demands a lavish wedding and that Zhao finds a job and another place to stay for her blind step-daughter. Pretending he’s the General Manager of a non-existent posh hotel “Happy Times”, Zhao had to find ways and means of keeping both mother and stepdaughter happy.

Poster for the movie "Hero"

Hero

One man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.