''Bad Romance'' (; Alt. title: ''Les Mauvais Romans'') is a mainland China 2011 independent drama film. Its English-language title was based on the song "
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). Gaga wrote and produced the song with RedOne. Following an illegal ...
", by singer-songwriter
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
. It was written and directed by first-time filmmaker François Chang, who has taken the essence of the song to create a story focussing on seven lonely individuals whose lives could be transformed after experiencing
love at first sight
Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...
.
[Bad Romance - Les Mauvais Romans]
Publisher: ''JamesWeggReview.org'' Published: 22 May 2011. Retrieved: 15 April 2014.
The film premiered at the 27th Annual Boston LGBT Festival on 7 May 2011, and features male full-frontal nudity.
The director has subsequently directed two other films: ''Chifumi'' (2013) and ''The Forgiven'' (2015).
Plot
The story follows seven young men and women and their love lives: heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual, across the city of
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. A single mother meets a young student; a city boy meets a guy of his dream; a girl falls into a love game between a male and a female classmate from her French class.
Hua Wei Mei (2011)
Publisher: ''YAM Magazine''. Published: 6 June 2013. Retrieved: 15 April 2014.
Production
''Bad Romance'' was filmed on location in Beijing, and was written, filmed and edited by debut Chinese filmmaker François Chang, with a largely unknown cast, an original music score combined with the popularly known music of singer/songwriter Lady Gaga, and a limited budget.
French language and culture feature prominently, with homage paid to Eric Rohmer
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
's ''Six Contes Moraux'', the music of Edith Piaf
Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...
and the use of the Beijing Alliance Française as a location, setting the stage for a mixture of Asian and European culture and mores. The French singers are contrasted with Chinese opera where there is substantial variation in the timbre, tone and texture, but with similar messages. Photography and music are used to highlight the plot. The early-scene sun umbrella is intended to remind the viewer of Georges Seurat
Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...
's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte," while the minimalist string-rich score provides an accompaniment to the principal characters' contrasting lives.
Main cast
* Nranus Chen ... Xiao Ya
* Jason Lau ... Liu Cong
* Hayden Leung ... Liang Qing
* Will Bay ... Bei Si
* Chan Chan ... Yasmine
* François Chang ... François
* Macha Hsiao ... Loulou
* Xiaoguang Chen ... Male Lover / Neighbor
* Marie Robin ... Teacher
* Yeting Wen ... Kindergarten Teacher
* Hao Wu ... Bartender
* Jia Zhang ... Female Lover
See also
* List of Chinese films of 2011
* List of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender-related films
This article lists lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-related films involving participation and/or representation of LGBT. The list includes films that deal with or feature significant LGBT issues or characters. These films may involve LGBT ...
*
* Nudity in film (East Asian cinema since 1929)
References
External links
*
Bad Romance at Douban.com (Chinese language site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Romance
2011 films
Films set in China
Chinese independent films
Chinese-language films
2011 drama films
Chinese LGBT-related films
LGBT-related drama films
2011 LGBT-related films
Films based on songs
Gay-related films
2010s Mandarin-language films