''Crazy English'' is a 1999
Chinese documentary directed by
Zhang Yuan. The film premiered along with Zhang's ''
Seventeen Years'' at the 1999
Locarno International Film Festival
The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...
. It established Zhang's position as a "legitimate" director after years of working independently from, and often at odds with, the Chinese
authorities.
In contrast to earlier films, like ''
East Palace, West Palace
''East Palace, West Palace'' (Simplified Chinese: 东宫西宫, Pinyin: ''Dōng gōng xī gōng'') is a 1996 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan, starring Hu Jun and Si Han, and based on a short story by writer Wang Xiaobo. It is also known as ' ...
'' (1997), ''Crazy English'' was produced with the cooperation of the state-owned
Xi'an Film Studio
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqing ...
, which enjoys a "presented by" billing in the film's credits.
Plot
The film follows one of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's most popular motivational speakers,
Li Yang, the founder of "
Crazy English
''Crazy English'' () is a brand name
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for re ...
". Li is known for his stadium-sized presentations where he exhorts his audiences to engage in mass recitations of English phrases and
idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...
s, often with a strong
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
bent: "Conquer English to Make China Stronger!".
Li, however, has also courted controversy. Despite the fact that he teaches a foreign language, Li has never left China, a fact not revealed in the film until the end.
[ Other common criticisms, including accusations that Li Yang is a "nationalist huckster" and that his methods do not actually improve English-speaking ability,][ receive a much more subtle presentation in Zhang's film.
The film follows Li on his tours throughout China with a few interspersed interviews. Zhang Yuan has described the film as a combination of ]Leni Riefenstahl
Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda.
A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...
's ''Triumph of the Will
''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...
'' and Robert Zemeckis
Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He first came to public attention as the director of the action-adventure romantic comedy ''Romancing the Stone'' (1984), the science-fiction comedy ''Back to the Future'' film tr ...
' ''Forrest Gump
''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and ...
''.
Production history
The seeds for ''Crazy English'' first arose when Li Yang's manager asked to meet with Zhang Yuan at a bar in Beijing's Sanlitun
Sanlitun () is an area of the Chaoyang District, Beijing containing many bars, restaurants, and stores. It is a popular destination for shopping, dining, and entertainment.
The area has been under almost constant regeneration since the la ...
neighborhood. At the time Zhang Yuan had not even heard of Li Yang or his "Crazy English" programs.[Berry, p. 152.] After meeting with the manager, Zhang was sufficiently intrigued by the idea of a documentary about Li to arrange for an actual meeting with the motivational speaker.[
Once the two men met, Zhang Yuan "immediately" decided to make the film.][ Though made with the assent of official authorities, the filmmakers were nevertheless forced to make certain cuts before being allowed a limited release for their documentary.] Zhang has noted that his own opinions of Li Yang vary dramatically from admiration to disgust.[ One critic also noticed Zhang's ambivalence in the film and noted that the film seems to shift from appreciation or amusement at Li Yang's methodologies to one darker in tone, as Li Yang's mass rallies begin to resemble Mao-era ]Red Guard
Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...
rallies or even Hitler's Nuremberg Rally
The Nuremberg Rallies (officially ', meaning ''Reich Party Congress'') refer to a series of celebratory events coordinated by the Nazi Party in Germany. The first rally held took place in 1923. This rally was not particularly large or impactful; ...
.[
]
Reception
Despite its official approval, ''Crazy English'' received only a limited release in select cities within China.[Berry, p. 153] Zhang Yuan has stated that the film's reception within China was difficult to read, given the mass adoration (and criticism) that Li Yang often elicits.[
While China remained ambivalent, the west also responded to ''Crazy English'' with mixed reactions. At least one critic felt that the film was too long and better suited for ]television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
than film.[ On the other hand, the film journal '']Senses of Cinema
''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...
'' showered praise on ''Crazy English'', saying, "This is a fascinating film – for China watchers, for educators and for fans of the documentary film – and is an absolute must for festival patrons."
As for the film's subject, Li Yang was reportedly less than pleased by the film's portrayal of him as a demagogue
A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, e ...
, and he has gone on to say that the film was "not a real documentary" accusing Zhang of manipulating the film to appeal to Western audiences.
References
;Sources
* Berry, Michael (2005). "Wording up a Sweat in a Celluloid Sauna" in ''Speaking in Images: Interviews with Contemporary Chinese Filmmakers''. Columbia University Press. .
* Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yuan" in ''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers''. Routledge Publishing. .
External links
*
*
''Crazy English''
from the Chinese Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crazy English (Film)
1990s Mandarin-language films
Chinese documentary films
Films directed by Zhang Yuan
1999 documentary films
Documentary films about words and language