''Song of the Phoenix'' is a 2013 Chinese

art house An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Wu Tianming Wu Tianming (; December 5, 1939 – March 4, 2014) was a Chinese film director and producer who was considered one of the leading "Fourth Generation" directors. Biography Wu was born in Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province, China on December 5, 19 ...

. It was released in China by Beijing Juhe Yinglian Media on May 6, 2016.

Plot

In a Wushuang village,

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...

province, a young boy named You Tianming (Zheng Wei) begins to learn

suona ''Suona'' (IPA: /swoʊˈnɑː/, ), also called ''dida'' (from Cantonese / '' īdá'), ''laba'' or ''haidi'', is a traditional Chinese music instrument with double-reed horn. The suona's basic design originated in ancient Iran, then called "Sur ...

with Master Jiao (Tao Zeru). He and a fellow student, Lanyu (Hu Xianxu), dream of playing in Master Jiao's ensemble, which goes on tour throughout the Wushuang villages for wedding and funeral performances. Master Jiao announces that he will soon retire, and he chooses Tianming as his successor. Jiao teaches Tianming the suona knowledge passed from teacher to student over the centuries. Tianming also learns the "Song of the Phoenix", a celebrated piece of music played only at funerals of the most renowned individuals. When Tianming grows up (Li Mincheng), he becomes principal of the suona ensemble, but he finds the popularity of traditional Chinese music waning. The respect due to the suona musicians is no longer shown, and he is called to fewer and fewer gigs. To his anger, the use of suona is being replaced with the "modern" instruments of the West. The company begins to disband as the ensemble's members must face reality and find work elsewhere to make ends meet. Master Jiao urges Tianming to continue the tradition of the suona ensemble, although he himself is compromised by a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. An official from the government arrives to ask Tianming to make a recording with his ensemble to preserve the culture of this dying art form. However, the few remaining members of the ensemble are unable to play, as they have sustained injuries from labour in factories. Lanyu suggests that Tianming also abandon life in the village and find work in the city. But Tianming remains devout to his teacher's greatest wish. Upon Master Jiao's death, Tianming plays the "Song of the Phoenix" at the tombstone, alone.

Cast

Tao Zeru Tao Zeru () (born December 7, 1953) is a Chinese film and television actor. He was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu. He was a graduate of the Nanjing University of the Arts. He was the 1989 co-recipient of the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor The Golde ...

*Li Mincheng *Ji Bo *Zheng Wei *

Hu Xianxu Hu Xianxu (, born August 17, 2000) is a Chinese actor. Career In 2009, Hu made his first appearance in the CCTV program ''Fei Chang Liu Jia Yi''. He next participated in program called ''Dang Hong Bu Ran'', coming in second, and subsequently s ...

*Chi Peng *Yuan Zhongfang *Mo Yang *Zhang Xiqian *Tan Qun *Wang Changling *Zhou Tianyu *Zhang Shuangcheng *

Xu Huanshan Xu Huanshan (born 13 July 1937) is a Chinese actor and occasional film director. Xu was enrolled in the Beijing Film Academy in 1956. A year later, he was labelled as a "rightist" and was sent for "re-education through labour" under the Communist ...

*Wang Fang

Reception

The film has grossed at the Chinese box office.

References

External links

* {{Wu Tianming 2013 drama films 2013 films Chinese historical films Chinese musical films Films directed by Wu Tianming