''Shanghai Story'' () is a 2004

Chinese film The cinema of China is one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. Cinema was introduced in China in 1896 and the first Chinese film, '' Dingjun Mountain'' ...

directed by Peng Xiaolian. A family drama, the film was the surprise winner of the 19th

Golden Rooster Awards The Golden Rooster Awards () are film awards given in mainland China. The awards were originally given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981. Award recipients receive a statuette in the shap ...

in China, where it won best picture over the heavily favored ''

House of Flying Daggers ''House of Flying Daggers'' ( Chinese: 十面埋伏) is a 2004 ''wuxia'' romance film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Unlike other ''wuxia'' films, it is more of a love story than purely a marti ...

''. The film's win was also surprising given that the story, according to Arthur Jones of ''Variety'', included references to the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, which is still a sore subject for Chinese censors. Even more surprisingly, the film was little-touched by censors. While the film's studio in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

requested changes to the ending, Peng asked for the decision to come from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television in Beijing, who chose to leave the film be.

Plot

The film follows the rise and fall of a family in Shanghai. Once wealthy and capitalist, the family unraveled during the

in the 1960s and 1970s. Their home, once a

French concession The Shanghai French Concession; ; Shanghainese pronunciation: ''Zånhae Fah Tsuka'', group=lower-alpha was a foreign concession in Shanghai, China from 1849 until 1943, which progressively expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

mansion, was converted into a multi-family dwelling. Years later, the matriarch of the family announces that she is dying. When her four grown children return, it becomes the first time the family has been under one roof in decades.

Reception

''Shanghai Story'' had an unusual reception in China. Nominated for several categories at the

, the film was not expected to win, which according to Arthur Jones of ''Variety'', faced tough competition particularly from Zhang Yimou's big-budget wuxia picture, ''

''. To director Peng Xiaolan's surprise, the film won nearly all major categories including the best picture, director, actress and supporting actor prizes. Even after these wins, however, the film was not immediately picked up for domestic distribution in China. The film, however, was screened at several international film festivals, giving the film exposure to audiences abroad. ''Shanghai Story'' was eventually released in China in 2005 for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

References

External links

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''Shanghai Story''
at the Chinese Movie Database {{Golden Rooster Award for Best Picture Chinese drama films 2004 films 2000s Mandarin-language films Films set in Shanghai Golden Rooster Best Film recipients Films directed by Peng Xiaolian