4. Forever Enthralled
Forever Enthralled was the year's most successful art house movie, grossing over 110 million yuan (US$16 million). Notorious director Chen Kaige directed the biopic of the Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, with the help of Mei's son, to revive a Chinese legend and redeem his own reputation as a director after the implosion of his controversial The Promise in 2005. Mei (1894-1961), a household name in China, was a big enough attraction to eclipse the star power of leading actors Zhang Ziyi and Leon Lai.
The story travels smoothly from the beginning to the end, while glossing over some sensitive subjects. The first part is more dramatic and memorable, thanks to some extraordinary performances from supporting actors, although the latter two parts fail to meet expectations a little due to the flat portrayals of the stars. The filmmaker lavished over 100 million yuan (US$14.53 million) on movie sets to recapture the good old days and bring back some classic fragments of the master and the operatic art form. Chen Kaige showed a genuine determination to get back to those roots that had produced the landmark and Palme d'Or-winning Farewell My Concubine in 1993. But the best thing about Forever Enthralled is that the film industry and the public can now see that an art house film can be hyped like a blockbuster and make big money as a result.
