Audiences at the ongoing 7th Shanghai International Film Festival have seen a colorful array of films. Not only do they represent various countries and cultures, but genres range from a fictional love story to a feature documentary.
To Kill a King, centered around historical events, is set in 17th-century England after the First Civil war. It tells the story of General Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell and the fading of their friendship after their triumph over the tyrannical king Charles I.
Based on the killing of protesters by British troops on January 30th, 1972 in the Northern Ireland town of Derry, Bloody Sunday is one of the most controversial movies ever made.
But there is not just terror. The contemporary tale Whale Rider revolves around a feisty little Maori girl named Pai. With the loss of her baby brother during his birth, Pai has to prove worthy of leading her own tribal people if she were to succeed her much-worshipped grandfather.
Things get darker in Dirty Deeds. Set in 1960's Sydney, this is the story of an Australian gangster whose booming business, buoyed by the influx of U.S. soldiers returning from the Vietnam War, attracts the attention of the Chicago mafia, and then their East Coast competitors.
Achingly passionate Flamenco is based on the French novel and Bizet opera. Carlos Saura's exhilarating Carmen became an instant classic and won many international accolades. The fact that the stunning dance film traveled to Shanghai is a strong indicator of the film festival's true international status.
(CCTV.com June 10, 2004)
