周黎明 (Raymond Zhou's bilingual blog) 用中文写娱评，用英文写时评

Cut! Cut! That's not how to do it

作者：RAYMOND ZHOU　发表于21st Century　2008-03-12期

How do you present a great city in five minutes? That was the daunting task facing five world-renowned filmmakers.

The result, which came out recently, is good but not great – at least, it does not rival the richness and vibrancy of Beijing itself.

Hong Kong's Andrew Lau Wai-Keung focuses on cuisine. The quick cuts and celebrity endorsements make for an enjoyable appetizer. But the crucial element of Beijing is nowhere to be seen. The film could have been made about any city with a good choice of restaurants.

For many Chinese fans, Giuseppe Tornatore is a very Italian director, but the concept of his contribution is highly Chinese: It tells of the reunion of a group of students, who come from different strata of society, with their teacher. It's heart-warming, but ultimately forgettable.

France's Patrice Leconte may have produced the best of the bunch. He portrays Beijing structures through an impressionistic lens. His film is utterly French in style, but takes as its subject a very contemporary China.

Urban fantasy

If I were given a camera and unlimited access to all the city's locations, what kind of film would I make?

I'd try for a humorous, fantastic, urban adventure story. My main character would be a Western toddler. Why? To suggest the international nature of Beijing and also to make the film appealing to a non-Chinese audience.

It would start with my two-year old lost in the Wangfujing crowds, having become separated from his parents. He wanders into the middle of Chang'an Avenue. Fortunately, a volleyball star dives to his rescue. But then the kid is swept up into the sky attached to a giant kite. Luckily, he has Liu Xiang on his tail, sprinting across the city in his pursuit.

The story continues in this fanstastic manner. The kid climbs onto the top of what seems to him a giant egg (the Grand National Theater). A pole-vaulter springs accross two streets to rescue him. Finally, Yao Ming dunks the boy safely into a seat beside his parents at the Bird's Nest.

What is the theme of my imaginary movie? That Beijing is a friendly, responsible, modern city ready to welcome the world in August.