Officials of the government-owned Shanghai Film Group Corp., the city's largest film production company, are confident they will be able to pack cinemas with the nearly 15 "main-theme" films they plan to shoot this year. The films will focus on fighting corruption, the trials and tribulations of laid-off workers and the realism of countryside life.
Films that glorify traditional virtues still have an audience, they insisted, adding that the 20 foreign films the company imported last year weren't box-office hits.
"The good of society has always been our mission," said Xu Pengle, vice-president of Shanghai Film . "We select subjects that touch our lives. I think our audience would like to see such themes on the screen."
Xu pointed to "Fatal Decision," an anti-bribery movie screened in 2000 that generated nearly 12 million yuan (US$1.4 million) in ticket sales. That's acknowledged as an amazing feat for domestic films.
Some people have the wrong idea about main-theme films.
"They are not always high-sounding, full of platitudes or far from our daily lives, Xu said." Actually, the themes touch every corner of our lives, including love and marriage.
"In a bid to create striking visual effects for some types of movies, we will focus on advanced computer graphics."
But for many of today's sophisticated movie fans, main-theme films are unappealing.
"I wouldn't pay 30 yuan(US$3.63) to watch such a film unless it garnered overseas awards," said consultant Thomas Wu.
The artistic value and content of main-theme films are crucial to their success, said Ding Zhanhong, producer of "What a Snow Day," China's first independent film approved by the government censor.
(eastday.com January 9, 2002)
