New Wave Is the Inexhaustible Spiritual Power
This year marks the 50th anniversary of French New Wave, one of the most influential events in world film history. Therefore a section named “French New Wave Panorama” is specially set up at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival, fueling a movie-watching boom. Jean-Michel Frodon, Chief Editor of Cahiers du Cinéma——a then realm of spirit for New Wave, is here in Shanghai on the occasion of SIFF. Frodon has a lot to say about film festival, French New Wave, and Chinese films.
Frodon: So far I have seen five: Wheat, One Night in Supermarket, Looking for Jackie, and A Tale of Two Donkeys. I planned to see the film The Radio in My Childhood, but I finally saw another German film for some unknown reasons. Although I only saw five this time, I actually had finished many of those screened at SIFF before I came to Shanghai, and of course most of them were French films.
Daily News: You said just now that one of the films that you have seen is Wheat, and now would you please say something about this opening film directed by a famous Chinese director He Ping?
Frodon: I do think that it is a difficulty in choosing the opening film, which has to satisfy different tastes, among so many good ones. Wheat, a Chinese-made big shot, is a very good choice. I like this film. Two years ago I was here as a juror, and director He Ping was the jury chairman. We had a wonderful time working together, and now I am glad to see his new works, a big feature film, screened on the opening day.
Daily News: It can be noticed that the films you named just now are all Chinese films, and Cahiers du Cinéma has been paying much attention to Chinese films all the time. We want to know when exactly did this famous magazine begin to follow Chinese films?
Frodon: It was in 1986 that I came to China for the first time, or more precisely, to Shanghai. I was here for researches on the fifth generation of directors and their first works. At that time, I saw Huang Jianxin, one of the jurors for Jin Jue Award this time. I made an exclusive interview with him in that year, and ever since then I have took great interest in Chinese films. I am especially interested in the rejuvenation of Chinese films in the 1980s, including the rising of the fifth generation of directors in the mainland as well as the booming growth of Hong Kong films and Taiwan films.
Daily News: You have mentioned the great originator of gangster films, Melville, and what do you think of Melville’s successor Johnny To?
Frodon: Johnny To is likely to re-film one of the Melville’s greatest works The Red Circle in the near future. I am fond of the films made by Johnny To, who is a man of great originality. He has found new ways to make gangster films, and therefore created a unique and impressive style for this kind of films.
Daily News: Johnny To has made films of different styles, and some of them are very commercial , some are love skits. What do you think of that?
Frodon: There are not too many love skits. As for the very commercial films, yes, they are very commercial indeed, but very excellent ones. I do not care about this point too much. I sincerely hope that he can succeed in commercial films. His films are never lacking in original styles. He never reproduces films of the identical style, while other directors do this kind of thing. His works PTU, The Mission, Exiled and Mad Detective differ from one another.
Daily News: Now we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of French New Wave. How will we look at these films when we see them 50 years from now? Will our opinions be different from those of the present?
Frodon: Very different, of course, for those of us who know all about films. It is hard to evaluate the films in terms of innovation immediately after they are made.
Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism
