Mama | |
---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 媽媽 |
Simplified Chinese | 妈妈 |
Hanyu Pinyin | Māma |
Directed by | Zhang Yuan |
Written by |
Qin Yan Zhang Yuan Ning Dai |
Produced by | Zhang Yuan Qin Yan |
Starring |
Yang Xiaodan Qin Yan |
Cinematography | Zhang Jian |
Edited by | Feng Shuangyan |
Distributed by | Xi'an Film Studio |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | China |
Language | Mandarin |
Budget | ¥100,000 |
Mama is a 1990 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan's directorial debut, Mama is now considered a seminal film in the history of Chinese independent cinema, and by extension, as a pioneering film of the Sixth Generation of which Zhang is a member. [1] Shot on a very low budget within Zhang Yuan's apartment, Mama follows the story of a mother and her mentally challenged adult son.
The film focuses on a librarian struggling to raise her mentally handicapped son in modern-day Beijing while at the same time dealing with an absent and unresponsive husband. The story garnered much criticism from state-censors, who found the film too dark. [2]
While the film was originally written to end on the dour note of the mother euthanizing her son, director Zhang Yuan eventually opted for a more open-ended and ambiguous conclusion. [2]
The film that was to become Mama began as a screenplay in the Children's Film Studio for a film entitled The Sun Tree as based on a story by writer Dai Qing. [3] Zhang Yuan at the time was still a student in the Beijing Film Academy's cinematography department and was slated to serve as the film's director of photography, with Fifth Generation graduate Sun Chen slated to direct. [3] For three months, Zhang worked with screenwriter (and planned lead actor) Qin Yan and Sun storyboarding The Sun Tree. [3] The studio, however, ultimately decided that the film was not profitable and canceled production. [3]
The project was then picked up by the August First Film Studio, now with Gong Yiqun set as the director. [4] During this second production period, Zhang Yuan again was set to serve as cinematographer and conducted several location scouting trips to Dunhuang. [4] However, August First canceled the production shortly after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, in part because Dai Qing had supported the demonstrations and was now a problematic figure politically. [4]
With the project seemingly dead, Zhang Yuan and Qin Yan decided to produce the film independently, asking friends and family for funds. [4] Zhang, Qin, and Zhang's wife, screenwriter Ning Dai also went back to rework the film's original story. [4] The result was a film, in Zhang's words, that "was completely different" and "something much closer to the everyday reality of average Chinese people." [2]
While Zhang Yuan's friend, director Wang Xiaoshuai, was originally set to direct, Zhang himself eventually took over directing duties. [2]
The film was ultimately shot in 1989 in Zhang's apartment on a budget of only ¥100,000, shortly after Zhang had graduated from the BFA. [2]
Filmed mostly in black and white, the film's small budget often shows in its minimalist style. Mama's small cast of characters and minimal plot would become trademarks to Zhang's films. [5] The film is also notable as an example of Zhang's documentary leanings, as Mama also intercuts actual interviews with parents of autistic children throughout the narrative. [5]
Mama was registered with the state-run Xi'an Film Studio, but was given only a minimal distribution in its native China. [5] Instead the film received numerous accolades abroad, screening at several international film festivals and winning the Special Jury Prize at the Nantes Three Continents Film Festival in 1991. [5]
Today the film is considered a pioneering work and the "first independent Chinese film since 1949." [6] It was selected to screen in the 2005 62nd Venice International Film Festival, as part of that festival's retrospective on Chinese cinema. [7]