Sino Silver Screen: Movies Not to Miss This Month in Beijing

Huang Chenkuang | Dec 24, 2019 1:00 pm | Add a comment | 204 reads

Nix the Netflix, turn off your torrents, ditch the DVDs and go and watch a film in a theater for Pete's sake! The Beijing cinema scene is alive and well, as our column Sino Silver Screen proves.

New releases

IP Man 4: The Finale (叶问4)

The final installment of the blockbuster action series Ip Man, which launched in 2008, is now in cinemas. Ip Man 4: The Finale sees the martial arts legend, played by Donnie Yen, move to San Francisco in pursuit of a better life for his son. Never one to completely retire, Ip Man also takes it upon himself to try to ease tensions between the local kung fu masters, all the while battling anti-Chinese sentiment from a US army sergeant, played by British martial artist Scott Adkins. For the final showdown, Kwok-Kwan "Danny" Chan also reprises his role as Ip Man's prodigal student Bruce Lee. Screened with Chinese and English subtitles.

Released on Dec 20 (tickets available via 淘票票 and 猫眼 ticketing platforms)

Downton Abbey (唐顿庄园)

In some ways, Downton Abbey has all the markings of a Christmas movie: pageantry, posh accents, family drama, and beloved characters who are laying it on extremely thick for our viewing pleasure, all set in front of a spectacular backdrop. Fans will also be glad that it has finally arrived, a full three months after the UK release. The film finds the Crawley family, who we haven't seen since the original hit TV show ended in 2015, in 1927, making preparations for a visit from the King and Queen of England. The episode throws the whole clan into high gear, as well as unearthing plenty of scandals, romance, and intrigue. Don't expect anything new here in terms of character or plot, but for those who miss the good old days and these beloved characters, it makes for the lean dose of nostalgia.

Various venues and schedules (tickets available via 淘票票 and 猫眼 ticketing platforms).

Ongoing screenings

Until Dec 31: Screenings at China Film Archive

As we've come to expect from the China Film Archive, this month features a host of Chinese and foreign classics. Some of our favorites include Amadeus (1984), the biographical movie about Mozart, one of the world’s greatest musicians; Nise, the Heart of Madness (2018), based on the life of psychiatrist Nise da Silveira and how she cured her patients through a mixture of compassion and selfless love; and Ala Changso (2018, pictured above), which tells the story of a Tibetan woman’s pilgrimage trip to Lhasa despite a life-threatening illness.

Click here for the complete timetable. RMB 20-60. Various times (tickets available on 淘票票). China Film Archive (Xiaoxitian and Baiziwan branch)

Until Dec 29: Screenings at the French Culture Center

To add some laughs to Beijing's bleakest season, the French Culture Center is showing a selection of the country's best comedy through the years. Screenings include La Grande Vadrouille (1966, originally released in the United States as Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!), which follows two ordinary Frenchmen on their epic, hilarious, Nazi-dodging voyage through occupied France during WWII; Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks, 2008, pictured above) the smash-hit comedy film that pokes and prods the cultural differences between the north and south of France, with great affection for both; and Delphine et Carole, insoumuses (Delphine and Carole, 2019) about the Swiss director and feminist Carole Roussopoulos and actress Delphine Seyrig, whose groundbreaking work on gender equality includes the feminist collective video Les Insoumuses, a portmanteau of insoumise (disobedient) and muses.

All films screened with Chinese and English subtitles. RMB 40. Various times. French Culture Center. Scan the QR code below for more details and ticketing: