Chinese director Zhang Yimou says his film captures human hope

Zhang Yimou                                                                                                                      (Yonhap)

  Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou said Saturday he wanted to tell about the "inextinguishable" hope of mankind through "Coming Home," his latest film about a long-awaited love.

   Starring Gong Li, the period drama tells the story of a devoted married couple who is separated when the husband is sent away to a labor camp for his right-leaning thoughts during the Cultural Revolution, a period of political upheaval in China in the 1960s and 1970s.

   The husband is discharged from the camp and comes home at the end of the revolution, but his wife does not recognize him due to amnesia caused by the trauma of the past years and keeps waiting for him. He then dedicates himself to helping her remember her past and rebuild his broken family.

   "This is a story about waiting as a whole," Zhang told reporters after a press screening of the movie during the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). "I wanted to tell a story about the inextinguishable hope of mankind put in an extremely dismal and hard reality."

   Adapted from the novel "The Criminal Lu Yanshi" by American-based novelist Yan Geling, "Coming Home" premiered out of competition at this year's Cannes and will receive a gala screening during the BIFF that runs from Oct. 2-11.

   Zhang is a major figure in China, long banned for his early work such as "Red Sorghum," "Raise the Red Lantern" and "To Live,"

then feted for his work on the martial arts epics "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers." He also directed the war movie "Flowers of War"

and choreographed the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

   He is now working on "Great Wall," a big-budget fantasy epic about the mysterious reasons why the Great Wall of China was built.

   "I have a great expectation for this film because regardless of which films I make I always think it is important to depict unique features of the Chinese culture in them."

   The 62-year-old filmmaker refrained from giving a direct answer when questioned whether he wants to go back to artsy films but said he prefers such films.

   "I personally prefer the method and work that allows me to look deeply into people's minds in a calm way," he said.