Editorial: Both Feng Xiaogang and Giddens Ko Stumble Over Their New Films

Last week, both sides of the Taiwan Strait saw film-related controversies. In mainland China, the Dragon Boat Festival theatrical release "Catching the Spy" underperformed at the box office, tarnishing director Feng Xiaogang's reputation and sparking widespread debate. In Taiwan, Culture Minister Lee Yuan (better known by his pen name Hsiao Yeh) said the ministry had provided a massive subsidy for Giddens Ko's film "Kung Fu," only for it to suffer a devastating loss that left him stunned—and he said he owed an apology to taxpayers. Two days later, Lee changed his tune, saying his earlier remarks had been made under extreme pressure and asking the public to forgive his misstatement.

First, "Catching the Spy." The film is a period drama about everyday domestic life, yet it was saddled with such a peculiar title. In the early days of Communist China, a man named Zhang San discovers that his neighbor Li Si is an expert in artillery and suspects him of being a spy. Zhang moves into the same courtyard as Li and remains his neighbor for 40 years. The film tells the story of those four decades. That title inflicted two fatal wounds. First, audiences expected an espionage thriller but got a neighborhood drama. Second, mainland China has been through numerous political campaigns that manufactured countless "wrongful espionage cases," resulting in untold deaths, so the mainland public is extremely averse to the whole notion of "catching spies."

Feng Xiaogang is a heavyweight director, skilled at both directing and acting, with a long list of fine works. This time, however, a poorly chosen title and a badly misjudged read of the market stirred up sweeping controversy, tarnished his laurels and sent his box office crashing. Feng took a serious hit and suffered a hard fall.

Now to Taiwan, where Giddens Ko's "Kung Fu" stumbled for two reasons. First, the title. Stephen Chow's 2004 "Kung Fu Hustle" (known simply as "Kung Fu" in Chinese) holds a supreme place in Chinese-language film history and is deeply embedded in the public consciousness, becoming a cultural symbol. Elements like the "Buddhist Palm," the "Landlady," the "Lion's Roar" and the "Axe Gang" have long been etched into popular memory. When people hear the title "Kung Fu," the first image that comes to mind is Stephen Chow. Although Giddens Ko wrote his novel "Kung Fu" before Chow's film, using the same title amounts to inviting audiences to draw comparisons.

The other reason for Giddens Ko's stumble is the NT$150 million he received from the Ministry of Culture. Behind that lies Ko's political leaning. He opposed the cross-strait service trade agreement, opposed the fourth nuclear power plant, backed Hong Kong's Occupy Central movement and supported the mass recall campaigns—clearly aligned with the "green" camp. During the anti-service-trade period, he even co-issued a statement against the agreement with Lee Yuan. Had "Kung Fu" been a box office hit, none of this would have mattered; but with the film suffering a heavy loss, the "blue" camp naturally seized on it to go after Lee. Ko was badly bruised by the "Kung Fu" debacle. At the very least, it will likely be difficult for him to secure massive government funding for his films in the future.

The "Kung Fu" affair also touches on a helpless yet very real factor: those who work in music, film, television and cultural production would do best to hide their political leanings. In 2012, Ko's "You Are the Apple of My Eye" was a runaway hit in mainland China, accumulating a box office of RMB 75 million. Now, "Kung Fu" is banned from screening in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, leaving it to rely solely on the Taiwan market. Taiwan's market appetite was limited to begin with, and "Kung Fu" happened to open during the Lunar New Year season, going head-to-head with "The Uniform." Unable to break into the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau markets, and battered by a rival local film in the same slot at home, "Kung Fu" was destined for a dismal box office. Its heavy fall came as no surprise.

Source: Mirror Media — https://www.mirrordaily.news/story/71984