''Perfect Life'' ( zh, 完美生活) is a 2008 Chinese-Hong Kong film by Emily Tang and produced by director

Jia Zhangke Jia Zhangke ( zh, s=贾樟柯, born 24 May 1970) is a Chinese film and television director, screenwriter, producer, actor and writer. He is the founder of Pingyao International Film Festival, dean of the Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Media Co ...

(who received a co-producer credit) and his company,

Xstream Pictures Xstream Pictures is a Chinese production company, based out of Beijing and Hong Kong. Company Founders It was founded by filmmakers Jia Zhangke, Chow Keung, and Yu Lik-wai. Company History Formed in 2003, the company's first production was Ji ...

. The film mixes elements of dramatic fiction and documentary film.

Release and screenings

With the backing of the established director,

, ''Perfect Life'' had relatively high-profile screenings at a variety of major international film festivals. Its international premiere was during the 65th Venice Film Festival, as part of the Horizons sidebar." ''Perfect Life'' also competed in the Asia-focused Dragons and Tigers program in the 2009

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festi ...

, a program which it won due to "the way it captures the harshness of Chinese reality through its fictional protagonist, and for the subtlety of its wonderfully free storytelling," according to the award jury. The film also captured the "Golden Digital Prize" at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Melbourne controversy

''Perfect Life'' was subject of some controversy in 2009 when it was pulled by Jia from the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venic ...

, along with Jia's own '' Cry Me a River''. The decision by Jia was due to the Melbourne Film Festival's decision to air a documentary film, '' The 10 Conditions of Love'', about the Uighur advocate,

Rebiya Kadeer Rebiya Kadeer (; born 15 November 1946) is an ethnic Uyghur Chinese businesswoman and political activist. Born in Altay City, Xinjiang, China Kadeer became a millionaire in the 1980s through her real estate holdings and ownership of a multina ...

, who is a highly controversial figure in China. In a letter to the festival's organizers, Jia stated that pulled both to protest against Kadeer's attendance of the event. A third film, the Chinese documentary ''

Petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

'', was also withdrawn due to the controversy.

Reception

Despite its win at Vancouver, the film received mixed reviews from western critics. Derek Elley of the industry magazine, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', called it "rote, anomie-heavy" and ultimately a "step back after Tang's promising 2001 debut, ''

Conjugation Conjugation or conjugate may refer to: Linguistics *Grammatical conjugation, the modification of a verb from its basic form *Emotive conjugation or Russell's conjugation, the use of loaded language Mathematics *Complex conjugation, the change o ...

''. While an Asian-cinema focused academic magazine found the film's mix of drama and documentary elements to be an unsuccessful stylistic choice. A similar review came from ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', which also questioned the mix of the documentary film story starring the real Jenny Tse, and the fictional story starring Yao Qianyu, noting that the film fails is that the audience "never quite understand the connection between the two." The film did have its champions, however. Some found the film's style far more palatable and one reviewer listed it as one of the top independent and foreign films from 2008.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1510857, Perfect Life
''Perfect Life''
at the Chinese Movie Database 2008 films 2008 drama films Chinese drama films 2000s Chinese films 2000s Mandarin-language films