''A Beautiful New World'' is a 1999 Chinese comedy film directed by

Shi Runjiu Shi Runjiu () (born 1969), is a Beijing-based Chinese filmmaker. After graduating from the directing department of the Beijing Central Drama Academy in 1992, he went on to direct many documentaries and music videos for MTV. He served as ass ...

. The film, Shi's

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

(he had previously served as an assistant director for Lu Yue's ''

Mr. Zhao ''Mr. Zhao'' is a 1998 Chinese dark comedy film. It is the directorial debut of Lü Yue (cinematographer), Lü Yue, already a well-established cinematographer for director Zhang Yimou. ''Mr. Zhao'' tells the story of a philandering doctor living i ...

''), was co-produced by Xi'an Film Studio and the independent Imar Film Company. It was Imar Film's second production, coming after 1997's ''

Spicy Love Soup ''Spicy Love Soup'' () is a 1997 Chinese film directed by Zhang Yang and written by Zhang, Liu Fendou, Cai Shangjun, and Diao Yi'nan based on a story by Zhang and Peter Loehr. ''Spicy Love Soup'' was produced by Loehr's Imar Film Company, Xi ...

''. Set in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, the film stars

Jiang Wu Jiang Wu (born 4 November 1967) is a Chinese actor. He starred in Zhang Yimou's '' To Live'' (1994), and Zhang Yang's ''Shower'' (1999). He is the younger brother of Jiang Wen and is or was a member of the Beijing Experimental Theatre Troupe. ...

and Tao Hong as a mismatched pair. Taiwanese pop stars

Richie Jen Richie Jen Hsien-chi (, born 23 June 1966), also known as Richie Ren, is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department. Jen debuted in December 1990 with the studio album ''Ask ...

and

Wu Bai Wu Chun-lin (; born 14 January 1968), better known by his stage name Wu Bai (), is a Taiwanese rock singer, songwriter and actor. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean Zavolta (drums), Yu Ta-hao (keyboards), and Chu Chien-hui (bass g ...

are cast in minor roles.

Cast

as Zhang Baogen, a country boy, who upon winning the lottery, heads to Shanghai to claim his prize, a new apartment. * Tao Hong as Huang Jinfang, Baogen's debt ridden city cousin, who apprehensively offers up her home to her distant country relative. *Chen Ning as Chen Minghui, Jinfang's best friend. *

as Bai, Minghui's boyfriend. *

as Liang, a street musician, who befriends Baogen. *Tong Zhengwei as Auntie Cai, Jinfang's elderly neighbor. *

Cheng Lei Cheng Lei (; born on August 26, 1971) is a Chinese television presenter. Cheng Lei was a student in Shanghai Theater Academy in the 1990s. After graduation, he was chosen as a host for ''Broken Brain'' (智力大沖浪) by Shanghainese producer ...

(cameo) *

Niu Ben Zhang Xuejing (张学景; born 1935), stagename Niu Ben (牛犇) is a Chinese film actor. Biography He lost both of his parents at the age of six, then lived with his oldest brother, who worked as a driver at the third film factory in Beijing. ...

(cameo)

Reception

Derek Elley Derek Elley (born ) is an American film and music critic and author, best known as the resident film critic for '' Variety'' until his departure in March 2010. With over 1200 reviews to his credit as of December 2014 on ''Rotten Tomatoes'', he spe ...

of ''

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), ...

'' praised the film as "a beautifully played, accessible pic that rewrites the rule book on mainland Chinese cinema."

Awards and nominations

*1999

Beijing College Student Film Festival Beijing College Student Film Festival, first held in 1993, is an annual event organized by Beijing Normal University and Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio, Film and Television. It is held in April or May, and is one of the biggest film festivals ...

**Won — Best Actress ( Tao Hong) *1999

Hawaii International Film Festival Hawaii ( ; ) is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only state not on the North American mainland, th ...

**Won — Special Jury Award (

)

References

External links

*
''A Beautiful New World''
at the Chinese Movie Database 1999 films 1999 comedy films 1990s Mandarin-language films Films set in Shanghai Films shot in Shanghai 1999 directorial debut films Chinese comedy films {{1990s-China-film-stub