''Mr. Zhao'' is a 1998 Chinese dark comedy film. It is the

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

of Lü Yue, already a well-established

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the c ...

for director

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

. ''Mr. Zhao'' tells the story of a philandering doctor living in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. His infidelity gets the best of him, however, when his mistress Tian Jing ( Chen Yinan) announces she is pregnant, while his wife learns of his affair but refuses to grant a divorce.

Cast

* Shi Jingming as the titular Mr. Zhao, a teacher of Chinese medicine. * Zhang Zhihua as his wife, a factory worker. * Chen Yinan as Tian Jing, his student and now pregnant mistress.

Reception

''Mr. Zhao'' won the 1998

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to ...

at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

in Switzerland. The film was also entered into competition at the 1999

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

and the 1998

AFI Fest The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

in Los Angeles.

References

External links

* *
''Mr. Zhao''
at the Chinese Movie Database 1998 films Chinese comedy films 1990s Mandarin-language films 1998 comedy-drama films Films set in Shanghai Golden Leopard winners Films directed by Lu Yue 1998 directorial debut films {{China-film-stub