- Uniform (film)
Infobox Chinese Film
name = Uniform
image_size =
caption =
director =Diao Yi'nan
producer =Li Kit Min Iku Ishikawa
writer =Diao Yi'nan
starring =Liang Hongli Zeng Shuoqiong
music =Wan Zi
cinematography =Dong Jingsong
editing =Chow Keung
distributor =Hu Tong Communications
United States (DVD):First Run Features
United Kingdom (DVD):Axiom Films
released = Vancouver:
30 September2003
runtime = 94 min.
language = Mandarin
budget =
website =
amg_id = 1:305888
imdb_id = 0390649
jianti = 制服
fanti = 制服
pinyin = Zhìfú"Uniform" is the 2003 feature film debut of director
Diao Yi'nan , who had previously worked as an establishedscreenwriter for directors such as Zhang Yang andShi Runjiu . The film, produced byHu Tong Communications was distributed viaDVD in the United Starts byFirst Run Features as part of theGlobal Film Initiative ."Uniform" follows a young man, Wang Xiaojian, who down on his luck, comes upon a seemingly abandoned policeman's uniform. Putting it on, Wang discovers he can have influence and control not only on others but himself as well.
The film premiered at the 2003
Vancouver International Film Festival where it won the Dragons and Tigers award. [cite web|url=http://www.viff.org/viff05/i-award/awardhistory.html|title=Award history|publisher=Vancouver International Film Festival |accessdate=2008-03-31] It also also screened at a handful of other international film festivals, notably Rotterdam, where it was the only Chinese film in competition for the Tiger Award. [cite web|url=http://www.fipresci.org/documents/archive/archive_2004/rotterdam/trainee_zhang_ya_xuan.htm|publisher =FIPRESCI | title=Chinese Films in Rotterdam|author=Zhang Ya-xuan|date=2004|accessdate=2008-03-30]Production
"Uniform" was filmed primarily in Diao's home province of
Shaanxi on digital video and on a shoe-string budget in September 2002.cite web|url=http://www.viff.org/viff05/i-award/awardhistory.html|title=Uniform review|publisher = "Variety" | author = Elley, Derek| accessdate=2008-03-31| date =2003-10-31] The film is Diao's first behind the camera, he had previously worked with the Beijing independent production house,Imar Film Company as a screenwriter, and as an occasional actor, most notably withYu Lik-wai in the film "All Tomorrow's Parties".Both Yu Lik-wai and director
Jia Zhangke served as artistic advisers to Diao during "Uniform"'s production. The film's crew also included several Jia and Yu collaborators, including editorChow Keung (see e.g., "Unknown Pleasures") and producerLi Kit Ming (see e.g., "Xiao Wu ").Plot
Wang Xiaojian (
Liang Hongli ) is a down-and-out slacker in a small town in China's industrial Shaanxi province. His father, a factory worker, has fallen ill, and prospects for both Xiaojian and his family look dim. Stuck working in his family's tailoring and laundry shop, one day, Xiaojian comes across the freshly laundered uniform of a police officer. Attempting to deliver it, he discovers that the police office who the uniform was intended had been injured and would not be back on the job for a few weeks. Wandering home, Xiaojian decides to try the uniform on.Suddenly, Xiaojian's life begins to turn around as people mistake him for a police officer, a mistake he quickly capitalizes on. Using the uniform, Xiaojian begins stopping motorists and bus drivers in order to shake them down for bribes in order to pay for his father's medical expenses. Less noble, he uses the uniform to begin wooing a pretty clerk, Zheng Shasha (
Zeng Xueqiong ). As they begin seeing each other more regularly, however, it becomes clear that Xiaojian is not the only one living a double life.Reception
Awards & nominations
* 2003
Vancouver International Film Festival
** Dragons And Tigers Award For Young Cinema
* 2004International Film Festival Rotterdam
** Amnesty International - DOEN Award - Special Mention
** NETPAC Award - Special MentionReferences
External links
*
*
* [http://www.dianying.com/en/title/zf-2003 "Uniform"] at the Chinese Movie Database
* [http://www.globalfilm.org/catalogue/uniform.htm "Uniform"] from theGlobal Film Initiative
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.