BUDDHA MOUNTAIN

观音山

Director: LI, Yu Cast: Sylvia CHANG, FAN Bingbing, CHEN Bolin

At one point in this film, three youngsters lost in the countryside wait at a railway station called “Buddha Mountain” for a train without knowing if any will ever come. Alienated by society and their families, they move together into the home of a retired Peking opera performer. The carefree tenants and rigid landlady expose not only their conflicting lifestyles but also everyone’s painful past. They gradually learn to embrace and find strength in each other despite divisions. On a trip to a remote village, a monk asks for their help to rebuild a temple among ruins from the 2008 Schechuan earthquake. The labor turns into a ritual for them to move on. This reunion of China’s prominent female filmmaker Li Yu and the iconic star Fan Bingbing after Lost in Beijing is graced by Taiwan’s cinematic treasure Sylvia Chang. With an exuberant and haunting story, she inquires how individuals reconstruct their inner selves facing impermanence in all forms.

FESTIVALS AND AWARDS

“free and unexpected, real and raw, “Buddha Mountain” is the kind of movie I dream of seeing every time I sit down in a theater... the kind that stays with me long after the lights have dimmed and brightened...Never rushed and always sensitive, Li Yu paints a breathtaking, melancholy, trembling picture of the joys and sorrows that thrives in modern China today across generations.”

— Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com

“Over the past decade, Li Yu has emerged as one of China's most provocative art-house film directors.”

-Wall Street Journal

“…a director’s cut of what might be controversial filmmaker Li Yu’s strongest work.”

-Tristan Shaw, SupChina

“Each of those dreamy montages is a thing of rough, yet breathtaking beauty... a solid, rewarding little drama well worth anyone’s time and comes recommended.”

— Matthew Lee, Screen Anarchy

"...the most emotionally moving experience I had in the cinema, that year. One of the best films of the decade by women of colour."

-Peter Rist, Offscreen

“...an enjoyable, gentle and touching tale, skillfully told by the emerging Li Yu. The acting is solid throughout, with Fan Bingbing and Sylvia Chang, in particular, doing an excellent job in portraying their troubled characters.”

— Sabina Pasaniuc, CineVue

“Plumbing the depths of the generation gap, helmer Li Yu ("Lost in Beijing") reaches an Asian indie apex with her earthy, energetic drama "Buddha Mountain."”

— Russel Edwards, Variety

"Three friends mature and a grieving mother embraces life anew in writer-director Li Yu's graceful exploration of loss and connection in ""Buddha Mountain,"" a film that could easily have been a rote, melodramatic weeper but is saved from that fate by some astute writing, strong performances and an almost utter dearth of expected devices...a treat not commonly found in mainstream Asian cinema."

- Elizabeth Kerr, Hollywood Reporter

“Buddha Mountain by controversial (in China) filmmaker Li Yu is one such project that gives us a rare glimpse into middle-class Chinese lives and aspirations…also gives you a sense of the resilience of Chinese people. Not only are they adept at building skyscrapers in Shanghai but they also throw themselves into rebuilding their lives after a tragedy, as is shown by the three young Chinese who pack their bags and set off in search of better lives and better living arrangements.”

-Preetam Kaushik, Huffington Post

“Li Yu & her regular screenwriter Fang Li have created a multifaceted, complex snapshot of China that involves destruction & rebirth, offering characters who are neither completely virtuous nor villainous."

-Christopher Bourne, Meniscuszine

Available License Types:

Public Performance Rights (PPR)

The license allows an organization to hold screenings of the film on its own grounds, to groups of no more than 50 people, and where no admission is charged.

(For screenings that charge admission and or with an audience of more than 50 people, please send booking inquiries to info@chengchengfilm.com)

Digital Site License (DSL)

The License allows an organization to provide digital streaming on a password protected server only to registered students, members, researchers, faculty and staff.

Available Formats:

Digital File

High Quality 1080p mp4 file

Subtitles/Closed Captions: English and Chinese

Spoken Languages: Mandarin

Not Rated, Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (16:9 Widescreen)

Disclaimer: All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work reproduced are reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance, radio or TV broadcasting of the disc is prohibited.

Licensed by Cheng Cheng Films. www.chengchengfilm.com