KEEP COOL (YOU HUA HAO HAO SHUO) Official Competition

This controversial entry was selected for the Official
Competition at the Cannes Film Festival and then pulled
from competition by the Chinese government.
In a marked departure in both style and substance,
Zhang (RAISE THE RED LANTERN, STORY OF QIU
JU) has created a modern comedy set in contemporary
Beijing. A bookseller pines with desire for a beautiful,
sexy young woman, but she is already involved with an
influential wealthy night club owner. An elderly
researcher accidentally becomes involved in their,conflict.
The result is summed up by the advice given by a
policeman: “If countries can find a way to sit down and
negotiate, why can’t you?”
“Chinese cities today are at the forefront of a new era
in the history of China. People appear to be more and
more busy and more and more hurried than ever before.
They all want to change their lives. Their heads are full of
ideas. They are reaching out for all kinds of new
opportunities. Life is a ferment of desires and worries,
excitements and illusions.
By favoring the mobility of a hand-held camera,
close shots of the actors’ faces, very dense and highcontrast
lighting and a rapid, unconventional editing style,
I set out to reflect my impressions of China today.
But over and above the details of film-making
technique, what I want to say most is that no matter how
people’s lives change, their greatest need will always be
to talk to each other and understand one another.”Zhang
Yimou