Bi Zhifei attacks movie-rating site Douban for poo-pooing his directorial debut.
A Chinese filmmaker is bringing some on-screen drama to reality.
On Wednesday, Bi Zhifei slammed China’s largest film review platform, Douban, for manipulating public opinion and criticized critics for labeling his directorial debut “the worst movie ever.” In an open letter written in strong rhetoric reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution, the 39-year-old director defended his movie, “Pure Hearts: Into Chinese Showbiz,” and urged the China Film Bureau to crack down on “the gangster of internet reviews,” as he described the platform.
“Many young people in China who worship Douban as the idol for democracy and liberty don’t know about its close relationship with overseas capital,” Bi wrote on his Weibo microblog account. “It’s common for Douban to praise foreign films while trampling domestic ones.”
“Pure Hearts: Into Chinese Showbiz” is a 2017 drama that tells the story of a group of film students who defy the unspoken rules of the Chinese film industry as they strive to achieve their dreams. When it was released in September, the movie received a net rating of just 2 out of 10 on Douban — and 99 percent of users gave it the lowest-possible score. Continue to read the full article here.
-This is original content by Sixth Tone and has been republished with permission.
