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Triumph of idealism

2014-03-24 11:15 Global Times Web Editor: Gu Liping
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Director Diao Yinan (L) of Black Coal, Thin Ice , winner of the Golden Bear for the Best Film, and Liao Fan, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor for Black Coal, Thin Ice, pose for photos during the awards ceremony at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Feb. 15, 2014

Director Diao Yinan (L) of "Black Coal, Thin Ice" , winner of the Golden Bear for the Best Film, and Liao Fan, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor for "Black Coal, Thin Ice", pose for photos during the awards ceremony at the 64th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Feb. 15, 2014

Although Black Coal, Thin Ice only reached the Chinese mainland theaters on Friday, it is already considered a success by many even before earning a single penny. In February, director Diao Yinan's film took home the Golden Bear for best motion picture at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, while the film's lead actor Liao Fan won the Silver Bear for best actor. It seems that Germany is sending a direct message to China that this is a film worth watching.

Praise for the film has pushed Diao and Liao into the spotlight, a position the two aren't exactly used to. A long time art film director this success will enable Diao to earn recognition among a broader audience in China, while for Liao this is the first time in his 15-year career that the actor has received such a prominent award.

After they won, famed director Meng Jinghui praised the two's quiet dedication to art films on Sina Weibo: "Hooray for the triumph of idealism!"

At a time when many box office earning domestic films are coming under fire for a lack of substance, Black Coal, Thin Ice is here to prove that box office earnings are not the only measure to determine the success of a film.

Shared pain

In the film, police detective Zhang Zili (Liao Fan) investigates a case involving the extremely attractive Wu Zhizhen (Kwai Lun-mei), whose husband has been murdered and his corpse dismembered. Although Zhang shoots and kills the suspected murderer, he soon discovers that this is just the latest incident in a long line of similar cases where the victims were all romantically involved with Wu.

As the story progresses Zhang finds himself also falling uncontrollably in love with Wu, at which point the complicated truth begins to emerge.

The character of Zhang is tortured by the things he has seen in the line of duty, and a turbulent love life. Liao revealed that when he took this role, he too was in a similar "painful" state of mind.

Starring in Let the Bullets Fly (2010), Love is not Blind (2011), Assembly (2006), Curiosity Kills the Cat (2006) and CZ12 (2012), Liao has had a varied career, playing over 30 different supporting roles in films in addition to various TV series he has appeared in.

These 15 years as an actor have made the 40-year-old a familiar face to Chinese audiences. However, Liao has rarely played the leading man, let alone received an award for his work.

Some may speculate that Liao's "pain" stems from this lack of recognition, but as he casually explains, "That's just speculation by other people. The bottleneck I was referring to was that I wasn't able to find an outlet to fully express myself and improve on a professional level."

"The pain had nothing to do with any outside reasons, it came from the demands I set for myself," he said.

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