Cinemas enjoy recovery from COVID-19 pandemic

Great news for film buffs! Restrictions on cinema audiences have been relaxed. Local cinemas can now increase the maximum seating capacity of each screening from 30 to 50 percent. The two-hour restriction on a movie’s viewing length has also been lifted.

The loosening of restrictions is because of the rising demand of audiences this summer. Cinemas which reopened on July 20, after six-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are gradually recovering owing to a number of acclaimed productions.  

The romantic movie “Wild Grass,” which was nominated for this year’s Asian New Talent Awards at the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival, was released on Tuesday.

As early as 2017, the film pitch amazed the festival’s SIFF Project juries for its creativity. And thanks to film festival support, the movie was made with veteran filmmaker Guan Hu as art director.

Set in the 1990s, the film revolves around two girls and a boy who leave a small town to pursue their dreams in a big city. However, they are confronted by the unexpected challenges of life, love and friendship.

Production is helmed by precocious director and scriptwriter Xu Zhanxiong, who penned scripts for the action comedy “Kung Fu Yoga” and the online suspense thriller series “Criminal Minds.” 

The film does not follow the usual stereotypical path a romantic movie walks down. Instead, it explores humanity, people’s choices in the face of temptation and a cruel and complicated reality.

Guan said he is impressed by the juxtaposition of life in a town and a big city. He believes it’s a sincere movie about the destinies of common people in the rapid wave of social changes.

Another acclaimed film is the big-budget war epic “The Eight Hundred.”

The blockbuster, released on August 21, has already made 1.47 billion yuan (US$213 million) at the national box office, while at the same time being hailed by both critics and moviegoers. Yesterday it was released in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Directed by Guan, the movie, based on a true historical story, follows Chinese soldiers defending Sihang Warehouse against the invading Japanese army during the Battle of Shanghai in 1937. 

The brave soldiers, many of whom were farmers, shepherds and civilians, managed to resist wave after wave of brutal Japanese attack over four days. Their courage and sacrifice offered cover to the retreat of China’s main forces. The film moved a lot of people to tears and has been dubbed as China’s answer to Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” for the touching battlefield scenes and stories.

On China’s film and TV review website Douban, netizen “Inland Flying Fish” said that it is the best domestic war film he has ever seen. 

New film releases in August also include the Oscar-winning film “Little Women,” the 4K and 3D restored version of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” action cop movie “Bad Boys For Life,” sci-fi flick “Interstellar” and the animated “Sonic the Hedgehog.”

Gu Yan, general manager of Shanghai Film Art Center, says box office revenue is steadily increasing following the new releases. 

“The average attendance rate of the weekend screenings has already exceeded 80 percent,” Gu said. “We are glad to see the fast revival of the whole film market.”