John Woo has signed on to direct 1949, a romantic drama set at the end of China’s civil war starring Chang Chen (2046) and Korean star Song Hye-kyo. Wang Hui-ling, who tackled Chinese history with Lust, Caution and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, wrote the screenplay. Variety says the movie will begin filming in the fall.
With modern China on the collective national brain right now, given the Olympics and the earthquake and Darfur and all the rest, it makes sense to turn to China’s recent history to figure out how the country became such a big deal to begin with. And who better to give us a history lesson than John Woo, who has made interesting movies about transplant surgery (Face/Off), payroll disputes (Paycheck), and even a late-career Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible II).
All kidding aside, the history of 20th century China is fascinating, and has helped create a country that we fear even as they are critical to our economy. And while it’s one thing for Ang Lee to make a drama set in China’s recent past, as he did with Lust, Caution, John Woo tends to make movies with massive public appeal. If he can avoid accusations of glorifying China at a time when it might need to be scolded (which will probably happen), Woo might make a movie that could bridge the gap between us and our giant, rapidly industrializing neighbor. Plus, you know there will be birds flying before the big fight scene, and as long as there’s a big fight scene, we’ll probably all be on board.
