¡°The Great Wall,¡± a lavish Hollywood production that looks like it cost a gazillion dollars (or, more accurately, $150 million), is directed by China¡¯s Zhang Yimou ¡ª or Yimou Zhang as he¡¯s now known on many online film sites.
In recent years, Zhang¡¯s name has been flipped into Western style ¡ª first name first ¡ª more often. And why not? ¡°The Great Wall¡± marks his foray into mainstream Hollywood and in doing so, he might be looking to distance himself from the Chinese film scene.
Zhang¡¯s career kicked off in the late 1980s with ¡°Red Sorghum,¡± a period tale with heavy political undertones that introduced a style that has permeated the past 15 years of his work: democratic tones mixed with not-so-subtle jabs at communist bureaucracy. It got him in trouble with the Chinese government, but has endeared him to the Western market.
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