THE BRIEF rehabilitation of Chinese actor Tang Wei, who was purged for her steamy role in Ang Lee's erotic thriller Lust, Caution, seems to be over, after her part in the propaganda epic Founding of a Partywas cut.
It appears the actor has been edited out of the soon-to-be-released film on the wishes of the family of the late Mao Zedong, the first leader of the People’s Republic of China.
Tang played Tao Yi, an early girlfriend of Mao, in the movie, which was made to mark this year’s 90th anniversary of the Communist Party’s foundation. The film is due to open in mid-June.
Tang had been in an edit of the film shown to various industry figures in recent weeks, but sources who asked to remain anonymous said it looked pretty certain she has since been dropped because of objections by the Great Helmsman’s grandson, Mao Xinyu, a major general in the People’s Liberation Army.
Families of historical figures have considerable influence in China, and people regularly take legal action against fictional works that might cast a family name in bad light. It is quite possible Mao Xinyu did not want any links between his grandfather and an actor who shot to fame on the strength of her performance in a film containing nudity and violent sex.
China Film Group spokesperson Jiang Defu would not confirm or deny Tang’s part was on the cutting room floor, saying only that parts had been deleted in the final cut.
The film deals with the three phases of the setting up of the Communist Party, which still runs China as a single-party state, and now has 78 million members.
The role of the young Mao is played by heart-throb Liu Ye, and the film is part of the Communist Party’s efforts to present a modern image.
Several decades after his death Mao remains a powerful force in China. His face adorns every banknote and his portrait looms over Tiananmen Square in downtown Beijing.
The Founding of a Partyis expected to make major waves at the Chinese box office after the huge success of Founding of a Republic,a tribute to the 1949 revolution which was the top performing Chinese movie two years ago. The new film also features some of Hong Kong's top actors. Andy Lau stars as the warlord Cai E, while Chow Yun-fat plays Yuan Shikai.
The Chinese film business is booming, having taken in €1 billion at the box office last year. China makes dozens of propaganda films every year, most of them failing to make a ripple beyond China's borders and meeting with broad indifference at home. The Founding of a Republictransformed the Chinese propaganda movie in that it was higher quality than the usual fare.