Durian Durian

Durian Durian
Durian Durian
	Movie poster for Durian Durian
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	榴槤飄飄
Simplified Chinese	榴莲飘飘
Literal meaning	Durian fluttering in the wind
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	liúlián piāopiāo
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping	Lau4 Lin4 Piu1 Piu1
Directed by	Fruit Chan
Written by	Fruit Chan; Chan Wai Keung; Zhi Min Sheng;
Produced by	Carrie Wong
Starring	Qin Hailu; Mak Wai Fan;
Cinematography	Lam Wah Chuen
Edited by	Tin Sam Fat
Music by	Chu Hing Cheung; Lam Wah Chuen;
Release date	16 November 2000;
Running time	116 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Languages	Cantonese; Mandarin
Box office	HKD523,015

Durian Durian (Chinese: 榴槤飄飄) is a 2000 Hong Kong film directed by Fruit Chan. The film portrays the experiences of a young girl, Fan (Mak Wai-Fan), and her sex worker neighbour, Yan (Qin Hailu), in Hong Kong. The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 57th Venice International Film Festival.^[2]

Plot

Yan is a prostitute from the mainland in Hong Kong, living near Fan and her family, who are staying in the area illegally. Yan meets Fan in a laneway behind Portland Street and become friends after Yan's pimp is assaulted in front of Fan by an assailant wielding a durian fruit.

Yan services dozens of clients per day and showers compulsively.^[3] After her 3-month-stay in Hong Kong, Yan returns to her family and her ex-fiancé in Northeast China to invest what she has earned.^[4] Yan remains in contact with Fan, receiving a durian from her as a gift.

Cast

Qin Hailu as Qin Yan^[5]
Mak Wai Fan as Fan
Mak Suet Man as Man
Yeung Mei Kam as Fan's mother
Chang Kin Yung as Policeman

Production

Fan was featured in Little Cheung, a film which also deals with poverty and life as an immigrant. This film also centres upon Portland Street in Kowloon.^[6]

Chan became interested in the topic of prostitution while filming Little Cheung in Kowloon, where he met and interviewed various prostitutes.^[7] While filming in mainland China, Chan found the public toilets to be terrible and very different. This served as inspiration for his next film Public Toilet (2002).^[7]

Reception

In addition to numerous awards, the film has received critical acclaim. Reviews have praised Chan and actresses Qin Hailu and Mak Wai-Fan, and emphasise themes of contrast, urban squalor, youthful optimism, and alienation.^[4]^[8] The film has been called "deliberate and brooding".^[9]

Awards

At the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2001, Durian Durian was nominated for the Best Film, Best Director (Fruit Chan), Best Screenplay (Fruit Chan), Best Actress (Qin Hailu), Best New Performer (Qin Hailu) and Best Art Direction (Tin Muk) awards. It won the awards for Best Film and Best New Performer.^[10] It was awarded Best Film at the 2001 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. The film also won the Best Picture award at the 38th Golden Horse Awards, with Qin winning the Best Actress and Best New Performer awards.^[11]

References

^ "Durian, Durian". HKMDB. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
^ "U.S. pix miss the boat for Venice". Variety. 28 July 2000. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
^ "World/Independent Film: Durian Durian". about.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
^ ^a ^b Kraicer, Shelly. "Durian Durian: a Review". chinesecinemas.org. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
^ "Durian, Durian". chibesecinemas.org. 2000. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^ Zhang 2004
^ ^a ^b Gatto, Robin; Sonatine (May 2002). "Interview Fruit Chan". www.cinemasie.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
^ Mitchell, Elvis (5 April 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Escaping Hong Kong's Streets, Aided by an 8-Year-Old". movies.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
^ Cowan, Noah. "Durian Durian Review (posted on official site)". Contemporary World Cinema. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
^ "第二十屆香港電影金像獎得獎名單(Winners of the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards)". Hong Kong Film Awards. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
^ "China's filmmakers invade Taiwan". Taipei Times. 9 December 2001. Retrieved 1 November 2007.

Zhang, Yingjin (2004). Chinese National Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-17289-6.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	Golden Horse Awards for Best Film 2001	Succeeded by The Best of Times

[1] "Durian, Durian". HKMDB. Retrieved 1 November 2007.

[2] "U.S. pix miss the boat for Venice". Variety. 28 July 2000. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.

[3] "World/Independent Film: Durian Durian". about.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2009.

[chinese_cinemas_review-4] Kraicer, Shelly. "Durian Durian: a Review". chinesecinemas.org. Retrieved 10 February 2009.

[5] "Durian, Durian". chibesecinemas.org. 2000. Retrieved 4 April 2021.

[6] Zhang 2004

[Robin_Gatto-7] Gatto, Robin; Sonatine (May 2002). "Interview Fruit Chan". www.cinemasie.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2011.

[NYT-8] Mitchell, Elvis (5 April 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Escaping Hong Kong's Streets, Aided by an 8-Year-Old". movies.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2009.

[review_on_official-9] Cowan, Noah. "Durian Durian Review (posted on official site)". Contemporary World Cinema. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2009.

[10] "第二十屆香港電影金像獎得獎名單(Winners of the 20th Hong Kong Film Awards)". Hong Kong Film Awards. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2007.

[11] "China's filmmakers invade Taiwan". Taipei Times. 9 December 2001. Retrieved 1 November 2007.

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v t e Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature
1962–1975	Sun, Moon and Star (1962) The Love Eterne (1963) not held (1964) Beautiful Duckling (1965) Hsi-shih, Beauty of Beauties (1966) Orchids and My Love (1967) The Road (1968) Spring in a Small Town (1969) Home Sweet Home (1970) The Story of Ti-Ying (1971) Execution in Autumn (1972) The Escape (1973) not held (1974) Land of the Undaunted (1975)
1976–2000	Victory (1976) Heroes of the Eastern Skies (1977) He Never Gives Up (1978) The Story of a Small Town (1979) Good Morning, Taipei (1980) If I Were for Real (1981) The Battle for the Republic of China (1982) Growing Up (1983) Old Mao's Second Spring (1984) Kuei-Mei, a Woman (1985) Terrorizers (1986) Straw Man (1987) Painted Faces (1988) Full Moon in New York (1989) Red Dust (1990) A Brighter Summer Day (1991) Hill of No Return (1992) The Wedding Banquet (1993) Vive L'Amour (1994) Summer Snow (1995) In the Heat of the Sun (1996) Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1997) Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998) Ordinary Heroes (1999) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
2001–present	Durian Durian (2001) The Best of Times (2002) Infernal Affairs (2003) Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004) Kung Fu Hustle (2005) After This Our Exile (2006) Lust, Caution (2007) The Warlords (2008) Cannot Live Without You (2009) When Love Comes (2010) Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011) Beijing Blues (2012) Ilo Ilo (2013) Blind Massage (2014) The Assassin (2015) The Summer Is Gone (2016) The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful (2017) An Elephant Sitting Still (2018) A Sun (2019) My Missing Valentine (2020) The Falls (2021) Coo-Coo 043 (2022) Stonewalling (2023) An Unfinished Film (2024)