Chen was the first of China's Fifth Generation to break through, with
the landmark film Yellow Earth. What became known as the South East
Asian New Wave - directors like Taiwan's Hou Hsaio-Hsaien and Edward
Yang, Hong Kong's Wong Kar-Wai, Vietnam's Tran Anh Hung - all began
here. Chen soon moved from the elliptical style of his early work to
over-stated historical melodramas - and so was eclipsed by his former
cinematographer, Zhang Yimou - though as he proved with Life On A
String, he's still capable of magical cinema. Currently shooting his
first English-language film, in the US.
