Star Appeal
Director：CuiZi’en
Screenwriter：None
Cast：Yu Bo , Wang Gui Feng , Zhang Xi Wen
Producer：None
Cinematographer：None
Running Time：
Region：China
Year：2004
Language：Chinese
Production Company：None
SYNOPSIS
Coming alone from Mars to the Earth, ET is brought home by Xiao Bo. Xiao Bo’s girlfriend, Wen Wen, totally disbelieves that ET can be an alien, while Xiao Bo’s boyfriend, Xiao Jian, is simply skeptical. However, Xiao Bo is rather convinced of ET’s identity. He is very attentive to ET, enthusiastically showing him what the Earth looks like.
In order to distract Xiao Bo from ET, Wen Wen masquerades herself as someone from Jupiter. Her plan doesn’t work, however, so to get revenge, Xin Xin declares that she’ll have a mixed Earthling-Martian baby with ET. She brings ET home, teasing him and trying to persuade him to have a baby with her, but instead ET ends up losing consciousness. Coming to his rescue, Xiao Bo inadvertently utters “I love you,” a phrase also used by Martians. Upon hearing this, ET recovers consciousness.
ET used to survive merely on sunlight, never taking any food or drink. It is for Xiao Bo’s sake that ET savors coffee for the first time. He gradually experiences various aspects of life on Earth, learning how to love as well as what the physical limitations of humans are. On the eve of his return to Mars, ET uses the same ultimate human way of expressing love and makes love to Xiao Bo. By this means, he dedicates his Martian’s love to Xiao Bo. Not long after ET has left the Earth, Xiao Bo, who was “infected” by a certain Martian quality during lovemaking, comes back to where they first met, and discovers the way to Mars.
Director Biography
Cui Zi'en, a native of Heilongjiang, is a devout Catholic with the baptismal name Peter, born under the sign of Leo. He holds a Master's degree in Literature from the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and serves as a second-level film screenwriter and associate professor at the Beijing Film Academy. Shaped by his early religious upbringing, Cui's works are infused with Christian elements, such as the Madonna image of Jin Jin Jin cradling a baby in his novel; the protagonist's hymns on the night of awaiting resurrection; speculations about the presence of Jesus on Mars; and the use of Psalms, Proverbs, and the Song of Songs to structure segments in his film "The Old Testament," along with scenes like Xiao Bo holding a Bible to call sinners to repentance... He skillfully resolves the irreconcilable tension between religion and homosexuality through beauty, making a remarkable attempt.
Leave a Comment