Although Chinese film audiences, including those in the PRC, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have always maintained a foundational cultural interest in the fantastic, this trend has dramatically increased over the last decade. Sino-Enchantment is the first work in English to approach this recent explosion of fantastic films in Chinese cinemas, where each re-envisioning of the form is determined by cultural, economic, political and technological factors to produce fresh inventions and creative reinventions of familiar narratives, characters and tropes. As a whole, the book argues that fantastic cinemas s ... More

Although Chinese film audiences, including those in the PRC, Taiwan and Hong Kong, have always maintained a foundational cultural interest in the fantastic, this trend has dramatically increased over the last decade. Sino-Enchantment is the first work in English to approach this recent explosion of fantastic films in Chinese cinemas, where each re-envisioning of the form is determined by cultural, economic, political and technological factors to produce fresh inventions and creative reinventions of familiar narratives, characters and tropes. As a whole, the book argues that fantastic cinemas serve a fundamental function of re-enchanting mundane modern society with wonder and awe. Individual chapters present detailed examinations of works by famous filmmakers such as Zhang Yimou, Tsui Hark and Stephen Chow, as well as case studies of films like The Assassin (2015), Monster Hunt (2015) and The Great Wall (2016). The book focuses on a range of cinematic forms, practices and themes, which include blockbuster films, art cinema, exploitation B-movies, digital effects, ecocinema, film blanc and contemporary adaptations of traditional Chinese classics. Sino-enchantment functions as a new theoretical lens through which readers can engage with elements of the fantastic in Chinese cinema in nuanced, complex and innovative ways.