Fengkuang yingyu (1999)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Yuan Zhang

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary about Li Yang, who tries to teach large numbers of Chinese to speak English, using unusual methods...

Cast

Changwei Gu	...	Himself
Li Yang

Also Known As:

Crazy English (International: English title)

Runtime:

Switzerland:90 min

Country:

China

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Company:

Keetman Limited

"Be crazy every minute, everyday, everywhere!"

Li Yang, China's most notorious motivational speaker, teaches English throughout China in a most peculiar way. He does it the "Crazy English" way.

The documentary bearing the same name as his teaching method follows Li Yang around China while he teaches ordinary American-English phrases to groups massed in squares, streets and parks, and even troops massed on the Great Wall.

Zhang Yuan's "Crazy English" presents a new type of Chinese nationalism, and not in a pejorative way. He and Li Yang openly encourage the export of Chinese culture, stating that by learning the language of the West, you can penetrate the Western World. Overall, the political tone is similar to Zhang's "Seventeen years", neither pro-, nor anti-Beijing. What may be perceived as slight tones of propaganda lacks political involvement. The type of nationalism presented here is uniquely cultural and linguistic, and encourages the Chinese to be proud of their culture and language. Formerly-banned Zhang produces a mixture of comedy, information and school lessons that will appeal to both Chinese and Anglo-Saxon audiences. "Be crazy every minute, everyday, everywhere!"