Joan Chen | WatchedThis
Joan Chen
Acting
Biography
Joan Chong Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor. She is also known for her roles in Twin Peaks, Red Rose White Rose, Saving Face and The Home Song Stories, and for directing the feature film Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Wedlock
A male prison escapee heads for his hidden loot, electronically attached to a female prisoner.
The Last Emperor
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Lust, Caution
During World War II, a secret agent must seduce and assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai.
The Blood of Heroes
Set in a futuristic world where the only sport that has survived in a wasted society is the brutal game known as jugging. Sallow, the leader of a rag-tag team, has played in the main Leagues before, but was cast out because of indiscretions with a lady. Now joined by a talented newcomer, Kidda, an ambitious young peasant girl, he and his team find they have one last chance for glory.
Heaven & Earth
In a small Vietnamese village torn apart by war, a young woman faces unimaginable horrors before deciding to escape to the city. There, she encounters a compassionate Marine who offers her hope and a chance at a new life, igniting the possibility of a future together.
Judge Dredd
In a dystopian future, Dredd, the most famous judge (a cop with instant field judiciary powers) is convicted for a crime he did not commit while his murderous counterpart escapes.
The Hunted
Paul Racine, a high-powered American business executive in Japan, is catapulted into a maze of danger and intrigue after he and his sexy companion are the targets of assassins hired by the ruthless Kinjo. To survive, Racine must join forces with a powerful samurai and together they will fight the force of evil in an awesome battle rooted in centuries of brutal conflict.
Wild Side
A bank accountant who moonlights as a high-priced call girl becomes embroiled in the lives of a money launderer, his seductive wife, and his bodyguard.
On Deadly Ground
Forrest Taft is an environmental agent who works for the Aegis Oil Company in Alaska. Aegis Oil's corrupt CEO is the kind of person who doesn't care whether or not oil spills into the ocean or onto the land—just as long as it's making money for him.
Cyber Wars
In the near future in the Asian city-state Sintawan, everyone's identity is recorded in the vast CyberLink. The only way around this is using illegal simulated identity implants (sims). A young bounty hunter who makes her living tracking sims, finds herself the unlikely ally of a police detective who suspects the CyberLink is being perverted for an insidious and deadly purpose.
Production
Autumn in New York
Will Keane, a Manhattan restaurateur, is content with his playboy lifestyle until he meets Charlotte Fielding, a free-spirited young woman. Together the pair pursue a passionate affair that forces them both to reevaluate what they want out of life, even as fate threatens to steal away their future.
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even more remote spot with a Tibetan saddle tramp Lao Jin to learn horse herding.
Shanghai Strangers
A young woman in modern-day Shanghai whose chance encounter with a stranger moves her to divulge a deep-seated secret. In atmospheric flashbacks she is shown in an old house filled with mementos of the Jewish population who were given asylum in Shanghai during World War II.
Dìdi (弟弟)
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
Hero
The background of "Hero" is set in 2020: a sudden disaster that disrupted everyone's lives. When society face unemployment when families fall apart, when lovers are separated, when death is approaching quietly, and when a peaceful life suddenly undergoes unexpected changes, how will women respond? What are the vital and irreplaceable roles that men play in women’s lives and growth? The three female directors Zhang Aijia, Li Shaohong and Chen Chong used their unique female perspectives to explore and show people's plights and struggles in family, career, and love in special times.
Breathe
With the outbreak of the new corona virus epidemic, Kelly, a 17-year-old Chinese girl, followed her mother back to the hot and humid Shanghai. What traps her is not the long isolation, but a dilemma of family and love. Can she grow up in such a suffocating predicament?
English
A child's-eye story of Shanghainese settlers in Xinjiang during the late Mao era.
The Iron Hammer
In this personal and rousing documentary, Joan Chen charts the inspiring life and career of “Jenny” Lang Ping, a fearless and independent Olympic athlete who propels China to international prominence in volleyball. On the court, her most effective weapon is her lethal spike, hence her titular nickname, while her leadership skills and calm demeanor solidify her unique status as the first player and coach to win multiple World Championships and Olympic gold. Chen, in her documentary feature debut, skillfully combines thrilling excerpts from championship games, intimate conversations with Lang Ping, her colleagues, and players to craft an entertaining and multi-dimensional portrait of this groundbreaking athlete who transformed women’s volleyball.
Shanghai Strangers
A young woman in modern-day Shanghai whose chance encounter with a stranger moves her to divulge a deep-seated secret. In atmospheric flashbacks she is shown in an old house filled with mementos of the Jewish population who were given asylum in Shanghai during World War II.
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