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Fan Bingbing, who was born in Qingdao, China, was one of the most famous actresses in the world. After trying to make her start in television for years, she rose to acclaim with her role in the television series My Fair Princess, and she gained popularity across East Asia as an actor in dramas. Years later, she appeared in Cell Phone, which was a massive hit in China, ensuring her status as one of Asia’s top stars. Her popularity only continued to grow as she starred in historical dramas and movies, working with China’s biggest directors and stars, and Fan would eventually branch out to work in English-language films, too.
Before an unplanned fall from grace, Fan was the most paid actor in China. Her downfall occurred in 2018, when she disappeared because of an investigation on how she conducted tax fraud. She was billed for tax evasion and fined a significant amount of money, roughly $127 million, and her career took a massive hit because of it. Once one of the most popular dramas and television actors in the country, she now has not appeared in any new Chinese content. However, she has been active internationally, appearing in American films and a South Korean drama. Regardless of what happened, Fan had a prolific career, and these are her best movies.
7 Cell Phone
In 2003’s Cell Phone, Fan portrays Wu Yue, a woman who engages in an affair with one of the protagonists, Yan Shouyi. Yan, who is a television host and has a wife he goes home to each night, clearly does not want any evidence of this to come to light, as it can destroy not only his life at home but his career as well. He meets a television producer who also is cheating on his wife, and, as all bad things come to light, both of them find out about the affairs because they were not careful enough to delete everything. Filmed at a time when mobile devices were just starting to take over the world, Cell Phone ruminates on the consequences of having one.
6 The 355
Spy thriller The 355 features an all-star cast: Fan Bingbing, Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Lupita Nyong’o. Together, they form a ring of global spies that are attempting to stop World War III from breaking out, which is a monumental task within itself. The title is a reference to women’s roles during the American Revolution, which can be seen as feminist, but critics were not a fan of The 355. Audiences, however, found it quite enjoyable and rated it much higher than their professional counterparts.
5 Bodyguards and Assassins
Fan is best known for her historical work, and Bodyguards and Assassins, which is a Hong Kong-based film, is one of her better-known historical films. Set during the era in which Hong Kong was still considered a British colony, it follows Sun Yat-sen, the first leader of the Kuomintang political party in China, as he comes to Hong Kong to plot a revolution that overthrows the doomed Qing Dynasty. A lot of people want him gone, but it is up to his bodyguards to keep him safe from any external threats in this movie.
4 Sacrifice
Chen Kaige, one of the most prolific directors in Chinese cinema during the 90s, returned in 2010 with the historical film Sacrifice. Based on a Chinese play titled The Orphan of Zhao, this epic takes place in Ancient China, during the Zhou Dynasty. A chancellor has a feud with a high-ranking general, as the general has done something immoral and laid the blame on the chancellor’s family. What ensues is a massacre, leading a manhunt to the sole survivor: the chancellor’s infant grandson. As this child evades capture, leading to cycles of tragedy and despair wherever he goes.
3 Buddha Mountain
Buddha Mountain follows the lives of three youths in China who lack ambition in the eyes of society. They don’t want to take their exams, which means they will not go to university, and they meet a Chinese opera singer who takes them in. Her son recently died in a disaster, and while these teenagers are trying to figure out their path in life, she is being swallowed alive by her grief. Fan particularly received praise for her role, as she embodied her character and took her to new heights.
2 Lost in Beijing
Lost in Beijing was a small film when it came out, but it is one of Fan’s best movies to date. She stars with Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Tong Dawei, and Elaine Jin in a harrowing tale that did not make it to movie theaters in China, as it was banned. A wife (Fan) and husband (Tong) are migrant workers looking for a new life and opportunities in Beijing, which leads to the wife getting raped at the massage parlor she works at. Lost in Beijing is cutting, emotional commentary about the state of contemporary China, especially in regard to rape, blackmail, and sex work.
1 I Am Not Madame Bovary
Released in 2016, the comedy film I Am Not Madame Bovary is required watching for Fan Bingbing fans, as well as anyone interested in Chinese cinema. It is based on the novel I Did Not Kill My Husband, and this title makes its plot fairly straightforward to understand. The female lead (Fan) and her husband want to avoid falling into the trap of Chinese law that dictates a married couple can only own one property, but the plan falls apart when her ex-husband marries someone else. Furious, she decides that the next step is to get divorced again, despite already being divorced, and trying to eliminate her husband from the equation completely through death.
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