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Crazy English (1999)
Director: Zhang Yuan
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Zhang's first government-approved film in nearly a decade is a documentary about a bizarre social/cultural/political phenomenon. In 1988, Li Yang was a mechanical engineering student with poor grades when he came up with a self-help strategy which he has parlayed into a lucrative business empire. He now tours China exhorting stadium-sized crowds to learn English as he did - by shouting it at the tops of their voices. He charges admission to his rallies and sells teaching aids; 'Crazy English' T-shirts, beer and other merchandise will follow soon. He clears the way politically for his enterprise by playing every 'patriotic' card in the deck. The film has no commentary and offers no explanation. Zhang simply reports what Li does and leaves viewers to draw their own conclusions.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Zhang Yuan
Producer: Chen Ziqiu, Zhang Yuan
Genre(s): Documentaries
Duration: 92 mins
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