But she is in a thankless position because the real action of the movie is in the reaction of the officials rather than the endless petitioning of the female lead.

Both movies are perhaps too sophisticated for the mass market.

But Feng knows how to sell a movie better than Lee.

He seems willing to make compromises as long as he gets to retain the core message.

Lee, on the other hand, lets his work do the talking for him.

His round of publicity gigs resonated with the converted only.

His movies may need another push from post-screening analyses, which are usually not on the circuit of stars and directors.

Commercially viable or not, these are noble endeavors from veteran filmmakers and we should be thankful that they still have a place on the big screen.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn