Defiant director Feng Xiaogang lashes out at 'embarrassing, shallow' critics

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Feng Xiaogang says mocking by critics of his new film "Personal Tailor" reflects their 'shallowness'. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:08pm, 30 Dec 2013Updated: 12:14pm, 30 Dec 2013

Top Chinese movie director Feng Xiaogang has angrily hit back at negative reviews of his new film, defending his work that has been largely regarded by critics as a disappointment.

Feng’s bitter response to his “shallow” critics came after his much-anticipated new comedy Personal Tailor that hit Chinese cinemas last Thursday had already grossed a record-breaking 400 million yuan (HK$507 million), despite overwhelming criticism.

“I gave the movie an overall score of five (out of 10) … but to the majority of those movie critics who think they understand movies, I score you a three… your mockery only reflect your shallowness,” Feng wrote in a post published on his Sina Weibo microblog, adding: “It’s such an embarrassment that you have the audacity to mislead the audience.”

The post was one of the six posts Feng wrote in two hours on Sunday morning, showcasing his defiance against reviews critical of the movie seen as a sequel to Feng’s 1997 production of The Dream Factory, which portrayed a group of actors running a business that helped clients to live out their fantasies.

Some moviegoers called Personal Tailer the “worst movie ever made by Feng”. Others turned to online platforms to express their disappointment.

Users on popular online community Douban, home to user-generated reviews, gave the movie a mediocre score of 5.4 out of 10. Similarly, the movie received an average score of 5.7 out of 10 from over 9,500 critics on China’s biggest film review website Mtime.com.