Director Scheffer registered a performance of the Tea Opera by Chinese composer Tan Dun (who won an Oscar in 2001 with his score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Scheffer interlaces the images with interviews with Dun, stage director Pierre Audi and librettist Xu Ying, about the opera and the role tea and oriental philosophy play in this work. Using monochrome, sometimes abstract images (in yellow, blue, red and green), close-ups of plants and flowers and images of the Chinese nature and people (sometimes accelerated or decelerated, sometimes in black-and-white), he mirrors the stylised opera performance and Dun's reflective music.
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Frank Scheffer Director · Melle van Essen Cinematographer
First release January 29, 2005 · Produced in Netherlands · Languages Chinese, English
Production
Allegri Film
Production
Netherlands
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
Chinese · English
Release dates
Netherlands · January 29, 2005
Limited theatrical
No release date listed for United States.
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