Awards Season Retrospective: Zhang Ziyi

An extremely impressive early 2000s run

As I hype myself up for a collective manifestation for Michelle Yeoh’s upcoming awards season campaign for Everything Everywhere All At Once (some early groundwork being laid here in an article for Next Best Picture), good a time as any to do a little awards season retrospective for her former co-star, the dynamic Zhang Ziyi, a generational talent who burst onto the international stage with her breakout turn in Ang Lee’s hugely successful wuxia film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon alongside Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat. In a film that became quite the universal sensation, grossing over US$200 million worldwide, Zhang’s energetic turn as the stubborn, free-spirited Jen won her the adulation of many as one of the premiere up-and-coming young talents. Her confidence and assurance when squaring off against veterans like Yeoh and Chow was noted, as was her knack for ably carrying herself through the extraordinary action set pieces in the film. A star was born.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made quite the splash across awards season. Though none of the actors were nominated for an Oscar (a damn shame, given how beloved it was by the Academy otherwise and how essential their performances are to its excellence), Zhang nabbed herself wins from the Independent Spirit Awards and Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for Supporting Actress (though really, she’s just as much a lead as Yeoh and Chow are), and was nominated for a BAFTA alongside Yeoh who got a nomination for a BAFTA for Lead Actress. Where Yeoh and Chow had previously made their mark in both Asian cinema and in Hollywood, Zhang was making a fresh print onto the industry.

Zhang would continue to make a mark in the likes of Rush Hour 2 as an adversary to Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, and in Zhang Yimou’s Hero where she once again proved her mettle as another fiery wuxi apprentice against more seasoned performers like Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Maggie Cheung. She and Leung would team up again in Wong Kar-wai’s 2046 where their scintillating, mysterious chemistry with one another is one of the film’s highlights. Zhang was nominated for a National Society of Film Critics award, and won a Hong Kong Film Award for her turn as the enigmatic Bai Ling. This came in a banner year where she also won a Golden Rooster Award for her work in Jasmine Woman (which I still need to see!) and led another Zhang Yimou wuxi film, House of Flying Daggers, showcasing her range as a blind warrior at the centre of a swooning love triangle, and which nabbed her another BAFTA nomination, this time in the Lead Actress category. Impressive stuff, especially for someone who just turned 25, already forming the centrepiece of so many international smash hits.

The following year, Zhang starred in Rob Marshall’s epic period drama Memoirs of a Geisha. The casting of the three principal roles with non-Japanese actresses (Zhang, Yeoh, and Gong Li) was the subject of some controversy and debate, that also factored into discussion of the film’s Westernised approach to Japanese customs and history. Certainly all things worth much discussion over, and I’m decidedly mixed on the film itself even outside these factors, but Zhang certainly gives quite the charming, vulnerable and heartbreaking lead turn. The film ended up being fairly successful across awards season, and my belief is that Zhang came extremely close to getting an Oscar nomination. She got Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG nominations for her work (while her co-star Gong won the National Board of Review award for Supporting Actress), but alas missed out a nomination right at the end. A curious case as the film itself did not exactly lose any passion along the way, getting six nominations and winning three of them (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design). Perhaps the branches simply regarded the film as more of a technical exercise than an acting showcase, though it is a shame as a nomination for Zhang would’ve made her the first Asian actress since Merle Oberon in the 1930s to get a Lead Actress nomination (fingers crossed for Yeoh to put an end to this stalemate this year, finally). Though I should note, I do dearly love Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice who judging by the precursors, was the surprise nomination who got carried through by passion votes by Academy members.

Anyway, with all that said, after this rather impressive awards run in the early 2000s, Zhang’s career has continued to pay dividends in a variety of projects, ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to acclaimed turns in the likes of The Grandmaster (teaming up with Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Wong Kar-wai again) which earned he a clean sweep of Chinese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong awards for Lead Actress. Her screen presence has certainly changed and matured in a good way as she continues to find new layers to her talents. I will admit, part of me does hope she pops up in the Oscars conversation some time again soon. Who knows? It’s possible.