The director of the disaster epic Back to 1942, the Chinese mainland's submission for the 2014 Academy Awards, is returning to comedy, the genre in which he made his name.

Feng Xiaogang's new film Personal Tailor revolves around a company that grants wishes to people who want to escape their current life for a single day.

The film is a typical "Feng comedy", featuring intense conversations in Beijing dialect written by renowned scriptwriter Wang Shuo, and an ensemble cast, including veteran Ge You, and an emotional ending.

Feng says filming was fun and relaxed, and if he were a character in the film, he would struggle to think of a wish he needed fulfilled.

"I have realized all my dreams, some even before I planned to," he says. "If I were granted a wish by the company, I would have nothing to ask from them. My dream now is to help others realize their dreams."

For many years the 55-year-old's dream was making Back to 1942, a film about the famine of 1942 that killed 3 million people in China. He had been obsessed with making the film for decades because he believes it is a story that can help people reflect on the dark side of humanity and better cherish what they have.

Having fulfilled that dream, he says he wants to share more laughter than tears.

"Personal Tailor is like a New Year gift for the audience, who also need some time away from their ordinary lives, just like the characters do."

Feng even manages to poke fun at himself in Personal Tailor.

One of the characters who is seeking escape is a film director, who enjoys great success at the box office but is desperate to become a respected art-house filmmaker. Among the numerous trophies the fictional director has won is the Academy Award for the Most Vulgar Foreign Language Film.

"Vulgar" is a word critics have used when describing Feng's films, but Back to 1942 is the second of his works to be chosen as the mainland's entry for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The first one was Aftershock in 2010.

After breaking into the Chinese film scene in 1997 with urban comedy Dream Factory, Feng has been the best-received filmmaker at the domestic box office. In the decade since his debut, each film he has made become the highest-grossing movie of that year, with only a few exceptions, such as in 2004 when Stephen Chow made Kung Fu Hustle and in 2006 when Zhang Yimou made Curse of the Golden Flower. In the 1990s it became something of a tradition to watch a Feng Xiaogang film about the lives of the most ordinary urbanites in contemporary China at the end of the lunar year - as popular as eating dumplings and setting off firecrackers.

He has battled criticism that he is not a serious artist, but his box office sales prove he has many fans.

"Something I am very proud of is that for decades Chinese audiences have loved my films and the box office has proven that," he says.

"Do not underestimate our audience's discretion. If what they like is vulgar, I suggest that the academy set up an award for the most vulgar foreign language film, and if they gave me that award I would be happy to take it."

Personal Tailor will be released on Dec 19 in China and Dec 20 in North America.

liuw@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 12/19/2013 page7)