Du Jie

Camera operator

September 17, 1976 (49 years)

Shenze, Hebei Province, China

Biography

Du Jie is an acclaimed cinematographer, director, and screenwriter known for his visual mastery in major productions like the Detective Chinatown series and The Wasted Times. Moving into independent filmmaking, his latest directorial feature, The Height of the Coconut Trees, explores varied realism through deeply poetic narratives.

Filmography

7.2

The Rebel Princess

Wang Xuan and Xiao Qi strike a deal for the sake of power. They marry first before falling in love and join hands to protect their homeland. She is a woman who is no less than any man while he rose from humble beginnings. The imperial family has become rotten to the core. The nobles are lavish with no regard for the people. Princess Wang Xuan and her childhood sweetheart, the third prince, become pawns of a prophecy that states, "to acquire thee is to obtain the world." Being pulled into the matters of the court, Wang Xuan is married off by her father to Xiao Qi who comes from a poor family. On the night of their wedding, Xiao Qi is forced to leave the capital. Wang Xuan is shamed and discouraged. The Helan Prince kidnaps Wang Xuan in order to seek revenge on Xiao Qi. The crisis they face becomes a blessing in disguise for the couple. Wang Xuan is moved and inspired by Xiao Qi's wish to bring peace and prosperity to the nation and they fall in love.

6.2

Detective Chinatown 2

Driven by the desire for the huge reward, Tang Ren tricked Qin Feng to New York, to attend the World Detective Contest. Later on, behind the crazy competition, Qin and Tang discovered the real hidden facts of this contest.

7.6

Crazy Stone

Three thieves try to steal a valuable jade that is tightly guarded by a security chief. But the security guards are not the only obstacle these thieves are facing. An extremely unlucky internationally known master thief is also trying to get a hand on this piece of precious jade. What would be the final destination of this piece of crazy stone?

5.6

Detective Chinatown 3

Tang Ren and Qin Feng travel to Japan to investigate the death of a mafia head. As they suspect foul play, they engage in a battle of wits against foreign detectives.

6.3

Detective Chinatown 1900

In 1900, the mysterious murder of a white woman and a Native American man in San Francisco's Chinatown triggers a race against time as the Chinese suspect and the Native American's adopted Chinese son work to uncover the truth while a politician seeks to leverage the Chinese Exclusion Bill as well as the prevailing xenophobia and racism to close down Chinatown and elect himself as the mayor.

6.8

Detective Chinatown

After being rejected from the police college, a mannerly man travels to Bangkok where he and an energetic distant relative must solve a murder case.

6.1

Tai Chi Hero

Chinese steampunk martial arts blockbuster about the early years of Tai chi master Yang Luchan, the man who founded in the 19th century what has now become the most popular Tai Chi style in the world. The second instalment of the "Tai Chi" trilogy continues the journey of Yang Luchan, a gifted child with a fleshy growth on his forehead who helped save a village from a frightening army of steampunk soldiers bearing strange machines with the knowledge of Tai Chi that they entrusted him with.

6.0

Tai Chi Zero

In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, using their powerful Chen Style Tai Chi in all aspects of their lives. Lu Chan has arrived to train, but the villagers are forbidden to teach Chen Style to outsiders, and do their best to discourage him by challenging him to a series of fights. Everyone, from strong men to young children, defeats him using their Tai Chi moves. But when a man from the village's past returns with a frightening steampowered machine and plans to build a railroad through the village at any costs, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Lu Chan... who has a secret power of his own.

6.9

Tiger Wolf Rabbit

Three parents who have lost their children are involved with each other because of a deal; they have no soul in their eyes and hatred in their hearts, and each of them, with their own purposes, set out on the road of seeking revenge for their children, and staged a bizarre and dangerous killing in the barren land.

6.9

The Wasted Times

Shanghai gangsters grapple with lust and loyalty on the eve of war with Japan as they try to navigate an alliance with the enemy's army.

4.5

Just Call Me Nobody

Poor young cobbler Wu Di lives with his mother and is crazy about martial-arts picture books. One day he repairs the shoe of wandering swordswoman Yuelou and later helps save her in a fight with wanted criminal Tian Baguang, even though he has no martial-arts training. She tells him she owes him a life and can be found on Qin Mountain if he ever needs her. Yuelou is actually a princess who was due to marry the emperor but ran away after setting fire to her palace quarters. In love, Wu Di sets out to find her, fighting river pirate Dugu and his sidekick on the way, and also meeting a hermit Buddhist monk who offers to take him on as a pupil. Yuelou plans to attend a martial arts tournament to establish her name, little knowing that the emperor's chief eunuch Cheng has arranged for her to be secretly protected by Penal Bureau officer Yang Guo and to win the tournament, so the emperor can award her the prize and persuade her to reconsider marriage.

4.8

Love is Hard

A man who believes his marriage is perfect faces a misunderstanding that erupts years of hidden conflicts, ultimately finding true marital harmony through self-change.

7.7

Crazy Racer

Assassins, scammers, gangsters, cops, a washed-up bicycle racer, and a body continually cross paths; usually with negative outcomes.

5.5

Wind Blast

Zhang Ning, a hitman and underground boxer fleeing through the Gobi with his pregnant girlfriend, Sun Jing. Several nemeses are hot on their trail, including a pair of ruthless assassins and a cadre of lawmen.

6.9

No Man's Land

Pan Xiao, a young lawyer, goes to a rural small village settled in the western desert lands of China to handle the case of a falcon poacher who has ran over a policeman. Pan wins the case through sophisticated reasoning and forces the poacher to give him his car as a reward. Then, he just drives back home, but the return will not be an easy one.

6.9

Lethal Hostage

Produced by Crazy Racer director Ning Hao, Lethal Hostage revolves around a drug dealer who falls in love with his hostage and decides to quit the business following one final deal.

6.9

A Tale of Two Donkeys

An involving, beautifully modulated yarn about a young intellectual's "war" with two equines in a mountain village during the Cultural Revolution. A young student, Ma Jie, who is sent to a tiny Beigao village in Shanxi Province and has the mundane task of watching over livestock during the Great Cultural Revolution. Surrounded only by the extreme boredom, he initiates a war against two donkeys. What ensues as a result, is an impressive feature debut by director Li Dawei who manages to infuse a believable quirky and black humorous universe within a realistically grim setting.

6.0

Strangers

Two strangers' worlds collide after a Beijing traffic accident results in the husband of Yu Miao shooting and killing the girlfriend of young, penniless Xu Tian

6.4

Mongolian Ping Pong

Bilike has never seen a ping-pong ball before. He and his family live without electricity and running water in a solitary tent home among the vast steppe grasslands. The magnificent landscape here has changed little since the days of Genghis Kahn. But life in the middle of nowhere can be exciting for a young boy. The smallest of details become big events for curious Bilike and his best friends Erguotou and Dawa. The mystery of the small white ball floating in the creek leads to questions about the world around them, as well as innocent mischief.

6.3

One Mile Above

Shuhao is a 24 year old Taiwanese university graduate. His older brother Shuwei, whom he has idolized since childhood, dies on a bicycle ride to Lhasa. He decides to complete Shuwei's journey, hoping to prove himself through this challenging trip. Shuhao's inexperience almost sees him headed over a cliff one dark night. Food poisoning nearly costs him his life just after surviving an attack by a pack of menacing Tibetan Mastiffs. In the end, Shuhao arrives in Lhasa to see the Potola Palace. His lonely journey, filled with laughter and tears, brings him to the discovery of a new purpose in life.