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Ye Lou

Ye Lou

Director, producer, writer and editor · Born March 15, 1965 (61) · Shanghai, China

Cannes award nominee · Venice award nominee · Berlinale award nominee

Lou Ye (Chinese: 娄烨, born 1965), is a Chinese screenwriter-director who is commonly grouped with the "Sixth Generation" directors of Chinese cinema.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 15, 1965 (61)
From
Shanghai, China
Works as
Director, producer, writer and editor
Titles
6 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 30% in 30 days

What are Ye Lou's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
23%
Self
18%
Morality
18%
Society
18%
Power
15%
Survival
8%
Romantic love2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 3 · Dark 3

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 1

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 2 · Intense 4

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Full focus: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their full focus movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 2

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 4

Ambiguous: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their ambiguous movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 0 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
4
Melancholic
5
Romantic
2
Contemplative
2
Cold
1
Other
3

How their films linger

Thought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Bittersweet2
  • Ambiguous4

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Ye Lou's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Ye Lou's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

22 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Re-TROS After the Applause Nan Jing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Director

  • An Unfinished Film(2024)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Saturday Fiction(2019)

    Director · Editor · Presenter

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Shadow Play(2018)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Blind Massage(2014)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Mystery (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

  • Love and Bruises (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director · Screenplay

  • 42 One Dream Rush (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director

  • Spring Fever (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Director · Co-Producer

  • Summer Palace(2006)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Purple Butterfly (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Editor · Screenplay

  • In Shanghai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Suzhou River(2000)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Midnight Walker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Producer

  • Weekend Lover (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Director

  • The Days (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Actor

  • Don't Be Young (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director

  • Headphones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Director

  • Driving without a License (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director

  • Control (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)

    Director

  • The Monkey King Conquers the Demon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)

    Animation

  • Three Words (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles, 21 of them dated from 1985 to 2025.

Biggest box office

The Shadow Play (2018)

$9.6M worldwide

Highest rated

Suzhou River (2000)

Midcredits 93rd

Most popular right now

Summer Palace (2006)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 22: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting19 of 22: 9 only directing, 10 with another role · typical Midcredits score90thWriting6 of 22: 0 only writing, 6 with another roleProducing6 of 22: 1 only producing, 5 with another roleEditing3 of 22: 0 only editing, 3 with another roleOther crew2 of 22: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

22 titles, 10 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

1980s4 · crew1990s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew2000s4 · crew2010s6 · crew2020s3 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

11 major nominations and no wins, 2003–2024.

  1. 2024
    • Cannes award, nominated
  2. 2019
    • Venice award, nominated · Best Film
    • Berlinale award, nominated · Fiction Film
    • Berlinale award, nominated · Panorama
  3. 2014
    • Berlinale award, nominated
  4. 2012
    • Cannes award, nominated
  5. 2011
    • Venice award, nominated · Best Film (Venice Days)
    • Venice award, nominated
  6. 2009
    • Cannes award, nominated
  7. 2006
    • Cannes award, nominated
  8. 2003
    • Cannes award, nominated

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Ye Lou's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 88th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

88thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 6 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th2

Shape of the crowd

None of their 6 titles divides audiences: 4 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Crowd Pleaser4

Most loved · director, writer

Suzhou River (2000)

Midcredits 93rd · 82% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 78/100 and the pacing 39/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Ye Lou work with?

People who share at least 2 of Ye Lou's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Yingli Ma shares the most, 5.

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers