Zhang Lü (Chinese: 张律; pinyin: Zhāng Lǜ; Korean: 장률; born May 30, 1962; Yanbian, Jilin) is a Korean-Chinese filmmaker. Zhang was originally a novelist before embarking on a career in cinema. His arthouse films have mostly focused on the disenfranchised, particularly ethnic Koreans living in China; these include Grain in Ear (2006), Desert Dream (2007), Dooman River (2011), Scenery (2013), and Gyeongju (2014). Zhang Lü is a third-generation ethnic Korean born in Yanbian, Jilin, China in 1962. He first became known in his native land China as a respected author of novels and short stories, such as Cicada Chirping Afternoon (1986). Zhang moved to South Korea in 2012, and began teaching at Yonsei University. Zhang was then a 38-year-old professor of Chinese Literature at Yanbian University when an argument with a film director friend led him to take a bet that "anyone can make a film." With no technical training but with the support of film industry friends such as Lee Chang-dong, he set out to direct his first short film Eleven (2001), a fourteen-minute nearly silent vignette of an eleven-year-old boy's encounter with a group of soccer players his own age set in a post-industrial wasteland. Eleven was invited to compete at the 58th Venice International Film Festival and several other international film festivals, and this unexpected success made Zhang decide to become a full-time filmmaker.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- May 30, 1962 (64)
- Yanbian, Jilin, China
- Director, writer and producer
- 4 on MovieCove · 33 credits in all
What are Zhang Lu's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 0 · Dark 2
Grounded 1 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 2 · Charged 1 · Intense 0
Steady 3 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 1
A split, not a type: Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
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 Zhang Lu's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Zhang Lu'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
33 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page.
Baler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
A Table for Two(2026)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Mothertongue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
Gloaming in Luomu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Shadowless Tower(2023)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
The Element of Hope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Usu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Yanagawa(2021)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Fukuoka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Vanishing Days(2018)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Ode to the Goose (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
A Quiet Dream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Love and... (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Gyeongju (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Scenery (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Over There (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Strangers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Jury (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Don't Expect Praises (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Lost in the Mountain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Winter Vacation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Dooman River (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
神探狄仁杰前传 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Chongqing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Iri (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Routine Holiday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Desert Dream (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Grain in Ear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Tang Poetry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Eleven (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Tephra (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Two Time Zones (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
在她身后 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 33 titles, 30 of them dated from 2000 to 2026.
How do Zhang Lu's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 4 titles divides audiences: 2 are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser1
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
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 Zhang Lu work with?
People who share at least 2 of Zhang Lu's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bai Qing Xin shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Bai Qing XinShared titles: The Shadowless Tower (2023), Yanagawa (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Bai Qing Xin
Producers
- Han MeiShared titles: The Shadowless Tower (2023), Yanagawa (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Han Mei
- Jiahan XuShared titles: The Shadowless Tower (2023), Yanagawa (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Jiahan Xu
