<P> <i>New Chinese Cinema: Challenging Representations</i> examines the "search for roots" films that emerged from China in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. Sheila Cornelius contextualizes the films of the so-called Fifth Generation directors who came to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, and Tian Zhuangzhuan. Including close analysis of such pivotal films as <i>Farewell My Concubine</i> (winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes), <i>Raise the Red Lantern,</i> and <i>The Blue Kite,</i> the book also examines the rise of contemporary Sixth Generation underground directors whose themes embrace the disaffection of urban youth.</P>