Dark Matter (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Shi-Zheng Chen

Writer:

Billy Shebar (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2008 (Singapore)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Based on actual events, a Chinese university student responds violently when his chances for a Nobel Prize are dashed by school politics. |

Plot Keywords:

School Shooting | University

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ye Liu	...	Liu Xing
Meryl Streep	...	Joanna Silver
Aidan Quinn	...	Reiser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sina Amedson	...	Selim
Erick Avari	...	R.K. Gazda
Blair Brown	...	Hildy
Rob Campbell	...	Small
Dan Christensen	...	Professor
Jeshua De Horta	...	Student
Joe Grifasi	...	Colby
Bill Irwin	...	Herb
Krystal King	...	Girl / one night stand
Boris McGiver	...	Reverend Hollings
John Rothman	...	Rene
Jodi Russell	...	Claire
Taylor Schilling	...	Jackie
Lloyd Suh	...	Laurence Feng
Tisha Vaculin	...	Waitress
He Yu	...	Wu

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of violence, brief sexual content and language.

Runtime:

USA:90 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:R | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-13

Filming Locations:

Orem, Utah, USA

Company:

Saltmill

Trivia:

Inspired by a true story, the film follows the life of Liu Xing, a Chinese academic studying in America who gets caught up in campus politics.

A beautiful and touching film

Loosely based on the 1991 University of Iowa shooting incident, Dark Matter tells a heart-wrenching story of a brilliant mind lost in translation.

Liu Xing (also means Falling Star in Chinese), a young student with humble background, became the elite a few selected to pursue his dreams in America. Shouldering high hopes of folks back home, the naive dreamer works diligently towards 2 goals in life: a Nobel Prize and a blond wife. When his bright future is blocked by the jealous professor, his rosy dreams crushed by cultural clash, and most damaging of all - his pride and dignity eradicated under harsh reality, our protagonist turned into a cruel monster.

The film is skillfully shot, well acted, and thoroughly entertaining with many bitter-sweet humors depicting the tough living conditions of poor Chinese studying in America during late 80's. Meryl Streep is excellent as usual. Liu Ye, one of the best young actors in China today, played the protagonist with powerful emotions that will bring the gentle hearted viewers to tears.

If you are looking for authoritative explanations to the Lu Gang incident or any of the recent school shootings, you will likely be disappointed. According to the director, this is a story based on his own personal experience, aimed to bring awareness to the dark side of the academics circle as well as the overlooked lives of foreign students in America. I feel the script could to be strengthened by more psychological exploration into the protagonist character, so the ending would not appear so abrupt. Yet overall this is a beautiful and touching movie. Not to be missed by people with similar experiences or those who are curious about the subject matter.