Cities of Last Things (2018) User Reviews

Disappointingly disjointed

[ericobnn · 5/10 · 19 October 2022]

The movie is divided into 3 parts detailing 3 different times in the character's life, beginning with old age, then middle age, and finally teen age. The problem is that rather than being one cohesive whole, each part feels too separate, like standalone mini-movies. His teenage part, especially, feels pointless and completely removed from the other two. The story would not lose anything if this part was removed. And being half an hour long, that's an unacceptable waste of the viewer's time.

The filmography, acting, etc. Are all very good, but none of that can make up for a story told badly. The script is also rather sparse, with the main character speaking very very little throughout the whole movie, and way too many things being poorly explained as a result. It's difficult to understand what's going on or the character's motivations at times.

Poignant and frustrating

[FrenchEddieFelson · 5/10 · 8 August 2019]

French and foreign critics were eulogistic. I was then expecting a masterpiece. The actors certainly play perfectly but the scenario is deliberately but excessively PulpFiction-ed with a disturbing script.

As a synthesis: disappointing and frustrating. 5/6 of 10.

interesting

[greekdx · 6/10 · 27 October 2022]

Before reading anything on this movie I didnt noticed that there are 3 different stories est in 3 different times going backwards ie from future to past! In other words it shows

First story is shows a man around 60 years of age living or taking the futuristic bus in the streets in a Chinese town, gong into a socially underground district to find a woman in a brother who gives her a gun. Some one tells him to divorce his wife. In the bus we see some technology with glassy tablet over the rear part of the seats .This is a marginally interesting and boring story with a relatively slow pace.

A few intesting things of the futuristic part: -Something as LED under the arm -'Glassy' tablets in the bis chairs -Mini robots -Serum of juvenility in a commercial

Second part shows the same girl stealing from supermarkets and other shops because she is kleptomaniac as she advised the policeman as she noted later. This young policeman later become a friend with her . No more spoilers here . This story is more interesting than the previous with more intense action

Third part shows a woman at her 50's being arrested by policemen for unknown reason and kept in the entrance hall where she meets a young boy. I hide the one word spoiler that is the critical key of this story. The end is too melodramatic and even more interesting

From the above it is clear that these stories are not so coherent except for Ara the French Girl on the first and second mostly speaking in English . I was much surprised after reading that this shows a policeman's story in reverse! And this is the funny : How ARA continues to show the same age even if ZhanDong is shown in the fit part as around 55 years old

Video with high compression (?) is shown very grainy even if it is HD mode, Nice places too The song played in start and end of the movie aka Don't give too much love Liu Wen Zheng is also nice melody of the past (80s) Rate 6/10 an impressive idea behind.

A guy with bad luck

[MarcoParzivalRocha · 6/10 · 19 February 2021]

A series of events in a man's life, over decades, leads to a fateful night.

The film takes place in regressive chronology, where we see the final acts of the main character and then we regress to key points in his life, which give us the reasons that lead him to do what he does.

We start in a distant future, in terms of technology (a kind of Blade Runner), which I did not particularly liked, given the mood that the film pretends to have, at least in my opinion, and it's only acceptable by a small detail that later on (that is, in the past) is explained to the audience.

There's strange moments and scenes, and nobody can really tell why they happened, or happened that way, at least.

The best part is the cinematography, the grain throughout the film is beautiful (it was shot in 35mm) and creates an attractive noir atmosphere.

ORIGINAL , CREATIVE AND ENGAGING!

[gustavojensen-98259 · 6/10 · 2 April 2023]

A film with three well-defined acts, in three well-defined periods of the main character's life ( zhang ) , with decades of jump we see three different actors playing the character as it happens in moonlight, but here the periods happen in the reverse chronological order .

Citie of the last things has no phenomenal performances, but they all fit together with so much change of actors . There is no extraordinary photograph, but the photographic compositions are very well executed and we see a difference in the more technological and colorful world of the first act. I loved the music that is repeated at the end of the three acts, and several times changing the acoustics, listening to the music up close, sometimes from afar.

Great move by director and screenwriter Wi ding Ho to reverse the chronological order , because we see that there is a reason just as we see that ZHANG does not want to stay away from his daughter who is moving, we noticed that he held a hurt of his mother's abandonment to the family and blamed his mother for not being present in his life.

Nothing spectacular, but it is an original, creative and engaging film that is worth it!

Cities of corruption

[ilozzoli · 8/10 · 24 July 2021]

The movie is a string of three short films very cleverly put together. In the first one we meet an obsessed and violent man, and the next two show us how he got to be the bad person that he is. Eras change, technology changes, seasons change, actors change, the style of cinematography changes, but some things are constant throughout the movie: acting is great, smoking is super hot, and the system is as corrupt as ever. It gets a bit melodramatic towards the end, but this is a movie with great atmosphere, and it keeps your brain busy well after the credits have rolled.

The injustice of life

[chong_an · 8/10 · 13 September 2018]

In a Chinese city of the future, where happiness is the creed and suicide a secular sin, a pensioner jumps to his death from a tall building. What follows are 3 episodes from his life, told in reverse order. There is the last day of his life, his time as a police officer, and his time as a wayward youth. Each earlier-in-life episode explains his actions later in life. This is interesting storytelling, slightly marred for me by not realizing that there were only 3 main time periods, and therefore trying unnecessarily to figure out if we had moved to an earlier time. From the director Q+A at the Toronto International Film Festival, the English title is inspired by the book Country of Last Things, while the Chinese title is Happiness City (Ironically, I believe).

Unlikely Encounters on Taipei Streets at Night

[Blue-Grotto · 8/10 · 23 September 2018]

From the opening scene where a man jumps from a building to his death, the film goes back in time to reveal the motivations behind character actions. Seemingly disparate elements are woven together beginning with a former police officer who is depressed and wandering Taipei streets at night, stalking his ex-wife and committing violent acts. Gradually we understand the relationships that influenced who the man is now. The roots of his sadness and happiness are revealed. Along the way unlikely encounters lead to a couple that intends to run away together, a boss in a relationship with his employee's wife, and a mother who fears she is a bad influence on her son.

This poignant, riveting, charming, occasionally funny and thoughtful film defies classification. The film is structured in three parts (future, present and then past). The final third of the film is based on a real story that the director read about in a newspaper. I love films like this that are puzzles with pieces that connect as the story unfolds. I loved exploring Taipei at night. There are some shaky scenes, but I find more to like about this film as I look back at it in time. I think it is because the stories and characters are so endearing.

World premiere seen at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Two of the main actors were present. One of them remarked that true love is possible if each person believes in and is true to the other, even in a brief space of time. I think she is right. "Why did you do this film in 35mm format?" someone asked the director, who answered "why not?!"

They say life boils down to only a few moments.

[phamtastic_info · 10/10 · 11 September 2019]

What a great film. This was well shot and thought of considering it's diverse cast. The reverse chronology was pulled off surprisingly well and easy to follow along. I rewatched some scenes afterwards to fill in some lingering gaps, but that's just my own habit of trying to better understand great stories like this one.

The futurism felt surprisiingly accurate in terms of where our world is headed. The chips in the wrists, the embedded live streaming, self driving transportation, and the touch screen information - all just so dystopian like.

Ara (Louise Grinberg) was absolutely stunning and her character was so damn adorable. Her engagements rekindled my soul... I hate smokers but man did they make the smoking look sexy as ever - J'adore toi.

Acting over all was great to say the least. The cheating wife, the forgotten mother, the corrupted supervisor and most importantly... the lost love... Definitely had me watching that revenge scene again.

... Ara.

Giving this a solid 10 for the precise shots in it's story telling. Not often do you see a story being told like this without a bunch of filler added.

Reverse life

[alaningle7 · 8/10 · 3 September 2019]

The film is 3 short periods of time in mans life in reverse. It begins with his demise and the events leading up to it. The second part is his career and the misfortunes that befell him. The final part is his youth and wayward life. A thoughtful film, well acted, scripted.

Hats off to Chinese movies, the content, the acting, the directions, everything is so so good.

[casey8818 · 10/10 · 11 March 2021]

Think of Black Mirror Chinese version. Three short stories, each one depicting human flaws that's common among most of us. So well scripted and portrayed, don't miss this one if you have a chance to see it. Trust me, you'll come away moved.

Surprising conveys the emotions of a human being very poignantly

[swayammahesh · 8/10 · 9 September 2021]

I was surprised by the emotions I felt seeing the troubles the main character goes through in the film.

Somehow, the movie manages to make the audience "feel" what he goes through when he sees his wife cheating on him with his supervisor, when he is wrongly framed for a crime by his supervisor(possibly to avoid future retaliation), when he sees his own mother die and immediately feels regret for being cold to her, etc.

Somehow, the movie manages to beautifully capture the mundane life of this man who goes through such trauma's in life. Even the mother's emotions and feelings were well portrayed although she appears only during the last 25-30 minutes of the film.

A surprising find, and glad I watched it.