Possibly the most daring artistic attempt from Feng Xiaogang, the film tells the story of a peasant woman's petition from the countryside to Beijing because she felt that her divorce was unfair, and differentiate the local and central scenes with a round black and a square black frame respectively. The audience is separated from means of stage play, and the circle frame is wrapped by the square then, and they finally disappears. However, Zhang Yimou's classic "The Story of Qiu Ju" is in the forefront, and Liu Zhenyun's script and even Fan Bingbing's performance limit the result. The film matches Chinese mainstream and overly beautify the from-top-to-bottom bureaucratic culture.
Reviews
14 Reviews
I Am Not Madame Bovary
(2016)
Possibly the most daring artistic attempt from Feng Xiaogang
27 June 2022
First Cow
(2019)
Overlong and can be cut in half
26 June 2022
Kelly Reichardt's second revisionist western after "Meek's Cutoff" (2010), shortlisted at the Berlin Film Festival and a string of critic awards, features two Oregonian outliers, John Magaro and Orion Lee as the feminine chef and Chinese immigrants, exploring the male friendship in the west. Although certain images are beautiful with high-definition, as the editor Reichardt is too addicted to minimalist imagery and metaphors, so the narrative and pace are far from the standard. The film is overlong and can be cut in half. Disappointing.
Meek's Cutoff
(2010)
Among Reichardt's best
26 June 2022
Kelly Reichardt's first revisionist western, and her rare high-budget one, with Michelle Williams plays the lead again. Jonathan Raymond loosely based on the history of Stephen Meek, a well-known guide of the Westward Movement, and the Oregon Trail. The film faithfully depicts the hardships of the pioneers and caravan in the past, and the minimalist aesthetics and themes complement each other - for example, the shooting time becomes very long. Even with flaws overall, the film is still among Reichardt's best. The mysteriousness reminds me of Peter Weir's Australian wilderness classic "Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975).
Old Joy
(2006)
Sloppy road movie
26 June 2022
Kelly Reichardt's first return in the millennium by a road movie, which was adapted with Jonathan Raymond's short story of the same name. It was praised by film critics and included in the Criterion Collection. The story also fits Reichardt's minimalist style-about two old friends who reunite for a short trip to Oregon to Bagby Hot Springs, which has been closed in recent years. The casting is competent, but the pace is sloppy throughout, and the long-dead friendship is difficult to enjoy.
Wendy and Lucy
(2008)
Most accessible work from Reichardt
26 June 2022
Independent director Kelly Reichardt once again collaborated with her long-term partner Jonathan Raymond after "Old Joy" to adapt the latter's short story "Train Choir". The film is considered as Reichardt's most accessible and most popular work, and it is true. Is any related to another famous director, Todd Haynes, as the executive producer? Michelle Williams lost her Hollywood beauty and hair to play the homeless Wendy vividly, who stopped by Oregon because of a broken car, and then was separated from Lucy, the dog borrowed from Reichardt. The story is simple but reflects of the plight of lower classes people, with the taste of Italian neorealism.
An American in Paris
(1951)
Ultimate audio-visual feast
26 June 2022
The story about an American painter chasing after girl, but the narrative angle has been a problem since the start, and the plot has become thinner and weaker. But this classic musical film has three selling points that can make it up - the famous music of George Gershwin, the vigorous dancing from Gene Kelly, and the totally fancy mise-en-scene from Vincente Minnelli. An ultimate audio-visual feast.
Maria Full of Grace
(2004)
Touching debut
26 June 2022
The director's debut describes the journey of a Colombian girl who lost her job and smuggled drugs into the US. A Spanish-language film, that pays attention to details, is realistic with restraint and touching. It reminds me of Boys Don't Cry (1999), the style is similar and the actresses are equally outstanding; later I learned that both cinematographers are Jim Denault, but this film is obviously better. (04/06)
Ip Man
(2008)
Blind action movie
26 June 2022
A firm action movie about the master of Wing Chun. The choreographer Sammo Hung, once the director of masterpiece The Prodigal Boy (1981), and the art director should be credited. However, the plot begins to drag on in the middle, fights are too many and turning to blindly patriotic. Ip Man, who fled China in 1949 because of his KMT background, suddenly becomes a national hero during in occupied Hong Kong.
The Show-Off
(1926)
"Expired" but worth watching
26 June 2022
The earliest film adaptation of George Kelly's Broadway comedy, and is the only silent version. (There are three other versions in 1934, 1946, and "Men Are Like That" by Herman Mankiewicz in 1930). It tells the story of a bragger, causing his family to fall into a dreadful situation, and finally make it up. The story is very old-fashioned and so has not been adapted since the 1950s, it is "expired" like the playwright. Though the protagonist is annoying, the narrative is smooth and Louise Brooks is gorgeous too, it is still worth watching. (04/07)
I Was Born, But...
(1932)
Ozu's Silent Classic
26 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A silent classic in Japanese film history. The story is about a pair of brothers moved to the suburbs with their white-collar father. After rounds of intellectual competition, they were subdued by the children in the district. While looking forward to being self-righteous, they found that their always dignified father was winking and bowing in front of his boss. The film looks at the hypocrisy, weakness and injustice of adults from the perspective of children, light tone in heavy theme, and the understatement at the end is more vaguely a feeling of helplessness. With kids play their genitals and do boring tricks, Ozu uses sense of humor with a bit of vulgarity to accurately capture the behavior and mentality of children.
Ashes of Time
(1994)
Ahead of times
26 June 2022
A film once with serious overruns and a bleak box office, but it was actually praised by critics, winning awards such as Best Cinematography at the Venice Film Festival, Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Critics Association, and Best Editing at the Golden Horse Awards. Watching it again, the more I like it, it is an excellent work that is ahead of its times-Wong borrowed Jin Yong's characters and martial arts background, with magnificent images and music, but it still talks about the alienation and emotional estrangement of modern people. The script is more complete than Wong's other works. The star-studded cast, and the fragmented and unconventional editing has made another classic between Wong and legend Leslie Cheung. The original version in 1994 is recommended.
Precious scenes of 1950s Hong Kong
26 June 2022
Based on the autobiographical novel "A Many-Splendored Thing" by Eurasian writer Han Suyin, it tells her love story with a foreign correspondent played by William Holden while practicing medicine in Hong Kong. Under the helm of veteran Henry King, the film is quite considerable. The score is outstanding, and the scenes of Hong Kong in the 1950s are even more precious, but the acting of supporting characters is obviously dull.
The Rice People
(1994)
Hardly a 1990s debut masterpiece
26 June 2022
The French-Cambodian director Rithy Panh's first feature film is also his most famous work outside documentaries. Unfortunately, the adaptation from the Malaysian parliamentarian writer Shahnon bin Ahmad's "Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan", is too dramatic and overlong, and the non-professional actors can't keep up, so the overall is outdated. Hard to call it a masterpiece of the 1990s.
Ninotchka
(1939)
Charming Garbo, but not a Lubitsch's best
26 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The screenwriters include Billy Wilder and his future partner Charles Brackett. The story tells that the Soviet Union sent Greta Garbo as envoy Ninotchka to Paris to help sell a batch of old Russian jewels. But the iron curtain of the female cadres was finally melted by the playboy played by Marvin Douglas and thrown into the embrace of capitalism. This is Garbo's penultimate play before her death, and it is also her rare comedy. That's why the film studio used "Garbo Laughs" as a tout, which is very charming, and other actors are also competent. However, the attitude of the female envoy changed too much, and the overall pace was not agile. Not a Lubitsch's best.
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