Legeril Posted November 21, 2009 at 12:57 AM Report Posted November 21, 2009 at 12:57 AM I've seen this movie a few times now and I think its great, speak volumes to me about conformism in China (and around the globe). But I've never met anyone else thats seen it, in my opinion its one of the greatest movies. Has anyone here seen it? What do you think of it? Quote
jennychen Posted November 22, 2009 at 03:32 AM Report Posted November 22, 2009 at 03:32 AM The moive's chinese name is "看上去很美”，which was directed by Zhang yuan in 2006. In fact as an art film it is not very famous for most chinese audience. The story is about some children in a kindergarten.it looks like a chidren moive ,while actually it is a very serious movie.The director seems to talk about a conflict between socail norm and human nature. It is a good moive, but it is not a poupular moive. Quote
Legeril Posted November 23, 2009 at 06:58 AM Author Report Posted November 23, 2009 at 06:58 AM Well it is a must see movie, very though provoking. hopefully this thread will help to make the film a little more well known Quote
elliott50 Posted November 23, 2009 at 11:57 AM Report Posted November 23, 2009 at 11:57 AM Yes Legeril, thank you for reminding me of such a great movie. So good in fact that I have just added the DVD to my Amazon wish list for Christmas! My wife, who is a teacher but does not know any chinese, really enjoyed it too when we watched it on TV. We often recall with amusement the scene in the latrine with all of the children squatting at the same time one-behind-the-other over the same trough and expected to "perform" when ordered... But seriously, compared to the UK, the Chinese schooling system depicted in the movie does seem very focused on achieving conformity amongst the children at the expense of their self-expression. So I suppose the film could be read as an allegory of the relationship between the state and the individual. However, if that all seems a bit too deep, I too would recommend it is an interesting film that anyone with an interest in China would enjoy. Quote
Legeril Posted November 24, 2009 at 10:01 AM Author Report Posted November 24, 2009 at 10:01 AM Yes there are many great moments in the movie, the children are such great actors they really steal the film. I must mention also, that I think the film is set during the early 50's though I couldnt say how much/little the Chinese school systems have changed since then Quote
Hobbes828 Posted November 28, 2009 at 10:07 AM Report Posted November 28, 2009 at 10:07 AM Yeah i've seen it too. I watched it without subtitles though I think... and a while ago, so I'm sure I didn't get as much out of it as others. From what I remember it was good though. I can usually appreciate indie/"artsy" films, but I also have to admit I watched 'Internal Affairs' again (been a year or two, and this time in Mandarin), and that movie is still awesome Quote
Ah-Bin Posted December 2, 2009 at 09:57 AM Report Posted December 2, 2009 at 09:57 AM I must mention also, that I think the film is set during the early 50's though I couldnt say how much/little the Chinese school systems have changed since then Early 50's? Haha! The Chinese person I watched it with thought it was from the early 1980's! It must have made her think of her own schooling at that time. Makes you wonder about how much had changed up until then. The film is based on the book of the same name by 王朔 which I've read a bit of too. He was born in 1958, so if it is based on his own memories it must be the early 60's. My favourite bit is when the two girls get the boy to climb up to the window and then take the chair away so he can;t get down. They suddenly start giggling and dancing round with great glee. Quote
Neil_H Posted December 2, 2009 at 12:57 PM Report Posted December 2, 2009 at 12:57 PM With all these recomendations I have ordered this for Christmas. Quote
gato Posted December 2, 2009 at 02:06 PM Report Posted December 2, 2009 at 02:06 PM I'm glad to see many liking this movie. Maybe you'll like In the Heat of the Sun (阳光灿烂的日子), another movie based on a story by Wang Shuo. It's one of my all-time favorites. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111786/ Yangguang Canlan de Rizi (1994) Quote
Legeril Posted December 4, 2009 at 12:57 AM Author Report Posted December 4, 2009 at 12:57 AM I'll definitely see if I can find it, unfortuantly living in NZ means that there is very little market for anything that isnt main stream american TV. Would anyone be able to point me in the direction of a place to buy Little Red Flowers on DVD and/or In the Heat of the Sun. Very much appriciated Quote
Neil_H Posted December 4, 2009 at 08:32 AM Report Posted December 4, 2009 at 08:32 AM I bought it from Amazon UK. I think it is also available on ebay. Quote
gato Posted December 4, 2009 at 08:46 AM Report Posted December 4, 2009 at 08:46 AM You can download them with eMule on verycd.com. http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/general.cgi?l=1 http://www.verycd.com/topics/2750372/ 《看上去很美》(Little Red Flowers )原创/丹麦二区DTS版[DVDRip] http://www.verycd.com/topics/2780388/ 《阳光灿烂的日子》(In the Heat of the Sun )日2未删减版[HALFCD] Quote
Neil_H Posted December 8, 2009 at 04:56 PM Report Posted December 8, 2009 at 04:56 PM After receiving this last week I realised we have already seen it. Quote
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