What was the last Chinese film you watched?

[gato]

Has anyone seen Buena Vista Social Club? I looooove that movie and the music. The ending always give me tears of joy.

Yeah, great film and great album. Most of the musicians in the film have passed away unfortunately.

[skylee]

Buena Vista Social Club was great. I've watched the movie, I have the CD, and I went to see their live performance in HK at the HK Arts Festival in 2001.

But this thread is about Chinese movies.

[animal world]

[but this thread is about Chinese movies. ]

I know, i know. Roddy hates me for my tendency to go off-topic (probably for a host of other idiosyncrasies as well)

[jkhsu]

I saw 爱(Love) a couple of weeks ago. One interesting thing that I noticed was how "ghetto" Beijing was portrayed and how Zhao Wei played the stereotypical "poor" mainland girl. Considering that this was a Taiwanese film, it didn't surprise me. To be fair, the film showed some poorer areas in Taiwan as well. However, I really don't think it was distorting reality. I'm probably noticing this because of many mainland China films / TV shows that (in my opinion) do distort reality by showing only the most modern and opulent lifestyles. I remember watching 我知女人心(What Women Want) last year where everything in Beijing was super modern, clean, etc.

[skylee]

I saw 春嬌與志明 today. i think it was quite good, though it was not as delightful as the previous film 志明與春嬌.

[animal world]

Two Chinese movies to report on [yes, Skylee, they are Chinese! I also saw a dynamite French movie but will remain mum about it ]

The first one is Raise the Red Lantern. I am sure this thread contains many posts by people having seen this movie. I thought it was an excellent movie even though now I am somewhat depressed. The interesting tidbit is that you never see the face of the Lord who is the husband of the four wives. His looks are irrelevant because it’s his power over these wives that determine how well they will be treated by the servants, that determine everything about these wives, even life itself. (This feature reminded me of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca in which Mrs. de Winter tells the story of Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter. Nowhere in the book/movie will the audience learn the first name of this second Mrs. de Winter).

The other movie is 巴尔扎克与小裁缝 (Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise) that came to my attention thanks to a thread started recently by Steingletscher, called Chinese Art Movies. This movie definitely would not fall into that category. It is based on a novel written in French by a Chinese man living in France, Dai Sijie, who also directed the movie. I found the movie pleasant entertainment but it lacked credibility for me. There is also the theme of a love story but, to me, love stories at age 20 tend to lack great drama and are mostly a matter of “c’est la vie.”

The movie is set in the early 70s during the Cultural Revolution and follows two guys, around 20 in age, who have been sent to a mountainous village in Sichuan for their re-education. The chief of the village is a bit nasty at times but all in all the treatment these guys receive is a far cry from the horrors that were inflicted on people at that time. As I was watching this movie, I couldn’t help but thinking that I would have voluntarily and happily signed up for re-education and learn all sorts of nonsense if I could live in an area that beautiful, too. It has an interesting ending in which actual events in China serve as a metaphor for the lives of these two guys.

There’s a thread going about the legal age for marriage in China. The movie happens to mention that at that time the legal age of marriage was 25 and that abortion was only legal if you had a marriage certificate.

[Lu]

The interesting tidbit is that you never see the face of the Lord who is the husband of the four wives.

I saw The Yellow Earth a while ago, for which Zhang Yimou did the cinematography, and the exact same thing is done in that movie. That husband has a much smaller role, but the way it's filmed is just as clear as in Red Lantern (horrible scene, by the way, much more quiet than the Japanese entering the church in that recent Nanjing movie but no less disturbing).

[animal world]

This evening I watched The Piano in a Factory, 钢的琴, directed by Zhang Meng, 张猛.

I had grabbed this DVD when visiting the library and my expectations were quite low. I didn’t know what a pleasant surprise I was in for. I adored this movie.

It is set in a depressed factory town in north eastern China where everything is drab and ugly. Yet, thanks to the warmth and friendship between the characters I was totally pulled into this world and was rooting for the characters who had become my buddies. The main character, a factory worker with an accordion and lots of charisma, is portrayed by Wang Qian Yuan, 王千源. I liked his performance and hope to see him again.

Nice to see love portrayed (and so well) without resorting to the ubiquitous boring sex scenes (i know you guys will disagree with me on this one but i have my fill of sex scenes both in movies and in novels).

[jkhsu]

I just saw 春嬌與志明 (Love in the Buff) in the theater yesterday. It contained a good mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin, although I pretty much had to read the English subs during the Cantonese part. I really enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it. There were some funny cameo performances from 黄晓明, Ekin Cheng, 王馨平(Linda Wong), and another guy (don't know his name) who's supposed to look like Tony Leung. Also, 杨幂 (from 宫 and 北京爱情故事) who seems to be everywhere these days, is in this film as well.

Trailer (on Youtube)

Some news articles:

http://www.hollywood...er-games-306782

http://movies.nytime...-ho-cheung.html

There was also a hilarious rendition of Linda Wong's 別問我是誰 during the ending credits. I'll post this in the song of the day thread.

Edit: Just noticed that skylee posted about this film already.

[skylee]

and another guy (don't know his name) who's supposed to look like Tony Leung.

Not really. His mom means to say his height is like Tony Leung's.

PS - jkhsu, you might also wish to see the first film 志明與春嬌 (link at #261).

[jkhsu]

His mom means to say his height is like Tony Leung's

Haha.. yes, I remember now. Thanks for the reminder!

Edit: Yes, I did see post #261. It's on my planned watch list now.

[yersi]

Just finished watching The Founding of a Republic (建国大业). Although it suffers from some of the same problems (namely too much dialogue and few relatable characters), it's not as bad as 建党伟业 aka Beginning of the Great Revival, not even by a half. As far as propaganda flicks go, I'd actually say this one was somewhat watchable, in a self-aware "oh I see what they're doing there" way.

[character]

大魔術師 (The Great Magician) - Lots of fun, esp. for Tony Leung Chiu-Wai fans. Be aware that it doesn't stick to strictly plausible magic tricks, and some of the emotional scenes go on too long/feel flat.

One interesting thing is that it has separate subtitles for the Mandarin and Cantonese soundtracks.

[jkhsu]

I saw 志明與春嬌 last weekend. I ended up watching the Mandarin dubbed version because I can't read the Chinese subs fast enough to fully comprehend the Cantonese version. Anyways, I thought that the sequel, 春嬌與志明 was much better. But I think these are two very different movies. The original, 志明與春嬌, was dialog heavy and had better character development than the sequel. However, as a movie, 志明與春嬌 wasn't as emotional or entertaining for me. My friend who watched both movies with me also thought the same.

[character]

高海拔之戀II (Romancing in Thin Air) - Thought this film looked weak from the trailer. It is the worst film I've seen in years; just avoid.

---

龍門飛甲 (Flying Swords of Dragon Gate) - Really good wuxia.

[AnneV]

I recently saw the movie 页台北 (Au Revoir Taipei) (but with English subtitles). I know its from a few years back, though. It may, in fact, be the first Chinese Language film I've seen as well as the last one I've watched. Its a very cute, funny and stylish movie.

It was very exciting to see Taiwan, as I will move there in the fall. It was also inspiring to hear Mandarin and makes me want to study diligently. Also his french is sort of bad but in an adorable way. But If I could arrive in Taiwan with my Chinese to that level, though, I would be extremely pleased with myself.

I would wish to see more Chinese language films like this...I'm not into Martial Arts, Melodramas, War or Horror movies, so this one was right up my alley.

[jkhsu]

I would wish to see more Chinese language films like this...I'm not into Martial Arts, Melodramas, War or Horror movies, so this one was right up my alley.

Are you saying that you want to see more romantic comedies set in Taiwan? They are quite common (especially Taiwanese TV dramas) and I'm sure others can recommend a few. The last one I saw was 爱 (see my post #284). The same actress, Amber Kuo, from Au Revoir Taipei is also in 爱. However, I'm not sure I'd recommend that movie though. I think the issue for you is finding these films (preferably online for free) with English subtitles. That's the hard part and I don't know the answer myself.

[character]

I would wish to see more Chinese language films like this...I'm not into Martial Arts, Melodramas, War or Horror movies, so this one was right up my alley.

Try to find Taipei Exchanges and possibly Blue Gate Crossing (which is a coming of age drama).

HK makes a lot of comedies/romances and their DVDs often have passable Mandarin soundtracks. A good source for reviews (though often more negative than my own views) of recent films is http://lovehkfilm.com/ .

[Caster]

i'd prefer 辛亥革命 have you guys ever watched this one?

[AnneV]

Hi jkhsu and character,

Thank you for the suggestions.

Yes, I would like to know about more lighthearted films, comedies, or romance-comedies in the mandarin language. (don't particularly have to be in Taiwan). I will check out both of your suggestions If I find any other similar films, I'll post the name here after i watch them