Mountains May Depart (2015)

Directed by Jia Zhangke
Country: China / others

Movie Review: The story behind “Mountain May Depart”, the well-structured drama from the celebrated Chinese filmmaker, Jia Zhangke, is divided into three interconnected parts representing the past, present, and future. Whoever isn’t familiar with the director’s previous works may be misled by the inaugural joyful tones of the film, which almost forces us to think of the word comedy. Yes, the film successfully extracts some laughs either, but is the dramatic side, together with a critical look at the society, that better characterize Mr. Zhangke’s films. The first segment, set in 1999 Fenyang, starts at the sound of ‘Go West’ by The Pet Shop Boys. A bunch of people is having fun in the course of a rhythmic choreography, and among them, we spot the main character, Tao (Tao Zhao), who often hangs out with her two best friends and suitors, Liangzi (Jing Dong Liang) and Zhang Jinsheng (Yi Zhang). While the former is a modest local coal miner who lacks ambition and leads an honest life, the latter is a boastful new rich who's among those who thrived due to the capitalism expansion in China. The two competitors have a few squabbles over Tao, who ends up choosing Jinsheng, not without difficulty and carrying a sense of loss in her heart. While the fresh couple makes all the arrangements for the marriage, Liangzi resolves to leave Fenyang city for good. The story then shifts to 2014, and we see Liangzi, now a married man and father, returning to his hometown with lung cancer, a consequence of many years breathing the coal mines' pestilent air. On the other hand, Tao is divorced and grieves the death of her father, whose funeral triggers the visit of her estranged 7-year-old son, now called Dollar (an obvious homage to capitalism), who arrives from Shanghai to pay his respects to granddad. The last segment, not so strong as the first two, transports us to 2025 Australia, where the aimless Dollar simply can’t communicate (a language gap) with his whimsical, messy father, and embarks in a relationship with his much older Chinese teacher who tries to regain some balance after a distressing divorce. Both feel misplaced and want to get in touch with their roots, a step that is manifestly more complicated than it seems. Seamlessly alternating between ironic and cerebral, the film doesn’t match its predecessor, “A Touch of Sin”, in terms of immediacy, but Zhangke’s hand is still clearly perceptible – desolated landscapes, complex feelings, and a sense of emotional void. Like in the beginning, the film ends with Tao dancing ‘Go West’, but this time, the circumstances are entirely different.

Coming Home (2014)

Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Country: China

Movie Review: 28 years have passed since the first collaboration between the awarded Chinese filmmaker, Zhang Yimou, and the renowned actress, Gong Li. That first movie was “Red Sorghum” - not really one of my favorites - and their successful association would become stronger in subsequent essential dramas, all of them from the 90’s, cases of “Ju Dou”, “Raise the Red Lantern”, “The Story of Qiu Ju”, “To Live”, and “Shanghai Triad”. Now, they reunite one more time in “Coming Home”, eight years after “The Curse of the Golden Flower”, an adventurous action epic from 2007. Gong Li plays Yu Feng, a wife and former teacher whose husband, Lu Yanshi (Daoming Chen), also a professor, was arrested for political reasons and sent to a labor camp during the Cultural Revolution. Their teenage daughter, Dandan (Huiwen Zhang), an extremely skillful ballerina, was refused the leading role in the famous ballet ‘Red Detachment of Women’ because her father was considered an outlaw. She grew up resentful with this setback, choosing to denounce her father when he attempts to approach Yu after managing to escape the camp where he was confined. A few years later, the Cultural Revolution is over and Lu is finally released. However, he realizes that everything has changed during all those years. Dandan currently lives in the dormitory of the old textile factory where she’s working and is now regretful about her actions. In turn, Yu reacts in a distant way and doesn't seem to care anymore, not because she has stopped loving him, but because she’s unable to recognize him due to suffering from a traumatic amnesia. Not so striking as other dramatic voyages of Mr. Yimou, the relentlessly grievous “Coming Home” still is a copious improvement when compared with the contrived “The Flowers of War”, a reenactment of a Japan’s Nanking incident, in which starred Christian Bale and Ni Ni. Despite the tenacious melodramatic tones, a beneficial aspect is that the script, adapted by Jingzhi Zou from the novel ‘The Criminal Lu Yanshi’ by Geling Yan, doesn’t take us to the most obvious places. A magnetic photography, painted with rich colors, together with the solid production values, do the rest.

The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)

Directed by: Tsui Hark
Country: China

Movie Review: Vietnamese-born director, Tsui Hark, is already a reference when it comes to spectacular Asian flicks that combine adventure, fantasy, and action. In his latest, the 3D “The Taking of Tiger Mountain”, he based himself on Qu Bo’s novel ‘Tracks in the Snowy Forest’, focusing on a particular episode of the communist Chinese revolution, and bringing in, both real and fictional characters. Thoroughly mounted and sharply shot, the film is another colorful adventure, but this time lacking the fantasy, splendor and mystery of “Detective Dee”. And how I missed these aspects! On the one hand we can call it minimally entertaining, taking into account some curious characters that include soldiers, spies, bandits, and assassins; on the other hand, its violent scenes are too detailed and set up with a clangorous ostentation (a tiger attack was the most ridiculous of them), gradually becoming more tiresome than substantial. Another aspect that deserves a bit more attention from Mr.Hark is the duration of his movies – almost two hours and a half for a movie with this visual intensity is too much, and only works for masterpieces such as the first Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sentimentality also dwells here, designed by the presence of Knoti, a scared, famished little boy who thought to have lost his mother. With all its faults, I have to admit that one of the most freakish villains of the contemporary Chinese cinema can be found here. Actually, Lord Hawk, terrifically impersonated by Tony Leung Ka-fai, was a spectacle for the eyes, coming instantly to my mind when I try to figure out something positive. “The Taking of Tiger Mountain” is a razzle-dazzle that probably would give a good comic book. Usually, it’s the other way around.

Black Coal Thin Ice (2014)

Directed by: Diao Yinan
Country: China

Movie Review: The third feature-film from writer/director Diao Yinan, “Black Coal Thin Ice” mixes drama and mystery, in a neo-noir cop thriller set in Northern China, and occasionally becomes hard to follow. An alcoholic ex-cop and his former partner decide to investigate several connected murders occurred in the region, where parts of the victims’ bodies are dumped in different places via coal stacks shipments. These crimes were similar to other cases occurred five years ago. The clues take, the now private investigator, Zhang (Fan Liao), to Wu Zhizen (Lun Mei Gwei), an elusive laundry clerk woman, widow of one of the victims, who will become the key to the mystery, since every man who got close to her ended up dead. The film title alludes to the distinct atmospheres lived in the suffocating interior of coalmines and the bitter cold of the exterior, where the snow often erases crucial traces. The two main characters also live in different realities, only converging once after investigator and investigated start an unpassioned affair that can put them at risk. Yinan’s filmmaking style brings Tsai Ming Liang to our mind, especially in the nocturnal scenes and strongly accentuated colors, aspect that matched very well the dark tones of the story. “Black Coal Thin Ice” is almost phantasmagoric in its shadows and presences, but in spite of the inspired visuals and framing, there were scenes that I felt a bit out of context, in addition to a finale that was everything but unexpected. The film won the Golden Bear in Berlin, where Fan Liao was also considered best actor.

Personal Tailor (2013)

Directed by: Xiaogang Feng
Country: China

Movie Review: Abandoning for now commercial big productions (“Aftershock”, “Back to 1942”), Chinese helmer Xiaogang Feng embarks in a modest, yet witty comedy that makes diverse social-political considerations about the actual Chinese regime, its big leaders, art and artists, wealthy aristocrats, and environmental issues. Written by Shuo Wang, who already had collaborated with Feng in “If You Are the One 2”, the story is centered in a company called ‘Personal Tailor’, dedicated to selling impossible dreams to their eccentric clients. Presented with farcical tones and counting with poignant, half-true-half-parody jokes, the episodic adventures start hilariously when the company enacts the capture and torture of a woman by the Nazi regime, moving afterwards to an incorruptible chauffer who eagerly whishes to be one of the big leaders of China (what a great laugh he puts!), but occasionally suffering crisis every time he becomes aware of reality. We can also follow a tasteless filmmaker struggling to create something art-house but eventually becoming victim of high-culture shock, and a money-fanatic woman whose bigger pleasure consists in pay exorbitant prices for whatever. This satire ends with a nostalgic touch, apologizing to nature and everyone else for the damages done in our planet. “Personal Tailor” exhibits a few good thoughts within the addressed topics, biting more through its cynical posture rather than its fluctuating execution.

A Touch of Sin (2013)

Directed by: Jia Zhangke
Country: China

Movie Review: Being an admirer of Jia Zhangke’s past works, I must say that “A Touch of Sin” was beyond my expectations. It was less contemplative comparing to the rest of his movies, bringing action scenes to the screen with determination and vigor, to denounce political and social injustices in modern-day China, always with industrial landscapes in the background and a phantasmagoric desolation that remains in our memory. The film is divided in four acts, along different Chinese regions, each of them being a story of despair, loneliness, and revenge (made explicitly violent). The first story follows Dahai who was the only one to defy the atmosphere of fear lived in the mine where he was working in, when he decided to accuse his former schoolmate, and now rich mine owner, of fraud. The second act follows a motorcyclist who briefly appears in the first story, returning home to his wife and son but unable to comply with the rules of society, becoming another renegade, condemned to be an eternal traveler and fugitive. The third act tells the story of a woman struggling to have a stable life with the married man she loves, refusing to act as a prostitute in the spa where she works. The last story showcases family exploitation and the end of a love dream for a young worker of a textile factory. Zhangke’s cinematic rigor, narrative sense, and firmness, allied to the amazing performances and plot’s significance, make “A touch of sin” an unmissable eye-opening drama that deserves a good reflection.

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)

Directed by: Tsui Hark
Country: China

Movie Review: Tsui Hark’s new film, featuring detective Dee Renjie and his first mystery case, is another magnanimous production that revealed to be a major disappointment when compared to the engrossing “Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame”, both in visuals and screenwriting. Obviously I was expecting something colorful, sensationalist, and cartoonish, but this time Hark’s overconfidence ruined everything by leaving substance behind, in what we can call a gaudy fantasy stuffed with digital manipulations, overdone fight choreography, and supernatural enigmas. Probably Korean “The Host” served as inspiration for its boring scenes, since the shrewd detective, performed by Mark Chao, involves himself in a battle against a gigantic sea dragon in order to solve a mysterious conspiracy against Imperial kingdom. Sadly, there’s nothing new or smart in this plot and the beautiful, enchanting atmosphere noticeable in the mentioned sequel from 2010, vanished completely here. I got bored even before its first half, so I don’t have to explain how interminable the film seemed to me. “Young Detective Dee” was too overcooked and action-packed in a fastidious way, becoming instantly forgettable. I guess it will only be suitable for those who are not demanding with what they chose to watch as entertainment, or are looking for some impact through its bumbling images.

Mystery (2012)

Directed by: Lou Ye
Country: China / France

Movie Review: “Mystery” is a Chinese dramatic thriller directed by Lou Ye whose past work is synonym of undeniable quality (“Suzhou River” and “Summer Palace”). Lately, he seems a bit lost in secondary dramas such were the cases of “Love and Bruises” and now this messy “Mystery”, where a dark love triangle ends up in murder. The film starts with a woman being run over by a car when she was already in a deplorable state. This woman was seen getting out of a hotel with Yongzhao, a married man and attentive father who, in parallel, supports a second family composed by his mistress and son. If the story started with some potential and nerve, it lost quickly its initial strength with unbalanced scenes and an overcooked plot that also involves the policeman who is in charge of the case and the ex-boyfriend of the deceased girl. In some moments, the shaky camera was adequate, giving a sensation of disorientation, but in others, its use was completely unnecessary and even annoying. An acceptable balance was never achieved and I can point some scenes that made my interest collapse along the way - a violent rape as punishment ends up in an overemotional situation, just like the raging murder of a homeless beggar. Moreover, every time an intense rain and threatening sky were present, was a sign that a crime would be committed. Erratic and unsatisfying, “Mystery” can be skipped without regrets.

Blind Detective (2013)

Directed by: Johnnie To
Country: Hong Kong / China

Movie Review: If some weeks ago I have said that “Drug War” was one of the best films by Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To, now I have to say that “Blind Detective” is one of his worst. With a proven track in the action-crime genre, Johnnie To tries to add some humor into this distasteful plot and the result becomes too childish to impress. The film stars Andy Lau as the blind detective, Johnston, and Sammi Cheng as Ho Ka Tung, an attractive female inspector who becomes his partner in a special investigation case. Both actors had worked together for several times, including other rom-coms from this same director. During its overlong and mind-numbing 129 minutes, the film failed to be eccentric or funny, and the screenplay by the long-time collaborator Wai Kai-Fai (“Drug War”, “Mad Detective”) left much to be desired. The unintelligent humor never caught me, the dialogues were tiresome and almost unbearable, the attempts to create tension were never exciting enough, and finally as romance the film fell in the ridicule of stereotyped moves. I would be much happier if Johnnie To remained faithful to the underworld crime thrillers, which are what he knows to do best, instead of wasting time with these hollow experiences. “Blind Detective” became the biggest disappointment of the year so far.

Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013)

Directed by: Herman Yau
Country: Hong Kong / China

Movie Review: Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man was the subject of several films since 2008, going from illustrious unknown to appreciated martial-artist. His later life was depicted once again by the hand of Herman Yau, who already has directed “The Legend Is Born” in 2010, and the results are not so stylish and sumptuous as in Wong Kar Wai’s “The Grandmaster”, or entertaining as Wilson Yip’s “Ip Man”. Similar to those traditional martial-arts flicks in which multiple fights happen in the streets at the same time, “Ip Man: The Final Fight” seemed to have been prepared to look nice in its vivid colors but forgetting to tell this man’s story in a more captivating way. I was looking for something more vibrant and not so dramatic, a tendency that threw away any possibility of success. The cinematography was capable, while the soundtrack by Mark Chun-hung, alternating between sentimental and rambunctious, just intensifies everything that appears on the screen. The best aspect in the film is undoubtedly Anthony Wong’s performance, which despite not so charismatic as Tony Leung’s in “The Grandmaster”, was convincing and powerful. Some historical aspects concerning the political situation of Hong Kong at that time were not even mentioned, and as the title suggests, the most exciting moments were reserved for the final fight. In the end I had the impression that this wobbling portrait could have been done differently, for better, both in accuracy and spectacularity.

Drug War (2012)

Directed by: Johnnie To
Country: China / Hong Kong

Review: Hong Kong helmer Johnnie To, returns in great shape to his favorite action-crime-thriller genre, putting in confrontation astute drug dealers and relentless cops. This ride to the underworld of narcotics supply and distribution is often hilarious and suspenseful, covering a mega operation carried out by Captain Zhang (Honglei Sun) and his anti-drug police squad, to dismantle a huge network that operates across Asia. The key for their success will be a drug lord named Timmy (Louis Koo) who decided to cooperate to avoid death sentence, after has been arrested. Well structured, the story flows coherently and is characterized for a dynamic pace, punctuated by one or two sporadic slowdowns that didn’t change my interest in the story. In addition to its fierce shootings and car maneuvers, which will put the action genre fans in ecstasy, there were some moments of good humor that helped turning “Drug War” in an easy-watching movie. Its major strengths were the simplicity and effectiveness of processes, without trying to stand out through unrealistic action scenes. To’s long time collaborator and partner in his Milky Way Production Company, Wai Ka-fai, co-produced and co-wrote, contributing to create a fruitful action flick. It simply became Johnnie To's most interesting film in years.

The Grandmaster (2013)

Directed by: Wong Kar-Wai
Country: China / Hong Kong / France

Review: Cult filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai is back, bringing with him Tony Leung and Ziyi Zhang as stars. We cannot find many movies with the elegance and passion of “In The Mood For Love”, but “The Grandmaster” brings to our mind some of its best moments, adopting the same poetic approach to depict another impossible love. The novelty here is the addition of some action through martial arts, since the story was inspired in Yip Man’s life, the kung-fu master who would come to teach the legendary Bruce Lee. The film covers three different periods: 1930’s Foshan in China where he was recognized as a master, the difficult life in Hong Kong after the Japanese invasion, and finally from 1952 till his death in 1972. We also get to know the sad fate of Gong Er, a master's daughter who became secretly in love with Yip Man after a challenging fight. Kar-Wai’s camera work remains very strong where the richness of the plans and aesthetical care were crucial to catch our eye. To tell the truth, the visual aspect was much stronger than the story itself, which despite being interesting didn’t reveal the mystique of previous adventures. “The Grandmaster”, not being a masterpiece, is a sumptuous accomplishment that puts together a dissimulated love, revenge, sacrifice, and martial arts in the form of floating dances (preferably in the rain).

Back To 1942 (2012)

Directed: Xiaogang Feng
Country: China

Review: On the winter of 1942, when China was being invaded by Japan, a drought hit the province of Henan leading the people to starvation. A sensible question then arises: who should be fed in the first place, the soldiers or the people? The film partially succeeds in its purpose of revealing the drama of the refugees, as well as the impassivity and disregard of the Chiang Kai-shek government. Corruption was a constant, while religion is present in a small dose, with the converting attempts and faith dilemmas becoming the weakest moments of the plot. Adrien Brody plays a small part, hardly memorable, as a journalist from Times Magazine. Photography stood out, in a 145-minute high-budget production that would have gained with some trimming. Even flawed, Feng’s new historical film was far more interesting than “The Flowers of War” or “The Children of Huang Shi”.

Vulgaria (2012)

Directed by: Pang Ho-Cheung
Country: Hong Kong

Review: 2012 wasn’t a year of much inspiration for Taiwanese filmmaker Pang Ho-Cheung. After a sloppy “Love in The Buff”, “Vulgaria” was another missed shot on comedy. The first moments had some interest, with a controversial interview given by an experienced film producer in front of students. But suddenly, the movie changed to imbecilic jokes about masturbation techniques, popping candy blow-jobs or sex with animals, all with a cynical silliness that got me bored very quickly. Family problems and Mafia connections were also introduced as mere pretexts to deflect our attention from the uninteresting sexual adventures of producer To Wai-Cheung. “Vulgaria”, as the title suggests, is nothing more than a vulgar movie.

Love In The Buff (2012)

Directed by: Pang Ho-Cheung
Country: China / Hong Kong

Review: “Love in The Buff” is the sequel of “Love in the Puff” from 2010. Cherie and Jimmy continue the struggle to make their relationship endure, but eventually they break up to meet once again in Beijing in unexpected circumstances. Starting all over again, will bring them the same problems as before, with the big decisions being reserved to the end. The movie unevenly stands between the light comedy and the sentimental drama, depicting how inattentive behaviors can ruin a relationship. The romantic side was watchable and with the right balance could have been much better, while the comic side was a complete failure. Using some cheesy scenes, uninspired jokes and an awful karaoke moment, this is a movie with too much ups and downs to be considered solid or interesting.

11 Flowers (2011)

Directed by: Wang Xiaoshuai
Country: China / France

Review: Wang Xiaoshuai is associated with the sixth generation of Chinese filmmakers, also working as actor, screenwriter and producer. “Beijing Bycicle”(2001), his better-known work, was an international success and “11 Flowers” has everything to follow the same steps. The story consists of childhood recollections of Wang Han during the years of Cultural Revolution in China. Beautiful details are shown under the communist party’s revolutionary songs, denoting significant aptitude for image composition. The recreation of childhood is attractively accurate (the children’s activities or the struggle of Wang Han to have a new shirt for school), without leaving aside the political criticism and social considerations of those years. This is a powerful and sensitive film.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011)

Directed by: Tsui Hark
Country: China

Plot: Set three years after Dragon Inn, innkeeper Jade has disappeared and a new inn has risen from the ashes.

Review: Tsui Hark is a respected chinese director, who usually combines entertaining storytelling, fantastic imagery and frantic action mostly based on martial arts. His last movie, however doesn't show much consistency in the plot. The huge number of characters make the viewer's job harder and only increase the mess of the story. I am convinced that Hark's only concern was to provide us with frantic action and computer manipulated imagery. Completely dispensable, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" is a step back when compared with 2010's "Detective Dee".

Relevant awards: -

Sacrifice (2010)

Directed by: Chen Kaige
Country: China

Plot: To save the only child of the Zhao Family, whose entire clan was massacred, a doctor sacrifices his own son.

Review: Ones who are familiar with previous works by Chen Kaige, must be aware of his capabilities. “Farewell, My Concubine”, “The Emperor and The Assassin” or “Life on a String” will be remembered as top quality movies in its genre. “Sacrifice” is a typical Kaiges’s film. As usual, the importance of costume designs, characterization and appropriate scenarios, are well weighted. The weakness here is the plot, which is not so rich or appealing as in some earlier works. Lovers of the genre will be pleased with the action's effects, while the others can just take a look to pass some time. I may say that its purposes were achieved with competence.

Relevant awards: -

I Wish I Knew (2010)

Directed by: Jia Zhang Ke
Country: China

Plot: Focuses on the people, their stories and architecture spanning from the mid-1800s, when Shanghai was opened as a trading port, to the present day.

Review: Jia Zhang Ke continues his brilliant career with another elucidating documentary, which happens to be a tribute to Shanghai. We have an historical and political lesson about this city by listen to the testimonials of known personalities, most of them related to cinema. Sometimes it can become a bit confusing, especially if we are not familiarized with the Shanghai’s history, but Zhang Ke had the wit to fascinate us with superbly composed frames of desolated and abandoned landscapes, just as he already did in “Still Life”(2006) or “24 City”(2008).

Relevant awards: Best documentary (Dubai).

A Simple Life (2011)

Directed by: Ann Hui
Country: China

Plot: After suffering a stroke, an altruistic maid announces that she wants to quit her job and move into an old people's home.

Review: “A simple life” is a beautiful story. Beyond the concept of family, this is a movie about real life in a very tender way. After watching this movie, I felt uncomfortable by thinking about getting old. It’s scary to imagine how will be our last days. In a movie without many tension or dynamic moments, director Ann Hui did a great job, getting the right balance to avoid viewer’s distraction. A powerful human story with a huge meaningful message is something to praise.

Relevant awards: Honorable mention and best actress (Venice); grand prize (Tallin); best director (Golden Film Fest., Taiwan).