FALLEN ANGELS

The difficult part in watching some modern foreign films, especially from Asia, is that while interesting and often wonderfully filmed, they are often surreal and confusing. Wong Kar-Wai's Fallen Angels (1995) is one such film. Surely there are deeper messages here about the culture and (possibly in this case) the urban angst of criminals, but they are clearly beyond my comprehension. The general story follows a hitman and his partner (who plans the hits, but they do not see each other) as he has decided to call it quits and she is obsessed with him and determined to meet him in person. Intersecting this story is one about a mute man (Takeshi Kaneshiro, best known for role in House of Flying Daggers), son of a hotel manager, who breaks into closed shops and acts as if he is working there and harasses potential clients; he falls in love with a woman (played by Charlie Yeung, who has had a good career, probably best known in Western audiences for her role in Bangkok Dangerous) who pines for another man. Almost all the characters are crazy, especially the females. In addition to the killer's partner, who seems put off by men and likes to masterbate with her clothes on, there is a whacky wacked-out woman (played by Karen Mok in one of her early films) who dyed her hair blonde and falls in love with the killer. If she approached me the way she does him, I would be running away in fear. One of the strangest scenes is when the mute invades a butcher shop and gives a massage to a pig carcass. Perhaps one theme is that no matter one's profession or weirdness, everybody need to connect somehow with others. In many ways it was like a typical Chinese meal: you stuff yourself, but after it is over you still do not feel completely fulfilled. Still, I kind of liked the movie, Michelle Reis is gorgeous, and many scenes are beautifully shot.

SNOW FLOWER

There is love, and then there is deep-hearted love, an emotion that can be bruised and battered but never truly diminished once the contract between two hearts has been written. Life for women in China was, and probably still is, difficult. Even the wealthy or high-born women suffered, as in olden times some girls were forced to bind their feet to create dwarfed sculptures, which were considered beautiful in the culture (though today one might argue it was an extreme form of patriarchal control), but the practice was painful and limiting. Upper-class men seemed to covet the tiny feet more than the women to whom they belonged. Women often married men they did not know and sometimes never loved; they also had to conform to the homes and domains of older mother-in-laws, who demanded obedience. In response to the reality that they might never develop a truly loving relationship, some girls formed lifelong bonds with a favored playmates, known as laotong, and this relationship (sometimes actually arranged at first) apparently could become what some would call a soul-mate bond, along chivalrous lines, as there does not seem to have been a sexual element (although it was hinted at). In Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011), a movie based on the novel by Chinese-American author Lisa See, the director portrays the generations-distant parallel relationships between two women (both pairs played wonderfully by Gianna Jun and Bingbing Li), as they struggle to maintain their bonds despite different fates, and to overcome strains caused by divergent fortunes. Beautifully filmed, with wonderful scenes and good acting, the movie is sad, and melancholy, and touching. It is hard to to cry. Hugh Jackman has a minor role. There are some good scenes of modern China, depicting the rapid development and destruction of traditional areas, as well as some glimpses into the lives of young modern upwardly mobile Chinese. I don't think this movie did well at the box office and I don't know what the critics thought, but I really liked it and think people should give it a chance on dvd.

EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN

Watched a delightful little movie tonight, Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), a smorgasbord of Chinese delicacies and family life. Shihung Lung is wonderful as a long-time widowed father and accomplished chef, who has raised three daughters, all beautiful but with relationship problems. Some of the scenes showing him cooking are amazing, and the banquets are astounding. I think the most beautiful part of the movie is the relationship with the little girl, as he brings special lunches for her at school. One of the best scenes was when the three daughters were looking in at their father as the scheming Madame Liang was setting her sights on him. I give this movie a strong recommendation. Apparently there is a scheduled sequel coming out this year, so I am happy I saw it now.

MAO'S LAST DANCER

Tonight I watched the very nice movie, Mao's Last Dancer, a biopic about Chinese dancer Li Cunxin (based on his autobiography), who was trained in Communist China and later defected to the United States to dance with the Houston Ballet. Directed by Bruce Beresford, best known for Driving Miss Daisy and Breaker Morant, with screenplay by Jan Sardi, best known for Shine,, the film portrays the difficulty Li faced in achieving his desire to escape the rigid state-controlled Chinese dance in order to study, and then stay, in America, especially in light of the penalties heaped upon his family and the long years of not knowing about their welfare. Despite scenes and acting that reminds one of a Hallmark Classic, the film nonethless touches the heart; I will admit to tearing up several times. One of my favorite scenes is when young Li is given a contraband tape by his soon-to-be-banished teacher (for daring to insist on classical training) of Baryshnikov dancing, and the young Li's face lights up as he watches (and is inspired) as the star performs. The viewer roots for continued success for the dancer. Some of the ballet scenes are beautiful, especially the penultimate Rites of Spring, which I have never seen before. The cast did a credible job, and I love just about anything Joan Chen is in. Although the action officially takes place in Houston, most of the dancers are with Australian companies, and they are very good. Chi Cao, who portrays Li, is an exceptional dancer, and I loved his performce, especially in light of the fact that this apparently was his first tiem on the big screen. I encourage anyone who enjoys dance to see it.

BLIND MOUNTAIN

When one thinks of China, even in the late twentieth century, one often contemplates the economic giant, modernizing and dominating the Asian theatre if not the entire world; one thinks of huge, bustling cities and tough governmental control. But there are many seamy undersides, one of which is portrayed in Blind Mountain (2007). In the last decade of the twentieth century, a college-educated woman is kidnapped from a big city by flesh peddlers and is forced into marriage in a remote northern village. Stubbornly and persistently she resists her enslavement, despite brutal beatings and rapes, isolation and constant surveillance, repeatedly trying to escape or contact outside help. Members of the family use every tactic at their disposal to control her, from participating in her initial rape to attempting to draw her in through inducements and talks with women similarly betrothed, and the family eventually celebrates the pregnancy that develops. The entire community, in fact, accepts and embraces wife stealing, from top authorities on down---a rigid system that forces women into compliance and blocks any outside interference, even from national police authorities. The misogynistic families will do anything to win sons, but their destruction of female offspring leads to a large male population needing brides. The very attractive Huang Lu plays the determined, angry Bai Xuemei, who despite her brutalization, still finds time to help educate the young boys in the village. She is caught up in an affair (partly in hopes of using it to escape her captivity), but it is ferreted out by the family, and the man is driven from the village (seemingly more for having broken the strict system than actually cuckolding Bai’s husband. Each disappointment ratchets up her determination to escape, leading to a desperate conclusion. As disheartening and maddening as the film is for those rooting for Bai (reminding me a lot of how I felt at the injustice portrayed in the Iranian movie The Stoning of Soroya M.), there are lovely film sequences and beautiful backdrops, and the acting is pretty good. Some sections are a bit lengthy. One wonders how Chinese authorities reacted to the film (as officially such treatment of women is forbidden) and if this condition still exists. There are small insights as well, such as the payments expected for medical treatment (which I was surprised about since I thought medicine was socialist there), to the willingness of so many people to turn a blind eye. It is a film worth watching, but it will leave the viewer angry.