This highly ambitious piece based on a novel yet to be translated to English, takes us back to Shanghai of the early nineties where we get to experience the joys and pleasures of Huang He Lu, and the colorful characters that inhabit this glitzy version of pre-globalization China.
It's essentially a "Best of Wong Kar Wai," where you get bits and pieces of every Wong Kar Wai film in both visual and audio terms.
The sensory overload will probably be too much for the casual viewer and most non- Chinese Wang Kar Wai lovers will have an equally hard time, since it lacks the universal appeal of In the Mood for Love.
Given that lots of Chinese people dislike the films of Wang Jia Wei, who is the ideal audience? Probably those with a strong nostalgia for a special period in time in Shanghai that is now gone forever. It's essentially a love letter to Shanghai, it's people, and their two big passions : money and food.
The first ten episodes focus mostly on a pair of restaurants run by two women and there doesn't seem to be a main plot, just Chinese people talking about food, money, and the stock market. The middle third is closer to what foreigners would expect from a Wang Jia Wei movie, the focus is on the female characters and their romances. One of the segments that stand out is the "bus girl." In the last third, the pace moves faster and we get to experience the up and downs of the stock market as well as a personal war between two business rivals.
The thirty episodes are supposed to be edited down to two hours for an international theatrical release. I don't know if something like that is possible or which scenes will make the international cut. I suppose those that will remind the foreigners of previous hits Chongqing Senlin, Huayang Nianhua, 2046.
The lack of recognizable international stars will such as Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, mean that Fan Hua will probably be less succesful in the European market than his previous films. That doesn't mean the cast isn't good. Zhilei Xun is stunning to look at but her puffy lips can be very distracting. Yang Tang spends a lot of time whining. Her voice and stupid glasses can be very annoying.
Yili Ma is the best but like everyone else in the cast, it takes some time until you get used to her. Hu Ge in the role of the Chinese Gatsby is adequate enough but lacks a distinct persona.
Photography, sets and costume design, music, and camera are out of this world!
It's essentially a "Best of Wong Kar Wai," where you get bits and pieces of every Wong Kar Wai film in both visual and audio terms.
The sensory overload will probably be too much for the casual viewer and most non- Chinese Wang Kar Wai lovers will have an equally hard time, since it lacks the universal appeal of In the Mood for Love.
Given that lots of Chinese people dislike the films of Wang Jia Wei, who is the ideal audience? Probably those with a strong nostalgia for a special period in time in Shanghai that is now gone forever. It's essentially a love letter to Shanghai, it's people, and their two big passions : money and food.
The first ten episodes focus mostly on a pair of restaurants run by two women and there doesn't seem to be a main plot, just Chinese people talking about food, money, and the stock market. The middle third is closer to what foreigners would expect from a Wang Jia Wei movie, the focus is on the female characters and their romances. One of the segments that stand out is the "bus girl." In the last third, the pace moves faster and we get to experience the up and downs of the stock market as well as a personal war between two business rivals.
The thirty episodes are supposed to be edited down to two hours for an international theatrical release. I don't know if something like that is possible or which scenes will make the international cut. I suppose those that will remind the foreigners of previous hits Chongqing Senlin, Huayang Nianhua, 2046.
The lack of recognizable international stars will such as Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Zhang Ziyi, mean that Fan Hua will probably be less succesful in the European market than his previous films. That doesn't mean the cast isn't good. Zhilei Xun is stunning to look at but her puffy lips can be very distracting. Yang Tang spends a lot of time whining. Her voice and stupid glasses can be very annoying.
Yili Ma is the best but like everyone else in the cast, it takes some time until you get used to her. Hu Ge in the role of the Chinese Gatsby is adequate enough but lacks a distinct persona.
Photography, sets and costume design, music, and camera are out of this world!
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