NYPost: A Beautiful Life - Chinese-made cloys
Is the Chinese export "A Beautiful Life" a light ro mantic comedy or a sappy melodrama? Sadly, it's both.
NPR: In Booming Beijing, A Bad Girl Meets A Good Cop
A Beautiful Life is hardly the only Chinese-language film to play off the culture clash between Hong Kong and the mainland. But the movie is among the first to suggest that the balance of power has shifted north. Economic migrants now travel from Hong Kong to Beijing to make their fortunes, and are regarded with suspicion by their new neighbors.LATimes Review: 'A Beautiful Life'
THR: Beijing 'Sparkles' Like an 'Urban Wonderland' in 'A Beautiful Life'
This Chinese romantic melodrama proves that cinematic clichés are an international commodity.
Slant: A Beautiful Life
Not every story has a happy ending but we strive to get by
Shu Qi's Weibo
Shu Qi can't sleep - Weibo
FBA: No Asian winners at Cannes
Wu Xia and The Yellow Sea both screened in "Cannes versions" that may never be screened again. The former, receiving its world premiere, was specially edited for the festival slot. It will be extended before it screens in Asia.
Variety: China propaganda film to U.S.
Chairman Mao's grandson Mao Xinyu, a major-general in the People's Liberation Army, apparently intervened to have her [Tang Wei] cut out of the movie.
FBA: Party becomes Revival for int'l release
China Lion Film Distribution has given the new title of Beginning of the Great Revival to its planned release of The Founding of a Party
A report has come out that the film has not yet passed approval/review by China's SARFT and the June 15th release may be in jeopardy. However, a China Film Group spokesman said that SARFT has said never said that it did not pass review. Instead, post-production changes were being made to accommodate younger viewers so that they would better understand the story according to the rep. A dozen actors could be affected under this scenario. [Does that mean cut?] (Sina)
Jet Li and Tsui Hark promote Flying Swords of Dragon Gate in Beijing. Jet Li discounted old rumours of a rift with Tsui Hark. He revealed their 'secret history' and that the director once advised him not to make Black Mask when he was searching for investors. Jet also cited his starting up of The One Foundation as the reason for missing out on Tsui's production of Detective Dee but had read the script. Tsui Hark said that he was quite proud of his 3D work for the upcoming film and felt it was comparable to Hollywood. A brief clip was shown to the assembled press.
CF: Eva Huang Shengyi Graces Fashion Weekly
CNA: Cecilia Cheung reconciles with Edison Chen?
Edison Chen admitted that he met actress Cecilia Cheung, one of the women he was photographed with in his 2008 sex photo scandal, at the airport earlier this month on May 8.
MSN: Andy Hui talks about his relationship with Sammi Cheng
Tsui Hark, Jet Li
Current poster for The Piano in a Factory (Sina)
[Another story on the studio at Hengdian, this one is pretty good.]
Productions must use the studio extras, says Nansun Shi, a Hong Kong film producer. "They stick out like a sore thumb," she says. Official Hengdian web site.
CNA: Cecilia Cheung reconciles with Edison Chen?
Edison Chen admitted that he met actress Cecilia Cheung, one of the women he was photographed with in his 2008 sex photo scandal, at the airport earlier this month on May 8.
MSN: Andy Hui talks about his relationship with Sammi Cheng
Not a lot of love for A Beautiful Life. I'm chalking it up to an American distaste for old-fashioned melodrama. Did our trustworthy editor get a chance to see it this weekend?
ReplyDeleteYes, I did and I enjoyed every Shu Qi-caressing, camera-lingering moment! Melodrama? Ppfft, it's nothing compared to my 50's and 60's era movies on vcds. :D
ReplyDeleteOkay, Shu Qi is a bit of an alcoholic, and if I knew the character in real life, I'd run away as fast as I could. Yes, it does shift gears abruptly midway through but I'd pick it over If You Are the One 2 by a large margin, by comparison.
How about you?
Gonna see it this Wednesday. I'll report back here.
ReplyDeleteRegarding good old-fashioned melodrama, for those of us who enjoy it, too much is never enough! Bring on the terminal diseases and sudden deaths, and then bring them back again for an encore! ;)
Finally saw A Beautiful Life yesterday and really liked it. It's super melodramatic with all caps, with more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. I can understand how many people would find it totally absurd. Still, I thought that Shu Qi and Liu Ye performed exceptionally well in a story that could have been laughable with less experienced actors. And I definitely want to visit Beijing now. Andrew Lau really did a great job finding locations and making them look magical.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought the visuals were pretty impressive. Agree, too, that the material in lesser hands could have been dreck and/or mundane.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that struck me odd was the balcony to Liu Ye's place at the end.
Yeah, that balcony was pretty nice for a house in the poor part of town. ;p
ReplyDelete