32/49
The female lead doesn’t have a single line of dialogue throughout the film
A Chinese woman lives quietly by herself, celebrating the prosperous Belle Epoque with song and dance. I never talk about the plot in my review, you can find it everywhere!
I watched this film without knowing anything about it
So I thought, “oh, he’s very clever, he uses a lot of old film titles to make it look like it was made 20 years ago”; and I thought, “uh, this film is much more experimental and artistic compared to his other films”. I watched this film because I really liked Mountain Might Depart and Ash Is Purest White and A Touch of Sin.
And this feels more like a collection of scenes, different styles, that are strung together
It has a dreamy, floating quality to it, it feels like a documentary and then it’s fiction, but it works mostly because Zhao Tao has this magical presence on screen and you’re watching her wondering what she’s going to do next. When I finished, I looked at the reviews online and found out that it’s actually made from material that the director had previously shot.
So I would definitely recommend this
If you’re watching this title, it means you’re already open and ready to watch something different from the usual movies in the US.
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