This is a movie with a simple plot, if you can call it a “plot”. It’s more of an examination, a look-in on the life of an interesting and sad character. This is a movie about a woman named Songlian, who is sent to an early twentieth-century harem to be a concubine to the rich landlord. It’s simple enough. There’s no real plot in terms of beginning, middle, and end. It is mostly a documentary of her life—and her decline—as she struggles with the hostility of such an objectified existence. Continue reading
Tag Archives: China
The Road Home (1999)
The Road Home is Yimou Zhang’s sweetest film. It introduced another person with the Zhang surname (as far as I’m aware, they are not related), the beautiful and talented Ziyi Zhang. Ziyi Zhang might be the most recognized Chinese actress in the world, with such roles as those in The Grandmaster, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, and Memoirs of a Geisha under her belt. But, her role in this movie will always be my favorite of hers. It is Ziyi Zhang at her youngest, playing a child caught up in childish things. Continue reading
A Slice of Cake 