What to do While You Wait...Movies!
A father with his twenty five Children
* www.meiah.com (about an orphan boy
who grows up to become father to a whole orpahange, funny and touching - mandarin with subtitles)
Director: Wang Hong
Mandarin/English subs
A wonderful film set in a village in rural
China. Zhao Guang, a
businessman who was orphaned himself, donates the money he is saving
for his wedding to the orphans
in his local village. He becomes a
father figure to them but loses the favour of his girlfriend in the
process. A
warm, funny and touching movie!
a light comedy about a Chinese American family who goes
back to Beijing to visit their Chinese relatives.
A One and a Two (Yi Yi)
Director: Edward Yang
Mandarin/english subtitles
Set in Taiwan, this film
looks at several turbulent weeks in the
life of the Jian family.Winner of the best director award at
Cannes
2000.
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
Beijing Bicycle
I watched this one the other day with my 10 year old. A strange story about a bike and 2 young men and
their sort of relationship. Don't want to give much away. Subtitles so the younger kids wont be interested. You
dont learn alot about China - but it was a story with an interesting outcome. I think if I was a symbolism type, you
would find it a story about two loves. (Frymark)
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
For some fascinating cultural images set to soft instrumental music (no
voices at all), get:
CHINA by Windham
Hill
For those who are into history:
CHINA: A CENTURY OF REVOLUTION
CHINA: BEYOND THE CLOUDS
(unfortunately on VHS only) - A National
Geographic documentary on Chinese life in a small village. Like nothing
you've ever seen before, I promise!
China Cry
China's Lost Daughter's
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
Destination China (Central
and southern China) * Pilot Productions www.escapi.com/pilot
I thought this movie was pretty brutal. Not easy to watch - and its very long so its alot of reading! LOL! You
should know some history from about the 1930's on to really understand alot of what goes on and appreciate it.
(Frymark)
Going to School with Dad on my Back
Dir: Youchao Zhou
Mandarin/English subs
Based
on a true story it tells of the struggle a rural family has to be
able to send their only son to school at the expense
of their daughter
who must stay behind and work in the fields. Shiwa does very well at
school until his Dad has a
disastrous accident that means he must make
a choice between school and home ...
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My daughter says movies aren't suposed to be like this. Strange movie with lots of neat effects. Helps to
know some history but still enjoyable and you can follow it even if you don't. (Frymark)
Hope To Have a Home
Director: Wu Lan Ta Na
Mandarin/English
subtitles
This is a simple story about an orphan who goes a long way to look for
a home and family of her own. Intersting
to see this situation from a
Chinese perspective. Slightly over sentimental, but a touching story
none-the-less. And
a subject matter very close to all our hearts!
(about orphans and their struggle to remain with their siblings,
a bit romanticized)
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
Not One Less
Dir: Zhang Yimou
Mandarin/English subs
One of my favourite films ever,
and an amazing achievement when you
realise that nearly all the cast are amateurs. A young girl is forced
to take
care of a school of village children and is warned she must not
lose any pupils. When one does leave and heads for the
city, his young
teacher follows, determined to retrieve him!
I can't remember who recommended the
movie but thank you. It was a wonderful film.
Though it started out a bit
slow, it was so worth sticking with for the story, for the scenery and for
the pure compellingingness (if that's even a word) to it.
We started watching one evening after baby had
gone
to bed, and soon grew sleepy so we stopped it. I finally couldn't wait to finish watching it, so
turned it back on yesterday afternoon during baby's nap. For the last 30 minutes or so baby and I watched
it together. At the age of almost 20 months, this was the first "thing" on tv that held her attention for more than
a few minutes - she was riveted and I had tears streaming down my face.
I am so glad that I watched
it because it brings to life not just the story of one 13 yo teacher in a small village, but what life is like
in modern-day rural China. Sometimes discussion doesn't lend itself fully to comprehension
when speaking of something that is so distant from a person's reality. In that light I think this will be a
wondeful movie to help my children understand what life in rural
China
was like when they were born.
One Day in Ping Wei
* Pearl River Productions www.pearlriver.tv/documentaries.tm
(an
excellent short documentary about daily life in rural Anhui)
Papa can you hear me sing?
Dir: yu Kang Ping
Mandarin/English
subs
A deaf and dumb scrap collector finds an abandoned baby girl in the
rubish he is searching through one night.
He brings her up and loves
her as a father. She becomes a famous singer, and realises too late
that she has not appreciated
the care of her adopted father. This is a
somewhat disorganised and low budget Chinese film set in the early
eighties, some perspectives are very un-western but reveal an
interesting insight into some aspects of Chinese society.
Not appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding Chinese culture.
Qiu Yue
Dir: Ma Huai-Wu
Mandarin/ English subs
Set in
a village in rural China, the story focuses on a traditional
woman, Qiuyue. Her family is abandoned by her husband who
has found a
new lover. She is employed by a factory owner, Chan Dai-lian, but her
step-daughter leaves to go and look
for her father. Qiuyue misses her
stp daughter and goes after her, returning to the village later to
prove her strength
of character.
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
Roots and Branches
Mandarin/English subs
A famous musician, now living in Taiwan
looks back on her youth on
mainland China, and the separation of the four siblings first from
their parents, and then
from each other as a consequence of the
cultural revolution. Sitian decides she must try to reunite the four
siblings
twenty years on.
Seven Swords
Just saw "Seven Swords", directed by Tsui Hark. An Epic in the style of Akira Kurasawa. Worth watching.
just for some silly fun:
SHAOLIN SOCCER (trust me on this one, it's pee-your-pants funny, and
the special effects
are worthy of sci-fi flicks like The Matrix)
I recently found this in our video store and rented it. For adults I thought it was an okay story. I was uncomfortable
with my 10 year old daughter watching it with me as the American teenager not only didnt dress appropriately (in the school
shots no less) but there was teen sex discussed, etc. in a way our family would not have dealt with it. So if you want
your little girls to watch it, preveiw it first to ensure it matches the values you want to teach your girls. Otherwise,
it was a movie of an American teen that goes on a medical mission and the connection she makes with a Chinese girl that has
the same birthdate. If you have been to China already you will see many scenes that just arent realistic -- nobody stares
at her when she takes off on a trip across China, alone, to find the other girl. Right. Also, I havent been to Shanghai,
but it appeared way to clean compared to the things we saw. (Frymark)
Something about Secret
Director: Wan Jian-Xin
Mandarin/English subtitles
On a rainy night a middle aged woman knocks down a pedestrian and
tries to keep it a secret from all around her. Gradually
the strain of
keeping the secret puts pressure on all members of the family.
Especially when the victim's, daughter,
a little girl of primary school
age begins a vigil at the roadside where her mother's accident occured.
This is an
unusual film and again shows some situations from a very non-
western perspective
Not particularly appropriate for young children. Enlightening regarding
Chinese culture.
Springtime
in a Small Town
Dir: Tian Zhuangzhuang
Mandarin/English
subs
After a long, hard winter, spring comes to a small town in Southern
China in 1946. Yuwen lives in a traditional
mansion, taking care of her
invalid spouse, Liyan. The sleepy household is shocked by the arrival
of Liyan's old sweetheart
who comes to visit from Shanghai...
The Heart of th Dragon: 12 non-fiction videos each dealing
with an aspect of Chinese culture. The ones I found most interesting are "Mediating" (a young couple is having problems after
the birth of their child - a girl), "Marrying" and "Living".
This movie has alot of "flaws" as we would say now-a-days. The Mandarin is a white man in "yellow face".
Not good. But I did enjoy watching the movie even though it seems to have as much fiction as non-fiction mixed into
it. If you watch it, then do some research on the lady for a more correct version of the story. Enjoyable - but
then I love old movies. (Frymark)
The Joy Luck Club
Dir: Wayne Wang
English
The epic story form Amy Tan's novel of the
same name, of four families
whose lives are filled with highs and lows. Follows the hopes and
dreams of two generations
of women from each of the four families and
shows the generation and cultural gap between first and second
generation
Chinese Americans
The Kid
Dir: Jacob Cheung
Cantonese or Mandarin/Ebglish subs
A sentimental
story about a businessman who finds an abandoned baby
boy, and gives up work to look after him. He unofficially adopts
him
and runs errands in order to support the two of them. Unexpectedly the
boy's mother, now rich and famous, arrives
back on the scene. This is
another film that clearly shows a very non western viewpoint of this
sensitive subject,
and the ending might leave the viewer feeling very
surprised.
King of Masks_-an old performer must adopt a male heir to carry on the secrets of his dying art but ends
up with a girl in disguise; interesting look at gender preference, the mask-changing and Sichuan scenery are great.
I enjoyed this one. Really touched on the whole boy/girl preference. A nice look at countryside China. Subtitles
so the kids wont be interested. (Frymark)
The Road Home
Dir: Zhang Yimou
Mandarin/ English subs
Another of my all
time favourites because of the stunning rural
landscape and the touching and timeless love story... but I think this
one
has probably already been recommended!
My 10 year old daughter really liked this movie. I loved seeing the villiage life portrayed in the movie. A
love story. (Frymark)
The Story of Qiu Ju
Dir: Zhang Yimou
Mandarin/English subs
A
beatiful film and moving story that displays clearly the lack of
power held by a poor peasant family and the consequences
that lead from
loss of face of an official. Beautiul rural scenery as in films such
as 'The Road Home' and the lead
roll expertly played by Gong Li.
-There is a wonderful scene where they hold a party to
celebrate the arrival of a new baby. A large "ring" of bread is baked, and elaborately decorated. The child is passed through
the bread ring in what seems to be a ceremony for good luck.
Together
Director: Chen Kaige
Mandarin/English subs
An amazing story of the relationship between a boy and his father, who
wants him to devote his
life to developing his talent for playing the
violin. Beautifully filmed and acted, this is a very moving story, with
a real twist at the end.
A very touching
story of a child raised by a pauper in China. This child has the gift to play the violin. Father of a reluctant violin prodigy
moves them to Beijing in search of success; for those who like heart-warming tearjerkers.
I finally watched this one also. I thought it was a very
good movie. Safe for the kids as there are no sex scenes - but it is implied with one character. And yes it is
a tear jerker so be prepared! (Frymark)
Women from the Lake of Scented Souls
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