Yao a yao, yao dao wai po qiao (1995)

 

A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress. 

A carefully and beautifully staged period gangster drama reveals - behind all its splendour - the true deprivations of high-end crime, especially the exploitation of women; the ending is rather depressing.

Halliwell**: "A skilled and colourful account of corruption and betrayal, which avoids on-screen violence for the most part in order to concentrate on its devastating aftermath."

Maltin***: "Absorbing tale...An intriguing companion piece to American gangster movies and another dazzling showcase for leading lady Gong Li." 

 

Gui lai (2014)

Lu and Feng are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner during the Cultural Revolution. He finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife no longer recognizes him.

A simple, heart-wrenching tale with greater personal and political implications, staged by the sure hand of an accomplished director and good performances throughout.

The Movies I Watched in August

The BFG (2016)  6
Call Me By You Name (2017)  6
Detroit (2017)  7

The Eichmann Show (2015)  6
Der Fall X701 (1964)  4
The Family (2019)  6
Flaming Creatures (1963)  7

The Great Hack (2019)  7

The Great Man (1956)  6
Gui lai (2014)  7

Home Movies (1979)  6
Idaho Transfer (1973)  7

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)  8

The Lake House (2006)  5
A League of Their Own (1992)  7

A Life at Stake (1955)  6
A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)  6
Madame Claude (1977)  5
Manhunt: The Unabomber (2017)  7

Midnight Ride (1990)  5
Mindhunter, Season 2 (2019)  7

Mudbound (2017)  7

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)  7

Teorema (1968)  8

Vice (2018)  7

Watership Down (2017)  7

Die Weibchen (1970)  6

Gong Li

Shanghai (2010)

An American expat returns to Shanghai in the months before Pearl Harbor due to the death of his friend.

Nicely produced and photographed spy thriller as a homage to the 40s Noir series; however, it's all on the surface, the star cast work only perfunctory, and the movie fails to spark any emotions.

Gong Li