Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Sites | Writers | Advertise | My Orble | Login

Celluloid Notes - what are you watching?

Lost in Beijing review and trailer

Lost in Beijing still

Director Yu Li calls this film a bit of a step into the mainstream, using star actors and China’s capital as a backdrop. But this film is anything but a step into the mainstream. Lost in Beijing is devastating. Aside from one major MacGuffin in the film (not very likely that a woman’s husband was washing windows at the exact moment she is being taken advantage of…) the writing is spectacular. The film is like a knot that turns in on itself repeatedly. The performance from the four stars of the film are great, the cinematography is beautiful and jarring. Lost in Beijing is one of the best films to come out of mainland China in years. It’s a disturbing portrait of the changing socio-economic landscape in Beijing. The flood of new money coming in has made a class of “nouveau riche” that are simultaneously changing the moral landscape of the city. The film meditates on the clash of the influx of émigrés to the city and their struggle to eek out a living against the rising nouveau riche. Part of the reason it functions so well is that the socio-economic politics of the film, the really frightening analysis of humanity and the monetary system that guides the morals of a society, could be set anywhere. It is only in Beijing because that’s where the flood of money is happening for this film, this could be set anywhere in the world and still have the exact same analysis of the human condition. It’s dark, disturbing, poignant and generally pretty off-putting, but brilliant.

To read the full review go [LINK=http://film-forward.com/lostinbe.html]here[LINK]

There is limited English in this clip from a news program but it's what is available:
64
Vote
Add To: del.icio.us Digg Furl Spurl.net StumbleUpon Yahoo


   
Subscribe to this blog 


Just this blog This blog and DailyOrble (recommended)

   

   


Comments
2 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]
1. February 6th 2008 @ 01:53. Cibbuano Says:
I just got this, as well!
2. May 1st 2008 @ 00:22. Cibbuano Says:
I watched this since I read your review. It's good, I suppose, but I was quickly irritated by several aspects. The use of coincidence to move the plot, for one.

Add A Comment

To create a fully formatted comment please click here.


CLICK HERE TO LOGIN | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Name or Orble Tag
Home Page (optional)
Comments
Bold Italic Underline Strikethrough Separator Left Center Right Separator Quote Insert Link Insert Email
Notify me of replies
Notify extra people about this comment
Is this a private comment?
List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this comment


One per line max of 30

List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this private comment thread. Only the people in this list will be able to see or reply to your comment.


One per line max of 30

Your Name
(for the email going out to the above list, it can be different to your Orble Tag)
Your Email Address
(optional)
(required for reply notification)
Submit
More Posts
2 Posts
2 Posts
1 Posts
114 Posts dating from July 2007
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:
0

Arnold's Blogs

12604 Vote(s)
67 Comment(s)
309 Post(s)
10470 Vote(s)
304 Comment(s)
170 Post(s)
18862 Vote(s)
352 Comment(s)
398 Post(s)
9046 Vote(s)
78 Comment(s)
158 Post(s)
11056 Vote(s)
296 Comment(s)
176 Post(s)
15777 Vote(s)
90 Comment(s)
320 Post(s)
13530 Vote(s)
274 Comment(s)
262 Post(s)
16196 Vote(s)
49 Comment(s)
312 Post(s)
15651 Vote(s)
268 Comment(s)
301 Post(s)
Moderated by Arnold
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]