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Post by lovevicki on Aug 24, 2006 12:44:00 GMT 7
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Post by lovevicki on Aug 25, 2006 13:14:04 GMT 7
[glow=red,2,300] Next month's Toronto film fest (Excerpt)[/glow] Notable world premieres announced Tuesday include Ridley Scott's A Good Year, starring Crowe, and Ann Hui's The Postmodern Life of My Aunt, starring Chow Yun-Fat. www.cbc.ca/cp/entertainment/060822/e082280.html |
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Post by kiwijuicepanda on Aug 26, 2006 0:15:56 GMT 7
that's great  |
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Post by lovevicki on Sept 10, 2006 8:21:47 GMT 7
First batch reviews of THE POSTMODERN LIFE OF MY AUNT (ÒÌ‹ŒµÄáá¬F´úÉú»î) from TIFF06 (1 more added)
posted by (·¢ÌûÓÉ) Wee(Ì©¹ú&ÃÀ¹ú) ,10/09/2006, 05:53:27by Xxxtine @ 3:31 PM Saturday, September 09, 2006 THE POSTMODERN LIFE OF MY AUNT - The life of someone's aunt going from pretty good, to bad to worse which was a comedy meets reality ... and I very much enjoyed it. Chow Yun Fat guests as a charming con man who speaks a very flowery Mandarin and surprising me was also another guest starring Vicky Zhao as the bitter, gutter-mouth, ghetto talking daughter of said aunt who ... what was that ... actually act?! bitingeyes.blogspot.com/2006/09/film-fest-day-one-but-first.html--------------------------------- By Random Thoughts 09 Sep 2006 04:19 pm Film Title: The Postmodern Life of My Aunt Chinese: (Yi Ma de Hou Xian Dai Sheng Huo) Programme: SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS Director: Ann Hui Country: China Year: 2006 Language: Mandarin Time: 111 minutes Film Types: Colour/35mm Rating: PG I¡¯m not sure if my date that night was more disappointing, or the movie.. either way, it¡¯s not up to my expectation. The title explains the plot: the post-modern life of my aunt. I can¡¯t give a synopsis since.. it¡¯s supposed to be based on post-modernism. Anyhow, the camera basically follows the life events of ¡°my¡± aunt. All my way home, I was thinking about the film: what exactly went wrong in this film? Every one of the actors, Siqin Gaowa, Chow Yun-fat and Vicky Wei played their part extraordinarily, the script and story was very well written interweaving drama and comedy, but the movie as a whole doesn¡¯t live up to the title it gives; particularly, the ¡°post-modern¡± part of it. When I saw the title, I was expecting something like Won Kar Wai or Godard, but nope and nope. Certainly, the aunt¡¯s life process the pastiche and parody part of postmodernism, but the filming techniques and style is rather uninnovative and lacking. So blah and blah, I won¡¯t bore you. If you¡¯re a Chow Yun-fat fan and want to see him play the role of an artsy geek, go ahead and see it. Other showtime: Sunday, September 10 -10:15 AM : PARAMOUNT, Friday, September 15 - 8:30 PM: VARSITY www.fs.thewafflehouse.net/?p=20---------------------------------- by cathy @ 12:52 AM Saturday, September 09, 2006 Alright, I went out to see a movie called "The Post-Modern Life of My Aunt" directed by Ann Hui. She is a wonderful director I would say. The story plot was a little bit ordinary, yet she did it so well to let audience or me to see something else more than just a plot. It talks about the middle age woman. A woman who had abandoned her family to look for something better in life. Eventually the adventure was not that great either. I would afraid something happens to me. Hahahah... I am getting ready to live alone and living in a shack by myself. Anyway, I like the sense of humors in film. The first half of the movie was very funny. The latter half of the movie was more into the realization and went sadder after. There is this part I loved so much. It went like this. The main character knitted herself a fullbody swimsuit to go swimming with this man. She was trying to lose weight. So she jumped in to the pool without thinking. Eventually she almost drowned herself while her RED knitted swimsuit color came off. The man didn't even bother to save her but another man did. So it was very embarrassing when the red dye in the pool and she was in it. It was hilarious! The director presented during the film. I am glad I was there! I enjoyed. cathy-chan.blogspot.com/2006/09/06-toronto-international-film-festival.html------------------ Saturday, September 09, 2006 The Midnight Queen The Post-Modern Life of My Aunt: More depressing than the program guide let on, and definitly more depressing than I could handle at 9:30 a.m. The first 75 minutes (pre-downwards spiral) were pretty enjoyable. midnightqueen.blogspot.com/2006/09/two-liners-on-films-ive-seen-thus-far.html
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Post by kiwijuicepanda on Sept 10, 2006 11:03:58 GMT 7
what i'm getting from this movie is comedy and sadness. is that correct?
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Post by lovevicki on Sept 10, 2006 18:27:38 GMT 7
yes~ the beginning is a crazy comedy,the ending is a sadness drama  |
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Post by PacinG on Sept 10, 2006 23:39:35 GMT 7
this scene:
i want to see it too hehe
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Post by lovevicki on Sept 11, 2006 13:37:58 GMT 7
robin_d_laws(robin_d_laws) @ 2006-09-10 23:41:00 Snap Judgments: Very Good - Postmodern Life Of My Aunt, Shot In the Dark, Summer '04 Can't Recommend - Macbeth Dud - Jade Warrior robin-d-laws.livejournal.com/164113.html----------------------------------------------------- Chaos Sunday, September 10, 2006 ... In direct contrast is the Post-modern life of my Aunt. Captivating acting by the lead but the story line meandered. The perspective of the story was allegedly from that of her nephew yet the boy makes appearance only the start and end of the film. Add in a "moon" fantasy sequence that left most people scratching their heads and jarring change in the tone of the film from romantic comedy to greek tragedy to get a thoroughly disjointed movie. Yet, I do think it was worth watching if only of the delightful performance of Chow Yuen Fat. ... westernchaos.blogspot.com/2006/09/list-stars.html |
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Post by lovevicki on Sept 12, 2006 14:11:13 GMT 7
Variety.com ReviewThe Postmodern Life Of My Aunt Yi Ma De Hou Xian Dai Sheng Huo (China) A Cheerland Entertainment Organization, Polybona Films production. Produced by Er Yong. Executive producer, Yuan Mei. Directed by Ann Hui. Screenplay, Li Qiang, based on the novel by Yan Yan. Ye Rutang - Siqin Gaowa Pan Zhichang - Chow Yun-fat Mrs. Shui - Lisa Lu Jin Yonghua - Shi Ke Dafan - Vicky Zhao Wei Fei-fei - Wang Ziwen Kuan-kuan - Guan Wenshuo By DAVID ROONEY The awkward intersection of traditional values with a modernized world has informed countless Chinese films of the past decade. Based on a popular novel, Ann Hui's "The Postmodern Life of My Aunt" turns its affectionate gaze on a woman of humble origins from the provinces struggling to carve out a dignified life in the unaccommodating urban tangle of Shanghai, where seemingly everyone is focused on personal profit. Better when it acquires a melancholy strain than in the early, more comic action, the film's warm humanism and Hui's standing as a director should secure festival play, but its most receptive audience will be at home. Ye Rutang (Mongolian thesp Siqin Gaowa) is an appealing central character: A woman in her 60s who came to Shanghai years earlier from remote Manchuria without a husband or family to lean on, she's pragmatic, frugal and self-reliant. But her old-fashioned ways and trusting nature are an ill fit with the increasingly impersonalized world. Ye loses a much-needed tutoring job because her standard British English is considered less desirable than American; her visiting nephew (Guan Wenshuo) fakes his own kidnapping to scam money from her; she takes pity on an unfortunate woman (Shi Ke) only to be shocked by her dishonesty; and she's gently romanced by an amateur Chinese opera singer (Chow Yun-fat), a charming shyster who lures her into investing in a bogus scheme to buy and resell cemetery plots. Hui and screenwriter Li Qiang have a knack for humorous observation, but the film rambles, the actors tending for too long to overplay the comedy and ignore the underlying poignancy. It becomes more satisfying when, after Ye has endured financial ruin, emotional hurt, physical injury and guilt over her role in the sad fate of a gossipy neighbor (Lisa Lu), the action takes a more sorrowful turn as her hard-edged daughter (Vicky Zhao Wei) arrives, forcing Ye to confront her past. The closing scenes in post-industrial Manchuria usher in a welcome, somber change of tone, the dusty streets and rundown buildings looking like a ghost town -- a past marginalized almost to the point of eradication. The contrasts between that setting and the sprawling city, its street markets side by side with upscale hotels and neon-fronted international franchises, are well harnessed by cinematographers Kwan Pun-leung and Yu Lik-wai. Frequent Takeshi Kitano collaborator Joe Hisaishi's melodic score embraces both the film's playful spirit and its more emotional undercurrents. Camera (color), Kwan Pun-leung, Yu Lik-wai; editor, Liao Ching-song; music, Joe Hisaishi; production designer, Wu Lizhong; sound (Dolby Digital), Tu Du-chih; assistant director, Q Dagang. Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (Special Presentation), Sept. 9, 2006. Running time: 113 MIN. www.variety.com/review/VE1117931544?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562
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Post by lovevicki on Sept 13, 2006 7:35:48 GMT 7
source£ºAdam Arseneau of DVD Verdict- September 12th, 2006 8:49AM The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt Director: Ann Hui Though most often known internationally for its stylish action films, Hong Kong New Wave cinema often has an elegant ambiguity, a failure to observe the traditional narrative structure of world cinema and focus instead on cultivating an emotional response from its films. Heavily grounded in social realism, The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt, the new film by critically acclaimed Hong Kong New Wave director Ann Hui (Boat People) is a film where worlds do not so much collide as they do bump into and testily berate one another. Ye Rutang (Gaowa Siqin) lives alone in Shanghai, a cranky, surly woman who harasses others for failing to be polite and obsessed with appearing proper to her neighbors. She refuses to buy a cell phone, despite the fact that everyone else around her has one. Her young nephew comes to visit him, and she refuses to turn on the air conditioning due to her arthritis. Modern life in Shanghai seems at odds with her very being. She falls victim to scam artists and con men, including the handsome Pan (played amusingly by Chow Yun-Fat), who despite hustling her repeatedly she cannot feel attracted to. We know little of her past, and we are not meant to. All we are meant to know is this woman in Shanghai who cannot seem to connect to anyone, to adjust to the pace of the modern world. As she ages, she becomes less able to care for herself, and soon is taken back to rural Manchuria by her teenage daughter. In Manchuria, she does chores and runs a dry goods stall with her estranged husband, freezing in the desolate wasteland. Here, the China of old is preserved forever, an unforgiving land where all the young want nothing more than to escape from it and never return. Here, she knows what is expected of her, but it brings her no joy. A complex and subtle film, The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt is postmodern in the literary sense of the world, suggesting that humanity is perched on the precipice between the modern and the postmodern. A country like China, balanced between the old ways and the new cannot help but alienate those struggling to understand how they belong in the world. For the aunt, the new traditions seem hollow and empty, while the old traditions are irrelevant and pointless, leaving nothing in between for her to embrace. Composed of stark location shots in rundown, ramshackle buildings in Shanghai and Manchuria, The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt illustrates the Chinese life as a constant struggle of identity. As inhospitable and curmudgeonly as the aunt figure is, we cannot help but feel immensely sad for her inability to fit into the world around her. Elegant and profound, The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt is a film inherently foreign in its pacing, structure and bleak sardonic wit, but immeasurably beautiful and applicable to the Western palate. Feelings of alienation and loneliness transcend cultural borders as effortlessly as a summer breeze. It may be directed by a Hong Kong director, but The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt lives and breathes on the mainland of China, immersed into its locations and its culture, and in the human desire to belong somewhere, and to someone. Verdict: 77 www.dvdverdict.com/judgeblog/aarseneau/post/1309 |
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