Mo li hua kai

The literal translation of the title of this movie is: Jasmine blossoms The story is fine, but the setting is rather unsatisfactory, due to the recent rapid development in China: Most of the old building was demolished to make room for the development and as a result, the buildings that were necessary for the particular time segments in this movie are extremely difficult to find. The film makers appeared to lack the financial resource to build a set to duplicate the buildings of past era, and it is very obvious to those who visited Shanghai that although the story was about the nineteen thirties, nineteen sixties, and nineteen eighties, the buildings are those newly built/remodeled in the late nineteen nineties.

None of the characters is fully developed. Basically, it is three stories about sex of the three generations, which is very uncharacteristic in the Chinese culture in the 30s, 60s and 80s as the film tries to portray, and which, in turn, makes the movie not quite believable. I grew up in China in from 60's to 80s and yet the stories are very foreign to me. You can almost feel that the stories are written by those people living in modern China and trying to fantasize the lives in China in those years.

The basic setting of this movie has a great potential. This comes to my realization when Hua said to her grandma, "You have lived in you dream for your whole live." They could have developed the stories tighter along this line.

Acting is rather disappointing. I do not see the characters. I merely see those actresses. For example, young Mo has same kind of temper as young Li (as both are played by Zhang Ziyi), and there is no slightest trace of young Mo (Zhang Ziyi) in the older Mo (Joan Chen). In essence, they just play themselves natively, with a minimal level of pretension.

Sets are very unsatisfactory either. Although the color scheme and photography is great and moody, lots of dresses and pops used in the movie are out of their times. For example, the bag Hua carries on her shoulder in the Rail Station when Zou Jie went to college probably did not appear until 90s'. Dresses for young ladies in 60s and 80s are too curvy and revealing in that period of China. There are too many such details to list.

When i saw the trailers of this movie, i was really excited, because i thought the story and the general idea of the movie was very unique and interesting. And after watching the trailer, i definitely put this movie on my "must watch list"

-Performences By Zhang Ziyi and Joan Chen was definitely strong. Zhang Ziyi definitely proved her acting skills and its range, she can do actions and emotions, and excel at both. and Joan Chen was always famous for her acting skills.

-The movie was very moving and touching. it expressed the struggles of these women well and how they related to one and other in multiple levels.

-The movie left me unsatisfied and a bit confused, all though the acting and the story was good, there was really no point in it. it made me feel like "so...that's it? what now?.."

Over all i enjoyed watching the film, the performances were definitely the best part of the movie.