Zhong Guo he huo ren

I thought Chan Ho-sun's latest movie, American Dreams in China, would be a more masculine version of Zhao Wei's So Young. But not quite, as it turns out.

Although the film depicts a nostalgic campus life full of idealism for the future and the impulses of love, the story is more about starting out after innocent youth has faded.

Through the intertwined destinies of the movie's protagonists, the audience witnesses a triangle of friendship, career ambitions and personal dreams seemingly collapse as three best friends desperately try to tie and twist these elements together.

That's why Wang Yang (Tong Dawei), one of the three best friends, who start a business together, shares this lesson of life: "Never start a business with your best friends."

He may be right. After all, no matter how close they are, differences in their professional and personal aspirations can drive friends apart. Every individual has a distinct outlook on the world and their future, which determines the trajectory of their career and life.

Without knowing of Meng Xiaojun's (Deng Chao) struggles in the US and his disillusion toward the country, there's no way Cheng Dongqing (Huang Xiaoming) can understand why Meng is pushing all the agendas so hard. The parting of the invincible trio, to some extent, is predestined.

Even so, despite these differences, friendship always prevails. Cheng's difficulties become a podium on which the three friends stand together. It's through the emotional connection they developed over many years that they finally overcome their differences and reform the alliance.

What the film tries to convey is the triumph of brotherhood, which dates back to our naive, passionate youth when unconditional bonds of emotion are shaped.

So the film was never about business after all.

Music is especially good. The plot was exciting, but the story was told in a hurry. There is no nostalgic long lens, all rely on narration to inculcate, or ultimately ended. Tong Dawei is still that poker face, and the sense of integration with the characters is still so poor. Huang Xiaoming is either crying or laughing. After all, acting is an entry point. Deng Chao is the only one who seems to be performing.

I judge whether a movie is good or not entirely based on feelings. If a drama makes me cry, it is worth 8 points or higher. The narrative at the beginning of this film is interspersed between different eras, and the editing is a bit too fast, almost making me give up watching it. But this kind of movie grammar does not affect my appreciation. The struggle and entrepreneurial history of three ordinary young people, as well as the various frustrations and insights they experienced, moved me (almost to tears).

This movie is based on the "New Oriental" company's development. Many storylines have been seen in the news related to New Oriental, and now there are three things that I feel most deeply: 1. The Chinese people yearn for a better life and define the United States as the goal of a better life. This is the initial psychological motivation for generations of Chinese to continue to study English.

2. Even if they have learned proficient English and easily passed the GRE test, their way of thinking is not necessarily independent and mature. In some cases, they can even curse the United States and insult the teachers who helped them study English. On the one hand, they may be willing to enjoy the actual benefits of an unfair advantage and quibble about it (in a sensational way), on the other hand, they may be strongly dissatisfied with Objective criticism.

3. It may be difficult to start a business in China not only because the partners are 3 best friends since live from University, but also because they may choose the wrong industry. It is said that New Oriental is no longer able to continue to engage in education and training, and is seeking a career change. The real life of the three founders after 2021 may be even more challenging.

Technically I think this movie's made very well, but its message is very nationalistic and panders to the Chinese Communist Party and the masses (which is fair enough I suppose for a commercial film).

Especially the film's latter half focuses on the rise of China, and there is a clear message that Chinese people are inherently cleverer, more moral and generally better than stupid Americans who are only economically at the top due to their aggressiveness and luck. There's also a very odd message in the film about racism in the USA, which seems quite irrelevant to the plot of the film and just another way for the film to push home the message that Chinese people are a better people than Americans.

If you don't read into the message too much (which is hard considering how hard it's pushed home), it's quite an enjoyable film of three young men's struggle and rise to the top.

A person is bound to act strangely when losing at love and life. Some channel the failure into better things. In a true story, three entrepreneurs take some lumps from classrooms, random grouches, consulates, love, and each other, and manage to turn things around. They come up from depths of despair with jewels found in their hearts. With straight talk, humor and personal stories, these three turn English language classes in an abandoned factory, along with broken dreams, into a billion dollar empire. While ripe with awkward moments, inadequately developed themes, and scenes that are difficult to translate, this is a compelling tale, finely portrayed, of dealing with adversity, following your bliss and hidden talents, and letting the rest go. Seen at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival.