Les filles du botaniste

With "Balzac and the little seamstress" Dai Sijie delivered a nice period piece with some interesting reflections on the importance of literature, moving images and theatre. Although a large part of the crew were French, it had a real Chinese feel to it. That feeling is totally absent from Les filles du botaniste. One gets the impression it has been made to order, to cater to the European market. There's hardly any Chinese name on the credit roll, if they're not French they're Vietnamese. The story could have been powerful but has been diluted by its cliché approach and its David Hamilton-esquire photography. In addition, I got completely disoriented by the Vietnamese setting. The worst mismatch was the temple. It was so blatantly a Vietnamese, not a Chinese temple. And using Ho Guom Lake right in the middle of Old Hanoi was not a wise decision. There were plenty of other lakes to choose from, while the urban setting of Ho Guom made it hard to forget we were not supposed to be in 2006. The mountain landscape in the movie is similar to the karst rocks in southern China, so no problem with that. I even wonder if the Kunlin in the film is not meant to be a combination of Kunming and Guilin. Still, I felt cheated by this movie. It is as if the makers are not taking the public serious. It was the same with Memoirs of a Geisha, another Eastern tale made consumable to Western tastes, with 3 very Chinese actresses trying to be Japanese and failing. But hey, who cares? If it has slanted eyes it's all the same, no? One of the commentators to Memoirs of a Geisha was calling it neo-colonialism. I think the same could be said of these Filles.

I'm from an Asian background and I love Asian cinema and was intrigued by the beauty of the film. But after the first few minutes I realized I was in for some utter crap. The film tries to be erotic, but somehow fails. Very flimsy storyline with loads of bizarre discontinuity, black and white characters with no depth, i.e. good (the girls) versus bad (the guys). Lack of any sort of interesting dialogue, and altogether poor screenplay. Even the cinematography, which benefits from beautiful locations, is just plain tacky (oh, pretty reflections in the water!)

This film was a total drag. I cannot vouch for its authenticity, but in terms of human interest or an engaging storyline, it really suffers.

This movie was good ! You said that because u just didn't understand what love really is. U love someone for no reason, that's possible ! U are a girl and u fall in love with another girl, that's life. I'm gay and i really love this movie, because i can see me in it. Whenever two lovers were together, i always saw a perfect "chemistry" between them and that really made me feel good. By the way u don't have to "make love" to someone to prove your love !

And must say that this movie's story was about LOVE, not HOMOSEXUALITY !

Sorry for my damn bad English because i'm french !

This story of lesbian love in a culture that forbids it is sensual and erotic without being uncomfortably graphic. It's also slow-moving, so if you're watching just for the physical stuff, be prepared to wait a long while and then be disappointed. The cinematography is beautiful and the gradual build-up makes the romantic feelings seem more real. If you're bothered by a little male-bashing, avoid this film, because to say that both the male characters are unpleasant jerks is putting it mildly. However, interactions with the men serve to expand the story a bit beyond just the relationship between the women. I recommend this film if you can be patient with the pace.

It, s a little bit sad to compare this movie with the previous project from director Dai Sijie. But the ingredients are the same, the photography, the decor, the ambiance, even the literature of Balzac is replace with the knowledge of plants. This story of love between two women in 70's China who do anything to be together forever is quit magical if you know than the director was inspire by a real story in China in the early 80's. The character are well written and the build up of the story ( a little bit slow ) is well made. The only thing that spoiled the movies is the love scene between the two girls . They are too long and too often ( OK we know they are in love ). If you put that aside than this movie have some chance to win the competition at the world film festival of Montreal ( That's where i saw it ). So don't expect " Balsac et la petite tailleuse chinoise ", instead enjoy an unusual love story in a rough time China.