Yi miao zhong

After a long line of patriotic films, which won't resonate beyond China's borders, One Second was a very welcome film.

The film is about an escaped convict who wants to see his daughter in a newsreel, the reel of which becomes the focal point of the movie. Throughout the movie, the main protagonist chases an orphan girl who steals the newsreel featuring his daughter. At times absurb (reflecting the times and accompanying behavior), at others humourous, the movie is overall a warm, touching tale of how two complete strangers come together, filling a void in the other.

Zhang Yimou once again captures the beauty of the surrounding area, even if often nothing more than desert and a drab village. There wasn't a character out of place nor an actor who failed to deliver.

Highly recommend.

In the last couple of month, or maybe the last year I have seen maybe 10 movies about famous directors love for the cinema...of course one of China's best will do the same. Love for the cinema with a bit of family dynamic sprinkled in.

It is not as visually spectacular as other films from Zhang Yimou but it's still beautifully shot and the cinema scenes really have impact. To involve the entire village to clean up an entire reel that was dragged on the road, it was just not only very powerful chinese propaganda but also a very direct way for Yimou to show us how much he respects the film..and to present it all on the "silver" screen via back-light. Such a great couple of scenes.

Yeah, a lot of it also reminded me of communist Romania and they way they all gathered at the films to mindlessly watch anything, even newsreels, all too familiar. Not for me, but from the stories I heard.

I was lucky enough to see Zhang Yimou's "One Second" at the Toronto International Film Festival. Now, I'm not well versed in Chinese cinema, so I really didn't know what to expect in terms of the common genres, the narrative style, the pacing, etc.

All I can say is, I was very pleasantly surprised. The film is basically a road trip movie about two protagonists who really don't want anything to do with each other, but go through a journey that ultimately, yet ever so gradually, transforms their relationship. The plot was well-written with plausible events and very witty use of dramatic irony. In fact, this charmingly facetious tone is established early on in the movie eliciting chuckles from the audience all the way to the end.

On the topic of character development, what stood out for me was the balanced attention to both the male and female leads. At no point in the movie did I feel that one character was merely supporting the other. While it is not so rare for films to have more than one main character, I particularly enjoyed the coexistence of a male and female character in the lead roles.

I am very accustomed to seeing movies that praise individualism, the American Dream and the Nietzschean Will to Power, I had yet to see a decent film that championed communist ideals (I'm sure there must be quite a few out there - please pardon my lack of exposure and experience). This movie is centered around a propaganda piece and provides a "real-life" example of events that illustrate the ideals of camaraderie, solidarity and sympathy for the fellow man. Two characters who at first only care for their own "individual" and "selfish" well being, find themselves putting each other's best interest ahead of their own. And trust me, this is not done in a superficial, pedantic way that'll make your eyes roll (as it sometimes does in such films). In a sense, the film about a propaganda film IS an effective "propaganda" piece in and of itself.

It's hard to judge acting in a language/culture that is not too familiar. This is because any slight exaggeration or downplay of emotion may be a feature of the target culture and not "bad acting". Having said that, I found the acting in this movie realistic and believable. Organic comedy/drama bubbling out of the very carefully crafted scenarios and situations.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie and look forward to exploring Zhang Yimou's other features.

One Second is a small-town period piece about a rough man obsessed with seeing a stolen newsreel. When the newsreel is stolen by a young orphan girl he goes on the chase.

The reasons are shown over time, but the thing you see right away is the importance of film in the movie's world. Townspeople are obsessed with movies, and theater owners are respected to a remarkable degree. Who knew?

The film has an interesting structure - much of the middle is devoted to saving some damaged film, which is surprisingly absorbing, but other parts are pretty dramatic. And the central relationship between the man and the orphan girl is rather remarkable as it shifts and alters in ways that make sense even when they surprise.

While I am more a fan of directory Yimou Zhang's blockbusters than of his smaller village-life movies , this is a genuinely enjoyable and affecting film that is well worth watching.

Anyone unfamiliar with the larger career arc of Yimou Zhang can be excused for underestimating this heartfelt film. If it is not a masterpiece, then it is at least a worthy example from a master. It is, of course, a takeoff on न्यूओवो सिनेमा पैरादीसो (1988). I infer that this film is vastly truer to Cultural Revolution China than that one was to early post-WWII Italy. I think it rings true. I hope that someone who was there "in the day" will comment.