hawk-58

Beautiful, atmospheric and terribly sad. I first saw this short as a part of the New York Film School series. I could not get it out of my head for the longest time. I would love to see it again!

I have no doubt that life in 1930s Shanghai was as tragic as is shown here. Women had no status and were only valued for their beauty and hard work. If they weren't beautiful, or born/married into a wealthy family, a life of sexual servitude was the only avenue of survival. I have seen this theme in many Chinese films of recent years: The Joy Luck Club (yes, Chinese-American filmmaker, but it counts and is a fabulous movie), Shanghai Triad, Flowers of Shanghai, etc.

Sure, it's totally implausible and saccharine in parts. Alicia Witt is one of my favorite actresses and I love her Hallmark movies. She was outstanding in Last Holiday, too, a major release that is another favorite. But the casting is so good, balancing the "good" potential in-laws with the "wrong for her fiancé" and his terrible parents. Will Mitchum is absolutely the wrong man for Alice and he proves it over and over again. He is not a bad guy, but he is all about his career as a real estate entrepreneur and has no idea how important Alice's family's antique shop is to her, nor does he care.

On the other hand, it is clear immediately when she meets Matt that they are made for each other. Forget the silly circumstances, this is a couple you root for. And his family - the wrong Mitchums - are just wonderful. Wouldn't we all be lucky to know people like that?

Everything works out as it should, of course. Mark Wiebe was a real find, so charming, but he hasn't done that much acting. I would like to see more of him. He was perfect here. And he and Alicia were great together. I watched this movie so many times on Hallmark I had to buy a copy. Now I can watch anytime without commercials! It's good year-round, not just at Christmas, and has a lot of positive messages about people's behavior, good and bad. Go ahead, watch it and I hope you like it.