The Wasted Times

A violent war movie I would not have watched if not for Wallace Chung. He appeared for maybe 10 seconds in the movie, yet by then, I had already gotten intrigued by the unusual story and characters, I could not stop watching.

It's an interesting look at Chinese and Japanese relations in Japanese-occupied Shanghai in WWII.

THIS MOVIE WAS HARD TO KEEP UP WITH IT KEPT SWITCHING BACK ALL OVER THE PLACE I GOT THAT THEY BROKE IT DOWN AND ALMOST LIKE PLAY LIKE INTENTIONS WHICH IS COOL BUT IT'S HARD IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND PLAYS AND THAT'S WHAT THIS SEEMED LIKE I GOT IT AFTER IT STARTED GOING THROUGH EVERYTHING BUT IT'LL LOSE SOMEBODY'S ATTENTION AND YOU WANT TO KEEP THE VIEWERS ATTENTION IF I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE WAY THE WRITER DID THIS I WOULD HAVE NOT WATCHED IT ANYMORE AND IT WOULD HAVE GOT A LOWER SCORE I LOVE ALL THE ACTORS AND ACTRESSES IN IT I LOVE WATCHING ASIAN MOVIES AND I DEFINITELY LIKE HISTORICAL ONES SO THAT'S WHY IT GOT THE STARS IT DID.

In response to a Japanese user's one star, I think 9 stars is fair.

The spying before WWII from Japan in China was prevalent and nasty. The robbery was under the name "East Asia Coproerisity." The fighting against those invaders had never stopped. (as recorded in history and in the film, the old Shanghai gang people also contributed much in underground acticivities)

I have been consistently shocked by how more and more Japanese people tend to beautify their WWII history since the last decade. If even this film could even hurt their feeling, this film should not be blamed.

This is a film about tolerance and repentance. It is a life story of the hero, it is also a portrait of the culture, or an attitude in the family, friendship and business.

Though I am not a fan of Shanghai culture, I really like the acting. The description of the old Shanghai fashion is really good. Much of the Shanghai culture has been lost since 1949 but some still left. As you can see in the movie, it was very exquisite but life-oriented.

The scenes were a bit jumbled in the first half of the film which could be confusing. It's almost like too many different plots going on and then doesn't continue until later on. There were some unnecessary introduction of minor characters that were kind of pointless. However you could understand what the director was trying to portray such as the theme of betrayal all throughout the film.

There is not a shot out of place, not a word uttered or note of music that is not just right in this film. I admit I had to watch it twice to get all the nuances. You must listen for when they are speaking Shanghainese or Japanese and you must understand a bit about what was happening in china and shanghai in 1937. There are family ties, triad ties, Japanese secret society ties and love ties. There is betrayal of all these ties. Jumping back and forth in time makes the plot unravel slowly and like a game of mah-jong the final betrayal is revealed when all the tiles are exposed at the end. This is a great movie. It does not have any kung-fu or wire-work or epic slow motion gunfights and white doves - but it is a truly original masterpiece. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see a thoughtful movie and be challenged by what a great piece of cinema is.