C'era una volta a Shanghai

Audiences often say that they can't understand Jiang Wen's movies, so they should be watching comedies. However, the people who really understand Jiang Wen are those who read a lot, know history, love movies and really understand art, not those pseudo-artists who like to comment on excellent works. I like Jiang Wen's absurd romance very much. Under the absurd comedy effect, he presents the romantic language of film art. Under the romance, there are layers of historical truth, which clearly satirizes the old society and human nature. Such is the charm of Jiang Wen's absurdity and romance. If you say it's a bad movie, read more.

I've tried to give a review with harsh words against this film, but maybe it's too harsh for the sensor guys @ imdb whose hearts and minds couldn't and wouldn't accept such bloody lynchings on this film, so...Well, let me try again to say something cruelly true about this ridiculous film. The movie maker of this film has borrowed so many segments from those famous foreign films and patched up randomly and freely in such going-of-the-mill patch up work. We saw the guy put a rose on his suits lapel to make a copy of "God Father", then again and again, he just used his whimsical thoughts and made the whole film into a Chinese Buffet, and those dishes could be easily spotted and redeemed from many foreign movies. This is a miserable farce and a complete waste of money of the blind investors. So many shallow and self-justified wisecracking jokes to be used as the ridiculous dialog. Broadway shows with lot of flesh and attires were pitched on the screen to make you believe that's what it was in Shanghai when foreign powers occupied part of that city. The logic was thrown out of the window, a film more like written and directed by a junkie high on pot smoking. You didn't see anything logically linked together but just a randomly formatted farce. We've tried our best to have the patience to sit through it, but had to bail out soon enough in case we might throw beer bottles at the screen. This film is complete waste of time and money. If there's certain humor in it, we didn't see it, and we never laughed but felt sad for this once-pretty-good talent. Well, I'm feeling that I'm writing a eulogy instead of a review to this guy and his lousy movie.

It all depends on how much weight you'll lay on plot or a decent story. If you don't mind and can get into the mindset of a sort of Saturday Night Live sketch sort of thing, you may be able to really enjoy this (as I have read another reviewer here did). But if you actually want a coherent story you shouldn't even bother.

Starting off with a Godfather scene is either genius comedy (if you like the way they play it out) or annoying. Actually Zootopia did a far better job in spoofing Godfather (it's animated and it's animals, but watch and you'll see what I mean). The whole thing still is based on historic incidents, though I don't mean ET by Spielberg of course. But influences come from many sources and you'll either like this or think of it as waste of time

Gone with the Bullets, obviously a pun on Gone with the Wind, is a Chinese comedy-drama with romantic undertones, originally known as Yi Bu Zhi Yao. This film is the second part of a trilogy that started four years earlier with Let the Bullets Fly, originally known as Rang Zi Dan Fei, and that concluded four years later with Hidden Man, originally titled Xie Bu Ya Zheng. The good news is that you don't need to know the prequel or the sequel to enjoy this film on its own. The bad news is that this film has the worst ratings of the three and it isn't difficult to understand why.

Let's focus on the story before analyzing this movie properly. This film takes place in the bustling multi-cultural city of Shanghai in the lush twenties of the past century. The movie revolves around a beauty pageant that is surprisingly won by self-confident Chinese manager Wan Yanying. She tries to seduce one of the colourful organizers of the event who is Ma Zouri. Their relationship is however based upon deceits, immaturity and misunderstandings. One night, the unstable couple smokes opium and goes on a joyride through town. Ma Zouri has a mental blackout and when he awakes he finds the car broken down and Wan Yanying deceased. The protagonist thus becomes a fugitive targeted by acquaintances and friends, the media and the police as he somehow tries to clear his name.

This film features a few noteworthy strengths. First and foremost, the colourful settings in the golden twenties are particularly beautiful. The costumes and make-up used throughout the film are absolutely gorgeous. The genre mixture of comedy, drama and thriller is entertaining and exciting alike. The film's energetic showdown certainly leaves a lasting impression.

However, this movie also has several important flaws. The meandering story lacks focus throughout. The chemistry between different actors and actresses is thin which makes several relationships between characters unbelievable and even irritating. The film's length is challenging and certainly overstays its welcome.

At the end of the day, Gone with the Bullets, originally titled Yi Bu Zhi Yao fails to fully exploit its promising potential. The settings, make-up and costumes are outstanding, the genre mixture is unique and the film's conclusion leaves a lasting impression. However, the movie suffers significantly from its overlong running time, meandering plot and at times notably poor acting chemistry. This movie is thus only recommended to those interested in Chinese arts, culture and history between the downfall of imperialism and the establishment of communism as a state doctrine.

I actually paid to see this movie. Just remember the lap dancing and a few passages. The whole film has a messy narrative, a fast and slow rhythm, and a grandiose performance. The whole film does not know what to say, what to say, what to say, and what to say. It's all over. I ask you to respect the movies and the audiences, whether you are interpreting real things, metaphorically criticizing current politics or making gimmicks and crazy jokes.