dragonfly77

I was pleasantly surprised - this movie attempted something different, exactly the kind of thing that tempts critics to start throwing rotten fruit. But I went because it *was* out of the ordinary, and because it's so darned good to see a movie with some different people in it! The same 6 - 10 people seem to be in every Hollywood effort, and often they were chosen for looks and not for acting ability, so after a while I have to ask: Why bother to go to their latest offering? Just hit re-wind, then re-watch the last several movies they've made. Rinse, and repeat.

Some of these actors are newish, it seems, and could have used a bit of coaching to get them to sharpen the turning points in the story, but the film was wonderful, enjoyable, fresh, yet mythic. New faces - not all the same shade - were refreshing and added interest. The story seemed fresh, yet as ancient and legendary as cave paintings - with elements from The Heroes Journey, a varied story that has echoed throughout history, even in modern tales like Star Wars. The emotions and struggles are simple and primal, with themes that we all can relate to - the need to protect and provide for those we love, our homes, our families.

Give yourself a treat and see it: load up on popcorn, and go have a wonderful time.

A lovely girl growing up in modern China is haunted by flashes of another time, images that start entering her life for real as she comes of age. It gets harder and harder to tell the past and present apart, and she finds that now, as before, her beauty can be more of a curse than a blessing.

The haunting idea that you must let go of the past in order to be free of it, is driven home by the deeply moving performances of a fine cast. The film is lush and beautiful, rewarding the viewer with fascinating glimpses of the Imperial past and the industrial present.

This film was banned in China because it implies that the Revolution hasn't really changed things—power is still in the hands of the few, only the names and costumes have changed.

I found this film as a rental and had to get my own copy. Its appeal is enduring, and I've enjoyed it more every time I've watched it.

Louis Malle did an amazing job of portraying the Storyville life (red light district), and the lives of the women caught up in it. He gets the finest work out of his cast, and demonstrates what it makes him a master filmmaker: not someone who just makes movies to impress other directors, but someone who touches an audience.

He begins and ends the film with the camera slowly closing in on the wide eyes of its child-lead, making you wonder how her life will proceed, having seen what she's seen. It makes you wonder whether marriage, in those times, was any different for a woman than prostitution. Mostly, you have to wonder how Violet could adapt to normal life, with the strange perspective she's had on it so far.

The petulance and "spoiled"ness described in the review below, are merely her childishness, to illustrate that she is an ordinary child in bizarre circumstances. For those not carried away by Shields' appearance, this made the film very poignant -- this child doesn't even know that there is any other way to live.

And the viewer can put away concerns for Shields herself: the nude scenes were done by a body-double, despite what is listed in the "trivia" section of this listing. (I know someone who later worked with the body double.)