Saturday Fiction

Seen at the Viennale 2019: A handheld camera cannot get closer to acting people. Always in the face it is near impossible to get a helping overview for the espionage story. Who is for the Chinese, who for the Japanese, who for the Germans, the French, the US? Nearly impossible to understand why somebody is doing something. The b/w-pictures do not help to distinguish between all the unfamiliar faces. Since digital cameras can record even without proper lighting the pictures are not b/w like in the old movies, but grey in grey - that does not help to recognize the faces in every situation either. At the end of the movie it is somehow clear who was on which side. Looking at the picture a second time to understand all the details of the story? Nay.. but the movie is rescued sensationally by a hundred percent believable acting of all the cast. Not for one second there is any weakness in dragging you in. For the regular Cineast a must-see.

When it comes to good spy movies, there are more than i can count. The genre is big and people love it. Saturday Fiction is a very special type of movie in this genre. I was lucky enough to see this movie at the very first screening at the Venice Filmfestival. Critics didn't like the movie, but i loved it. The movie tells the story of a young actress, who is working for the Allies to collect informations about the Japanese. When she is coming to 1941-Shanghai, she has a special mission... I don't want to give away to much plot at this point, because the story is beautiful narrated and is the most enjoyable by watching it yourself. The movie has beautiful and artistic cinematography and is far far away from the mainstream spy genre. You have multiple characters, which are well developed (at least the main characters) and the story is tricky and feeds with nice little twist. The acting(especially Gong Li) is phenomenal and the music fits perfectly. For me it is one of the most perfectly balanced movies i have ever seen. It is never trying to be super creativ or super artistic. It stays true to himself, tells a interesting story in a perfect way and it will suck you into the story and blows your mind with the third Act, in which all the tension building up going to be set free in one of the most thrilling movie finals i have ever seen. A must-see for fans of asian movies and arthouse movies.

I have yet to see a film starring Gong Li that has disappointed me. She is normally seen in grand and lavish Chinese film epics set at some point('s) in an era of Chinese Emperors and Dynasty's. In this offering she steps into the early part of the 20th century as a spy in Shanghai; pretending to be there to act in a play - as she is also a very famous actress. She is in fact trying to gather Japanese secrets/information on their WW2 war plans etc.

Its starts with her arriving in Shanghai on December-1st-1941 and concludes on the infamous date of December-7th-1941. If you know your history you know the date well! In between all the mayhem is a reuniting with her lover, a twist in the story that reveals a traitor and a mission completion with an ending you do not expect to see.

It is film like a black and white film noir gritty thriller which adds to the whole feel of the story and the acting. It might have gotten a 10 star from me but I do think the directors work was a little lacking and drab.

Still worth a watch though!

I loved seeing Gong Li, who was still getting it done at age 54, and the black and white cinematography has a certain style to it, even if the beautiful French Concession area in Shanghai was probably underutilized. The needlessly complicated story is the main issue, however. It's understandable what's happening with broad brush strokes, but quite muddled in the details. There are too many characters, none of whom are developed properly, and too many spies/agents afoot. Even the romantic moments feel dull. On top of it, director Lou Ye mixed in some meta play-within-the-film stuff which added nothing, and blurred things further. It felt every bit of 126 minutes and then some, livening up during the big shootout scenes, but then crawling ponderously to its finish. This was a slog, and a disappointment.

The critics who didn't like this film should take a second look. This is one of the best espionage movies of all time. It can be hard to decipher who is working for whom, but that is likely true of real spies. It has strong echoes of Casablanca but it also illuminates contemporary politics. The cinematography is gorgeous. The acting is tremendous. A must see.