Shannon-16

"Flowers of Shanghai" impressed me greatly with the depth of style with which it was filmed. Everything about this film was visually decadent ... the lighting, the interior spaces, the actresses... It was difficult at times to sympathize with the Flower girls (call girls), because there were so many of them to sympathize with, and not enough time to fully develop their characters. The social narrative may only prove interesting to those interested in turn-of-the-century China. But any lover of beauty should try hard to see this movie, preferably in a theater. The use of color surpassed any American movie I have ever seen. It was a welcome change from American films, which for the most part are aesthetically indifferent.

"When the Tenth Month Comes" will probably appeal to a very small segment of the movie-watching public. Even foreign film buffs may find this movie simplistic and uninteresting. The strength of the movie lies in it's characterization of traditional pre-Communist values in Vietnam. The protagonist Zuyen who hides her husband's death from the rest of his family, provokes the question: who rightfully owns the memory of the fallen soldier. The film's answer is that it is the family, but not the state that has the right to the memory of the fallen soldier. Zuyen is wrong for hiding her husband's death from her father-in-law, but the rest of the society has no right to his memory, because they did not love him as she and his family did. The film is markedly pro-Confucian and anti-Communist. The English-subtitles for the movie were spotty at best. Non-Vietnamese may miss some of the dialogue, but the message of the movie comes across strongly. Recommended for die-hards and academics.