Mei ren yi jiu (2005)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Ann Hu

Writers:

Michael Eldridge (writer)
Beth Schacter (writer)

Release Date:

14 February 2005 (China)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in 1948 against the backdrop of Communism's rise, "Fei" is the story of two sisters--Fei and Ying--bound together by the will of their late father...

Cast

Xue Ju
Lisa Lu	...	Woman Gambler
Chang Shen	...	Miss Bai
Zhiwen Wang	...	Mr. Huang
Vivian Wu	...	Ying Zi
Lixin Yang
Xun Zhou	...	Fei

Also Known As:

Beauty Remains (International: English title) (USA) (new title)
Fei

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

China | USA | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Qing Dao, China

Company:

China Film Group

The Eyes that haunt me.

I am a Big Zhou Xun fan. And the reason i picked up this DVD is so that I could catch a glimpse of my goddess. Not contented to be a star chasing freak... I decided that i should watch the show without any prejudice and biasness. But in the end. All i could think about was Zhou Xun's eyes. So haunting and defiant.

This show is about the two sisters Fei(ZHou Xun) and Ying(Vivian Wu). Ying needs Fei just as much as Fei needs Ying. Both has an agenda. yet... they also bond emotionally. This causes a tip in the psychological scale. Throw in a dashing Mr Huang(Wang Zhiwen) and you have all the emotional tensions running wild...

This story is very simple. Yet it is not simple. There are so many emotions going on. Yet written so plainly on the face of Fei and Ying that you immediately understand what is going on in their minds. Throw in the narrative(which is completely unnecessary save for the fact that Zhou Xun sounds good) and nothing is left to the imagination. Instead, you will start to focus on the visual treats. How every detail of that era, down to the awful 'birdcage earrings' are portrayed so effortlessly. You are commenced into this world of where splendor and class means so much... yet bothered because at the backdrop you know that all this glory is going to be gone in an instant.

The performances by the two leading ladies are so intense that you feel for them a lot. You will not feel sadness, sympathy, hatred, love etc. Instead, you would know exactly what causes them to do certain things.

This is one of the worst reviews i wrote. Because i have totally no idea what i am saying. I have so much to say but words fail me drastically. I should end with this note. Watch this movie if you are a Zhou Xun fan, and if you are not, you will become one after this movie.

P/S. Hate the ending. Seems like Chinese movies do not really know how to end a story.