Yuan yang hu die (2004)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Directors:

Zi Yang
Ho Yim

Writers:

Ho Yim (writer)
Xiao Zheng (writer)

Release Date:

2004 (China)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A love story in modern China

Plot Keywords:

Cellphone | Beijing China | Surgery | Lake | Tea Plant

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Yim Linq	...	Tong (as Ling Yim)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kun Chen	...	Qin
Xiang Yan
Yue Zhang
Xun Zhou	...	Xiao Yu

Also Known As:

A West Lake Moment (International: English title)
Mo cha zhi lian wei (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

China:112 min | Hong Kong:112 min

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Certification:

Hong Kong:I

Filming Locations:

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

Pretentious? Poorly Written? Forgettable? I Think NOT!

Review In One Breath: Zhou Xun works at a coffee shop and chooses between three possible suitors. There's a lot to like here. First and foremost, it's extremely pleasant to watch, with much in the way of effective humor via interesting, quirky events. There is a notable absence of slapstick and almost all of the laughs are earned through witty dialogue. Zhou's subconscious is represented by an imaginary little girl named Zazabo who steals the show every time she appears. Sure, this movie tosses in some genre clichés, but even those are enjoyable. A very satisfying romantic comedy.

I'm surprised at some of the extremely negative comments on IMDb (as well as other websites). Some people are claiming that "West Lake Moment" is a pretentious film. How on earth someone gathered this impression is beyond me. First and foremost, this movie is a romantic comedy that carries out most of its events in a humorous light, and only takes itself seriously in little segments. It never attempts to portray itself as a deep philosophical exhibition – like the (very good) Danish romance "Reconstruction" (2003). On the contrary, it uses its concepts (like destiny and coincidence) in an extremely light-hearted manner. If you really want pretentious trash go watch "Titanic" (1997). "West Lake Moment" is nowhere near pretentious.

Some other criticisms say that the screenplay was poor (without citing any specific reasons). I must have missed something, because the script seemed very tight and intelligent even though it was comedic for most of the time. The thermometer scene, the stuttering scene, the communication failure scene, the online chat scene, and virtually every scene with Zazabo are hilarious due to the witty banter that's exchanged between characters. Sure, it's not psychologically or philosophically dense, but it's not supposed to be – it's a *romantic comedy*.

One thing that "West Lake Moment" is not is forgettable – at least for me. I've always liked Zhou Xun, but even after watching half a dozen of her films I was never really entertained to a superlative degree, even though I have enjoyed most of her projects. This was the first movie that gave me that "wow" sensation after it finished – where you say to yourself, "That was really good!"

"West Lake Moment" might be one of Zhou Xun's most trashed films, but I've always thought that critics and the general public have no taste in film, nor have any idea what the hell they're talking about (a 5.6 IMDb rating is ridiculous). These same dunces gloat about self-masturbatory crap like "The English Patient" (1996), so I feel no guilt in placing this film on a pedestal as the 4th best romantic comedy in existence – behind "My Sassy Girl" (2001), "All About Women" (2008), and "I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay" (2006).