49LikesI saw this movie, too, and really liked it. It reminded me of one of the mothers in Joy Luck Club - the one that abandoned her daughter to become a wealthy man's second wife. Also a good movie.Originally Posted by ClosetRTWatcher;3202423;
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Re. Raise the Red Lantern - Since I finished watching this movie I thought more about it and have decided I need to go find a copy of the book. There were a number of places in the movie where I found myself wondering about the motivation of the main character. She was so stoic that I couldn't decide if I was properly interpreting how she was feeling about the other characters in the story.
I was left in the same kind of predicament after watching The Other Boleyn Girl and picked up the book and it was well worthwhile. Has anyone here read the book this movie was based on? I believe it was originally called "Wives and Concubines" although I think a note in the movie said it was changed to match the movie title...
It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but I got the sense that she was stoic because she had to be. She had to be strong and on her toes - those around her (the other wives) weren't her friends, they were really competitors. It was just a way for her to survive. It also seemed to be reflective of that society:
The Chinese government didn't approve of Raise the Red Lantern, and, if you look just below the simple-yet-effective surface story, it's easy to understand why. As structured, this film can be seen as a parable for the corruption of modern society in China. Songlian is the individual, the master is the government, and the customs of the house are the laws of the country. It's an archaic system that rewards those who play within the rules and destroys those who violate them. And, when an atrocity occurs (as it did in Tiannamen Square), not only is culpability denied, but the entire incident is claimed not to have happened.
If she broke down or let her guard down, she would be destroyed. Her ranking in the family would have gone down and the other wives would have exploited her weakness.
Son of Rambow: Normally I don't like 'foreign' movies, but this one was so adorable with the little guy who was "rambow". I thought his innocence was just great and the way he seemed so earnest in everything he did.
Pathology: A lot darker than I anticipated. A lot more gory than I anticipated as well. It definitely wasn't the movie I was in the mood to see last night.
Leatherheads: Granted I watched it in the comfort of my own bed, but it wasn't that bad at all. In fact I thought it was pretty cute. Normally I'm not a fan of Renee, but I thought her role was well done. As were George and John's. I think it was a tad bit long, but other than that, it was a solid light-hearted movie.
We watched this last night and I forced myself through because I'm funny that way when I pay for a rental. It was one of the stupidest and unnecessarily gory movies I've seen in a long time. The idea of it was good but the writer obviously had no clue how to make it into a good movie. Just proves that anyone with money can make a movie these days.
I also watched "Definitely Maybe" which was really cute and made up for the ickiness that was Doomsday.
Watched Sweet Land last night. It was a bit slow going, but overall I enjoyed it. It's about a German woman who immigrates to the US as a mail order bride for a Swedish-American farmer in MN. She is not accepted by the community because she is German and it is WWI.
Bucket List: We watched this yesterday and I actually liked it. I'm not a huge JN fan but he was so good in this and he and MF had incredible chemistry. What a wonderful, heartwarming movie. It's kind of a lesson in "Don't wait 'till tomorrow to say what you have to say because what if tomorrow doesn't come? Then you'll never get that opportunity again."
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