CONTAINS MINOR PLOT OUTLINE
In recent years, Chinese cinema has fallen somewhat behind Japanese and korean cinema in showcasing the best Asian movies. While it won't be challenging for international awards, everyone involved leaves with their reputations raised. So can a Chinese film without a hint of violence, crime or political overtones can be any good? i'd like to think so, if jet li is a stereotype for all those genres, he can safely say he is capable of much more. Many eyes will be focused on Jet Li who is an out and out action star and any foray into western cinema only reifys his action star status. Like Chan before him, he's no longer 20 or even 30, and will be looking for dramatic roles before eventually being put behind a desk in some cop drama. Li excels as the caring father who's autistic son is soon to be left alone in the world as he discovers he has terminal cancer. However the real star is his son, i'm not sure who plays him since the IMDb page is painfully sparse on information. Either way Da Fu is played clinically and with all the mannerisms you'd expect but it all seems natural, he brings life into the character and there's never so much a hint of over acting or artificiality. The supporting cast do what they can in their limited roles and often breathe sympathy towards Da Fu, if only to bring peace of mind to those who wonder if he will actually make it himself. The journey itself moves along at it's own pace with segments of Da Fu being taught to survive on his own, while some areas do seem episodic as his progress is lumped into one section, accompanied by aspirational montage music which is really familiar to spirited away with haunting piano keys and melodic violins. As well as the Ling Ling love interest which removes Li from the equation somewhat. I'd like to think the love interest was in Da Fu's imagination or that of his father's to show people can really past his autism. One scene does seem out of place, and spoilers if you don't wan't to know, so skip the next paragraph.
The scene in question is the scene where Li explodes at Da Fu for not being able to mop but even worse is when he calls him stupid. Up until that point he was caring and tolerant and him snapping seems out of place and against character, while he has good reason to, you would not expect this father to snap. His death was also handled quite off screen and you never really see how Da Fu really reacts, if he ever does.
That said, the film brings out great acting and a film which may love itself in metaphor towards the end. However, the ending does bring justice to the character we've seen develop and even if he is essentially the same person the world around has changed.
In recent years, Chinese cinema has fallen somewhat behind Japanese and korean cinema in showcasing the best Asian movies. While it won't be challenging for international awards, everyone involved leaves with their reputations raised. So can a Chinese film without a hint of violence, crime or political overtones can be any good? i'd like to think so, if jet li is a stereotype for all those genres, he can safely say he is capable of much more. Many eyes will be focused on Jet Li who is an out and out action star and any foray into western cinema only reifys his action star status. Like Chan before him, he's no longer 20 or even 30, and will be looking for dramatic roles before eventually being put behind a desk in some cop drama. Li excels as the caring father who's autistic son is soon to be left alone in the world as he discovers he has terminal cancer. However the real star is his son, i'm not sure who plays him since the IMDb page is painfully sparse on information. Either way Da Fu is played clinically and with all the mannerisms you'd expect but it all seems natural, he brings life into the character and there's never so much a hint of over acting or artificiality. The supporting cast do what they can in their limited roles and often breathe sympathy towards Da Fu, if only to bring peace of mind to those who wonder if he will actually make it himself. The journey itself moves along at it's own pace with segments of Da Fu being taught to survive on his own, while some areas do seem episodic as his progress is lumped into one section, accompanied by aspirational montage music which is really familiar to spirited away with haunting piano keys and melodic violins. As well as the Ling Ling love interest which removes Li from the equation somewhat. I'd like to think the love interest was in Da Fu's imagination or that of his father's to show people can really past his autism. One scene does seem out of place, and spoilers if you don't wan't to know, so skip the next paragraph.
The scene in question is the scene where Li explodes at Da Fu for not being able to mop but even worse is when he calls him stupid. Up until that point he was caring and tolerant and him snapping seems out of place and against character, while he has good reason to, you would not expect this father to snap. His death was also handled quite off screen and you never really see how Da Fu really reacts, if he ever does.
That said, the film brings out great acting and a film which may love itself in metaphor towards the end. However, the ending does bring justice to the character we've seen develop and even if he is essentially the same person the world around has changed.