Blog Archives

I Am Not Madame Bovary (2016)

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Posted on February 4, 2017 by John Snadden

As I see it, the new Chinese film, I Am Not Madame Bovary, from director Feng Xiaogang is his best film to date, and easily the best new release I saw in 2016. There’s not a moment in this movie which I didn’t fully enjoy, and to watch Sino actress Fan Bingbing in, possibly, the role of her career — well, that was a pure delight.

This Mandarin language film was ignored by Australia’s mainstream media on its theatrical … (read more)

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Aftershock (2010)

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Posted on August 15, 2010 by John Snadden

With a very good trailer and well publicised production from China’s number one film-maker, Aftershock is the most eagerly awaited mainland release this year. It opens with the recreation of the Tangshan earthquake in North East China in 1976, when nearly a quarter of a million people died. Aftershock follows the lives of a family torn apart by this natural disaster.

Director Feng Xiaogang has made some of the best and most successful genre films of the past decade. His … (read more)

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Sigh (2000)

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Posted on November 25, 2005 by Ching Yee

If Feng Xiao Gang is supposedly China’s most successful commercial film director then by all means, bring it on I say!

Unlike Chinese arthouse directors like Chen Kaige and Zhang Yi Mou, Feng is barely known here and that’s almost criminal considering what a solid piece of work Sigh is.

This is my first exposure to Feng’s work too and I was completely taken by surprise by this doomed affair of a married scriptwriter and his assistant. Narrated by the … (read more)

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Big Shot’s Funeral (2001)

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Posted on November 6, 2005 by Eugene

What I thought about the film. Ahem.

Well, let’s start with what expectations I had coming into the film. Well I hadn’t seen the trailer though a number of my friends had raved about it during Japanime 02 and it was Rosamund Kwan (whom I hadn’t seen since the Once Upon a Time in China series) with a dead Donald Sutherland. So automatically, one thinks an East meets West scenario. And it is. There’s no denying it. However, normally these … (read more)

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A World Without Thieves (2004)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by Alison

A World Without Thieves is a crime caper, a personal drama, a morality play, and a travelogue all rolled into one. Pretty impressive stuff, and a lot to pack into a bit less than 2 hours. The fact that it worked so well is a testament to the skills of cast and crew, and the fine script that managed to weave these disparate threads into whole cloth.

Mind you, the fact that the director is Feng Xiao Gang has a … (read more)

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