AirPlant The movie concerns a tragic emotional triangle between Zhang Zhichen, a successful doctor, who, on returning from Shanghai finds that his long lost sweetheart Yuwen, has married his best friend in his absence. That his best friend, Dai Liyan is a bit of a passionless, malingering whinger (whom, we are given to understand, is somewhat lacking in the trouser department) is, I think, supposed to tip our guilty sympathies toward the unrequited pair. However, there is no lingering eye contact, no haltingly emotional dialogue, no inadvertent contact, in fact no telegraphing of emotion of any kind between the friend and the wife. Yumen recites her lines as if they were a shopping list, and Zhang Zhichen seems to be reading his off the back off his eyelids. This peculiar lack of chemistry between the erstwhile lovers means that for me at least, this movie never gets off the ground. This is a real shame, as it is almost impossible to find fault with the LOOK of this movie. The cinematography is absolutely spot on, establishing shots are just where they need to be, POVs are perfect, the lighting reveals where it should and creates pools of shadow for the actors to move in and out of. Slow pans through densely textured interiors, alternately obscuring and disclosing, give an almost vertiginous sense of solidity and depth to the stage upon which the actors perform. That the actors don't seem to know how to convey the intensity and recklessness of true love upon that stage is the real tragedy of this movie. Two stars for acting, four for set design and cinematography

Philip Greenwood OK, I watched this film taking a day off work with the flu but I wish I had gone to work now.It is unbearably slow to the point that any connection with the film is impossible. I only came on to this website to check how many more minutes of mind-numbing drivel I had to bare.I waited for some special something to increase my interest in this film but it never happened.The atmosphere simply does not build up and does not engage the viewer which is a shame, as this film could have been much better.At several points in the film I was very tempted to stop and watch something else. It is like watching a blur waiting for the mist to clear but you will keep waiting.There are many films out there which have made a lasting impact to this genre. I will not name these films for brevity but please look elsewhere if you wish to see quality treatment applied to this topic.Also, the film is in a constant state of darkness with a tint of yellow which lets the cinematography down somewhat.I have not seen any other films by this director but I shall carefully review comments before making such a brave decision. I just wish I had spent more time selecting this film to watch.The film lacks a driving storyline and whilst the acting is good, they cannot save what is essentially a dull film.One good point and reason for the score I have provided is that the scenery is very pretty and cannot give reason to complain. So if you want to see a pretty picture (only) then this could be the one but otherwise, just avoid this non-entity.

shinyboots The film was very slow and unassuming through the first 1/2hr. The acting was melodramatic. I was getting bored. Watching more, I found that the earlier scenes created the atmosphere so key to the film. In a sense, "April is the cruelest month" is the backdrop that Li Ping and Tian set. The tension between the characters is really elevated above narrative dotage when Li Ping allows a character to wordlessly express turmoil and or the pent-up emotions that they have been suppressing for so long. The earlier melodramatic sequences represent an homage to the most popular Chinesenarratives of the midcentury, when displaying raw emotion was left not to violent screams or gritty dialogue, but to the calculated scenes where characters said very little.

mmysta Good films cannot solely be based on a beautiful garden and a hill top. Surprised to see it has won two awards. Extremely overrated. I first saw that kind of films from China, visually stunning BUT also with really something captivating to say, well, more than 10 years ago and I'm sure there are still more coming up. This is not one of them, I'm afraid.