Rating: 
Summary: Just so-so.
Review: in this film, not a lot happens at not a great pace with some good understated acting. Its kind of relaxing but it lacks the amazing cinematography of something like 'Farewell My Concubine'. Maybe I missed the point but I found it a tad long winded.
Rating: 
Summary: You Westerners have it all wrong!
Review: It is a comedy! Stop trying to be so occidental. See the humor in life as portrayed through Gong Li.
Rating: 
Summary: an enjoyable movie!
Review: Not One Less is an excellent movie in that it depicts the relationship between the various layers in the state and rural China. Also, it reveals how the main character (Qiu Ju) in this movie didn't give up on her need to receive justice for her husband being kicked by their local chief.
Rating:
Summary: an enjoyable movie!
Review: Not One Less is an excellent movie in that it depicts the relationship between the various layers in the state and rural China. Also, it reveals how the main character (Qiu Ju) in this movie didn't give up on her need to receive justice for her husband being kicked by their local chief.
Rating: 
Summary: A joke of a story
Review: Parodies remarkably similar to "Not One Less" (or the other way around), story of a stubborn country girl going to the city and being annoyingly irrational. I found myself thoroughly annoyed at the absurdity of the plot and even more annoyed at the incessant opera "music". There is an interesting twist at the end, but not worth the torture of the 80 minutes before.
Rating:
Summary: Some Times You Have To Let Things Go
Review: Qiu Ju is an excellent film. First off Zhang Yimou is one dynamic director. I was already a fan of "Raise the Red Lantern" and I was looking for another movie. I actually bought this movie sight un seen. I did not see this movie on cable, like most of the ones I have written reviews. I do not regret spending one dollar on this movie. This is not a epic piece it is set in modern day China. Qiu Ju's husband is kicked in the groin after having a dispute with the village chief. Qiu Ju and Wan wanted to build a storage shed to store chillies that they grew. They needed permission from the chief,he kept refusing their application. The couple even cleared an area of their allocated land to bulid the shed. The Chief was busting chops.In anger Wan said to the chief he would not have any heirs,he could raise only hens(daughters). Fighting words(huh):). Officer Li was interesting in this,he tried to make peace between the two parties. He even spent his own money to make a peace offering. He knew the village Chief (Wang) was a prideful man. Several attempts to make a monetary apology was not accepted. Qiu Ju reminds me of the determined lad in "Beijing Bicycle" just that stubborn. She went to all levels of the government to get a verbal apology. Watch for the turn of events through each level of government she encounters,and the opportunities to let it go. The very person she was seeking the government to force him to apologize,is the same person who saved her life. Unfortunatley in the end she could not save his.
Rating:
Summary: A simple story that tells much.
Review: Qiu Ju's husband is kicked by the village chief. Qiu Ju then seeks an apology by complaining to officials at the various levels of the legal bureaucracy. The settings are the village where she lives and the city where she must travel to to find justice. The director provides a compelling view of Chinese life in both settings. The people are real. Even Li Gong, who is actually drop-dead gorgeous, is made plain. The viewer is able to witness what most Americans would consider poverty - people walking or riding two on a bike, warming themselves with wood burning stoves. But we also see that the people are not unhappy. There is a sense of community and though Qiu Ju is stubborn about demanding an apology and the Chief just as stubborn in refusing it, the community seems to respect both sides. The film is not a tragedy and is quite humorous in some scenes. One point that the director seems eager to make is that the people are not hungry. Nearly ever other scene shows people eating. This is a very fine film and I recommend it to anyone who might be interested in foreign cultures or to anyone who appreciates a film that portrays real characters sympathetically.
Rating:
Summary: A quest worth watching
Review: Stubborness at its best/worst. I was glad to be able to accompany Qiu Ju on her journey. Her quest for justice was very entertaining and well worth the watch. The ending was quite a surprise, and makes you wonder if ther is really such a thing as "right" and "wrong".
Rating:
Summary: Ok, it's supposed to be funny. I get it.
Review: The entire story is about a woman seeking justice because the village chief kicked her husband in the jewels. It has it's moments, but it left me with a "what the heck was that?!" feeling after I watched it. In retrospect, I cannot see myself ever watching it again, even though I wasn't disappointed and actually recommend it. It's just that the topic, while entertaining, has a hard time sustaining the duration of the movie. There's more to the movie, and it has a statement on Chinese society, but you can't escape that the central theme is getting kicked.... However, Gong Li alone is worth a view. A far more biting commentary, and far better movie, is "To Live". That is an incredible movie rivaling any "Best Picture" nomination from Hollywood in the last 10 years.
Rating:
Summary: Ok, it's supposed to be funny. I get it.
Review: The entire story is about a woman seeking justice because the village chief kicked her husband in the jewels. It has it's moments, but it left me with a "what the heck was that?!" feeling after I watched it. In retrospect, I cannot see myself ever watching it again, even though I wasn't disappointed and actually recommend it. It's just that the topic, while entertaining, has a hard time sustaining the duration of the movie. There's more to the movie, and it has a statement on Chinese society, but you can't escape that the central theme is getting kicked.... However, Gong Li alone is worth a view. A far more biting commentary, and far better movie, is "To Live". That is an incredible movie rivaling any "Best Picture" nomination from Hollywood in the last 10 years.
| 
