Rating: 
Summary: A real tear jerker
Review: It's about a girl who becomes a hooker to a wealthy oriental man. She uses the money to better enrich both her family and herself from poverty. However she dosen't count on both of them falling in love. The ending is beatufully done and you will certainly find yourself crying at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Through The 'Crucible' An Artist emerges
Review: In the film, 'The Lover', we witness a young woman ( she is post-pubescent) as she grows into the realization that her destiny is to write; that it is through her writing that she will make sense of the world and the events she has found confronting her within it.Yes, there is a very direct and honest examination of the actual physical, sexual events transpiring in this life changing affair that this young woman is engaged in. The sexual scenes are needed to ground the viewer into the intense transformation that is occurring to this young woman. A major aspect of this film is the examination of the loss of innocence and how one can choose to respond to that loss.
There is an incredibly poiniant scene nearing the end of the film where in, as she tries to dicuss the outcome of the affair with her lover as they walk on a coastal beach in the late afternoon, she realizes the path that her future must take; that she will write about things she has seen transpire within the emotional landscape of human interaction and try as well to avenge wrongs done to people such as her mother by the French Land Office by writing of their existance and the physical and emotional havoc they have engendered. This is a very subtle film. It is a film that when watched more than once, reveals unexpected new insights upon each viewing. I found the very last scene in the film to be one of the quietly saddest and yet hope filled scenes I have ever witnessed - a testament to the fact that we, the human race, seem to hold love truely dear even if life does not seem to give us everything exactly as we have 'put in our order for it'. It is a film that examines what is involved in the creation of our hopes, dreams and desires - from the profane to the eternal - and how we variously deal with the elements fate confronts us with. I think this is a subtle and questioning film - I reccomend it highly and I believe that if the viewer enters into the experience of this film with an 'open mind' that they will find many, many thought provoking rewards.
Rating:
Summary: if only i could give more stars...
Review: this has got to be my all time favorite film. it is absolutely breathtaking. i can't get it out of my head. it is sexually pretty graphic, but that's not the point of the film at all. it is a love story, and a haunting one. this film is simply perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful! A movie you'll never forget.
Review: Is it better to have loved and lost than to have never found your true love? An older rich, Chinese man and a young, poor boarding school student meet on a ferry and are irresistibly attracted to each other. A sexual relationship begins which overshadows everything else at first. He gives her family money; she enjoys his attention to her awakening sexuality. He wants to believe this is all that each of them want. He is destined for an arranged marriage; she will eventually return to France; and so they know from the beginning that they have no future together. Just prior to the wedding his father is forcing upon him, he realizes that he has become more attached than either of them had originally intended. She keeps her feelings tamped down; she is a spectator at his wedding. She refuses to acknowledge her feelings until the very end, when she is on board the ship that will take her home (she is on deck and sees his black car in the distance; he has come to watch her sail away), later hears a pianist below decks whose music touches her heart, and then is overwhelmed by her loss. The ending is heart-wrenching.
Rating: 
Summary: Story lacks content
Review: I own the unrated version of this Jean-Jacques Annaud film (a mere 10 min. more footage), an acquisition made after its recommendation based on some other DVDs I purchased, here, on the Amazon.com web site...and quite frankly, other than a few erotic scenes and artful but mundane cinematography, I find this movie to be time-consuming and unmoving. Due to its unsophisticated storyline, there's not really much to be said without revealing whatever crucial plot which may, or may not exist in this dull, uncomplicated film. The script, itself, seems to do nothing more than provide brief explanation for the two main character (Jane March & her Chinese older lover) sneaking off to have a secret roll-in-the-hay, sort of speak.Moreover, the only thing I find which may have caused controversy about this film is the significant age difference between the two main characters (a hackneyed lolita situation)/ or perhaps the issue they face with their interracial relationship, which may have been significant of their time-period (the 1920's). But, actually, other than that, I really don't see anything worth getting one's feathers ruffled about.A touch of romance?...maybe...and for that reason, I see this film is probably better recommended for a young female audience. I give this movie a mere 2 stars, in honor of its props/wardrobe/cinematography, but for nothing more. Overall, the story simply lacks content.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Erotic Movie
Review: This movie is simply stunning. From the Vietnam scenery to the passion between the main characters, the film pulls you in, and does not let you go until the last frame. Jane March is a beautiful, playing a teen caught in between her mother indifference, her older brother's drug habits, and her younger brother's "needs." She meets the "Chinaman" who offers her luxury outside of her poverty stricken existence. In return, she becomes the mistress of the "Chinaman." This movie is stunning and visually moving. Definitely a must see for any fan of independent films.
Rating:
Summary: Search hard--you may find a memory.
Review: As all the other reviewers have said: erotic, highly charged, and beautifully filmed. I like to also think there is some universality of theme here, details notwithstanding. Have we not, each of us, some profound memory or experience the significance of which dawns only years later? I feel that is an important lesson of the film likely to get lost amid the more salacious aspects of the film. That the primary context is a frankly--and almost exclusively--sexual relationship makes the experience that much more incontrovertible. See the film, explore your vault of experiences, people, and life happenings. You may uncover a memory of a person who helped shape your being, for better or worse. That realization can only be called a "gift." Great film, worth savoring. Like life.
Rating:
Summary: A good study of love under restraints
Review: Thanks to the reviewers from Playboy, many had mistook this film as an cheesy erotica. But really, this film is more about the fragility of interracial/interclass relationship. It's a story about how two love birds had to break up their nest due to social constraints imposed upon them. I love the realism in this film. The locals, architectures, customs, and even the love making are authentic.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply erotic and disturbing
Review: This film explores the boredom and frustration of a young French girl who commences an affair with an older, affluent Chinese man; their trysts in his home are her only escape from a rather boring boarding-school life and her highly dysfunctional family (alcoholic ineffectual mother, tyrannical and racist older brother, dishrag of a younger brother). I first saw this film in 1994, curious because I had heard one of the scenes of Jane March and Tony Leung gave the appearance of them actually having sex while being filmed (and just see how controversy generates interest!). Granted, the scene in question is ambiguous, but I found this to be of minor importance. The film itself is beautifully photographed, but rather disturbing. What disturbs me? The scene where March appears to be raped--what, in fact, it is, could probably be best described as "grudge sex." They have spent an evening with her mother and brothers, the mother having been drunk and asking for money from Leung's character, the older brother being openly hostile and challenging Leung to a fight. Leung's character is thus angry--he slaps March's face, then throws her on the bed and takes her. She, through this scene, looks bored and annoyed herself. This scene, apart from the other sex scenes in the film, is distinctly unappealing.
Further, the character of the older brother, who comes off as tyrannical, pugnacious and determined to trample his family down. These two scenes, taken together, make for an uncomfortable reminder of the families of some acquaintances I have known. For those scenes, and the shallow premise of the film, I dock this film a star. That said, it is beautifully filmed and deeply erotic--I particularly liked the relationship between the female protagonist (March) and her lovely schoolmate who "walks naked through the dormitory (and) has no idea how beautiful she is." Definitely worth watching.
Rating: 
Summary: 'bad' scene in this title
Review: Disturbingly 'Romantic', December 30, 2002
Reviewer: rattemause (see more about me) from Laos
. There's one scene in particular where the girl is essentially raped, and, the way the film progresses thenceforth, it is as if we are supposed to accept this offensive assault as an acceptable part of their relationship. I personally agree with rattlesnakes that this part of the scene not only presents raping but also shows that women are treated as cheaps like been treated as a horker or so called prostitutes. I feel that this is an objectional scene which I think should be carefully reviewed for some rights to women. I think there is no respect to women in this part of the scene. Beside this scene, I think the rest are normal between couples. What I feel about this movie overall is o.k.
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