Which director is capable of making a record-breaking blockbuster out of a tale about a balding, middle-aged man’s search for true love? The answer is Feng Xiaogang (馮小剛). After his lavish period saga The Banquet (夜宴) and war drama Assembly (集結號), the genre-crossing wizard has made a confident return to what he was originally known for — ironic comedies set in contemporary China — with If You Are the One (非誠勿擾).
Co-starring Feng’s long-time collaborator, Chinese actor Ge You (葛優), with Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (舒淇), the romantic comedy revolves around an unlikely couple whose relationship begins with a blind date, endures much sparring and ultimately leads to deeply felt affections. Its huge box-office success — the movie earned roughly US$50 million — cements Feng’s reputation as China’s foremost purveyor of popular comedies.
In the opening scene, which delivers a good laugh at the expense of China’s nouveau riche, onetime inventor Qin Fen (Ge) sells his Conflict Resolution Terminal, basically a plastic tube, to a foolish venture capitalist (played by Chinese comic Fan Wei (范偉)). With his newfound wealth, Qin focuses his attention on finding a wife to make his life complete.
As he goes from one blind date to another, Qin encounters plenty of unsuitable matches who include a gay man, an erotic-phobic widow and a woman who tries to sell graveyard plots during the date. Eventually, he meets Liang Xiaoxiao (Shu), a flight attendant languishing in a love affair with a married man (played by Hong Kong’s Alex Fong (方中信)).
Qin immediately realizes the beautiful Xiaoxiao is out of his league. Nevertheless, the two end up having a drink and confiding painful pasts to each other, assuming they will never see each other again.
But fate draws them back together and Qin tries to win Xiaoxiao’s heart with tactics he takes care to stage in an effortless fashion. It seems to work and Xiaoxiao, softened by his persistence, invites Qin on a trip to Japan’s picturesque Hokkaido.
Director Feng once again proves his mastery of satire and humor when it comes to observing Chinese society in the midst of changing times. The script is smartly written, filled with snappy dialogue, enjoyable sarcasm and dry wit. Though the blind dates provide much comedy in the first half of the film, Feng pokes fun at modern-day notions of dating, romance and marriage. A few caricatures that stand out include a pregnant young woman (played by Taiwan’s Vivian Hsu (徐若瑄)) desperately seeking a husband and a businesswoman who habitually compares men to stocks.
The narrative becomes a bit too discursive in the second half of the film when the two leads build on their mutual affections during their trip to Hokkaido. It feels disappointing, at times, to see that Ge’s charming antics alone are not enough to produce the emotional weight the journey demands. An offbeat coda, which makes meta-references to the global economic crisis, feels at odds with the rest of the movie.
The film wouldn’t be as successful if the main roles had been played by lesser actors. A charismatic leading man, Ge is admirably adept at mixing sincerity with cynicism, conceit with self-disapproval. Shu proves herself an able match for her veteran costar, and the two share a terrific chemistry that is delivered throughout the film.
Many people noticed the flood of pro-China propaganda across a number of venues in recent weeks that looks like a coordinated assault on US Taiwan policy. It does look like an effort intended to influence the US before the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) over the weekend. Jennifer Kavanagh’s piece in the New York Times in September appears to be the opening strike of the current campaign. She followed up last week in the Lowy Interpreter, blaming the US for causing the PRC to escalate in the Philippines and Taiwan, saying that as
Taiwan can often feel woefully behind on global trends, from fashion to food, and influences can sometimes feel like the last on the metaphorical bandwagon. In the West, suddenly every burger is being smashed and honey has become “hot” and we’re all drinking orange wine. But it took a good while for a smash burger in Taipei to come across my radar. For the uninitiated, a smash burger is, well, a normal burger patty but smashed flat. Originally, I didn’t understand. Surely the best part of a burger is the thick patty with all the juiciness of the beef, the
This year’s Miss Universe in Thailand has been marred by ugly drama, with allegations of an insult to a beauty queen’s intellect, a walkout by pageant contestants and a tearful tantrum by the host. More than 120 women from across the world have gathered in Thailand, vying to be crowned Miss Universe in a contest considered one of the “big four” of global beauty pageants. But the runup has been dominated by the off-stage antics of the coiffed contestants and their Thai hosts, escalating into a feminist firestorm drawing the attention of Mexico’s president. On Tuesday, Mexican delegate Fatima Bosch staged a
Would you eat lab-grown chocolate? I requested a sample from California Cultured, a Sacramento-based company. Its chocolate, not yet commercially available, is made with techniques that have previously been used to synthesize other bioactive products like certain plant-derived pharmaceuticals for commercial sale. A few days later, it arrives. The morsel, barely bigger than a coffee bean, is supposed to be the flavor equivalent of a 70 percent to 80 percent dark chocolate. I tear open its sealed packet and a chocolatey aroma escapes — so far, so good. I pop it in my mouth. Slightly waxy and distinctly bitter, it boasts those bright,
RSS