Beijing Bicycle
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Movie Reviews of Beijing Bicycle
Movie Review: I really wanted to like the movie...
Summary: 3 Stars
...but it was just too depressing, even 'til the end. I myself usually don't mind films like these, this film reminded me of Zhang Yimou's Not One Less cuz of the stubborness of the main character[s], and NOL was excellent...Both films tell the story of their protagonists' struggled path, but this particular film, at the end, does not bear a sweet fruit. I know life isn't all that 'rewarding' at times, but I think, given the film being almost 2 hours long, it could have at least some sweet deserving moments for the characters at the end, but none of that took place.
Movie Review: Plagiarist?????
Summary: 3 Stars
This film is well done but I cannot bring myself to give it higher marks for one reason...it is quite obviously plagiarizingthe Italian classic by De Sica, "Ladro da Bicicletta". Had the director made some admission of this fact on the DVD cover, I would have felt better about the film (maybe he has done so elsewhere). If he has, I would then be quite happy to withdraw my criticism.
Thomas Seay
Movie Review: Tedious Trash
Summary: 1 Stars
As a person who is married to a Chinese, visited Beijing twice, and have seen mostly excellent Chinese films in the limited selection of non-Hong-Kong stuff available on DVD, this was a shock for us. The first few minutes of the film are passable, introducing the main characters, and providing a few nice glimpses of Beijing as lived by poor migrants versus (apparently) richer folk. After this, things go downhill fast. A good summary: a bicycle is stolen back and forth, and there's an escalating series of fights. By the last hour, the movie is reduced to gang fights and various people hitting each other with bricks and rocks. Nothing of any consequence really happens in the last hour; there's no character development, no romantic development (despite some hope of this early on) beyond truly high-school-movie-level stuff, and you just want this thing to be OVER!So, do yourself a favor. There's great Chinese films out there..."Shower" is a truly brilliant and poignant film of modern Chinese life, check out "The Road Home" for a different, rural look back. Even going to Panda Express is better than this. Or, if you even wanna see well-done versions of people beating on each other, get "The Warriors" or "Scarface" or something. This is a major disappointment (though I might've give it 2 stars if not for the excessive length).
Movie Review: Biggest piece of garbage
Summary: 1 Stars
There's only one saving grace to Beijing Bicycle: the actress who plays the teenage schoolgirl is extremely cute. Other than that, the movie seriously sucks. The biggest problem is in the two main characters--the country boy and the city boy. Both were incredibly unappealing characters. The city boy was spoiled and a complete cretin; the country boy was just plain dumb. You really wanted to root for the country boy, but you couldn't since you're shaking your head at how implausibly stupid his actions were. Think about it. Everything would've been solved simply by doing one of the following:1. The country boy goes to the cops.
2. The country boy tells his boss at the delivery service about the bullying school kids.
3. The country boy goes and tells the cretin's dad again.
The possibilities are limitless. Instead, the filmmakers prevented the country boy from doing any of this. Instead, they pull off one sickeningly contrived scene after another. One typical example: when being chased by bullies, the country boy conveniently flees into an underground and very empty parking lot where he could get beat up. Along with Xiu Xiu, Beijing Bicycle is surely one of the worst Chinese movies I've seen.
Movie Review: Choose quality, choose Zhang Yimou
Summary: 1 Stars
As opposed to films which invoke the viewer to question consciousness and worth based on their quality of film making and story, "Bejing Bicycle" is one of those pictures where the viewer is forced to find a deeper meaning 'within' because the movie is simply lacking plot, character, and integrity. If the director was trying to call upon the viewers empathy - this was another failure on his part linked to Bejing Bicycle. After the third time the bicycle is stolen - come on already - you start to watch the clock. If you're looking for a quality film which provokes thought and real dialogue, look no further then Zhang Yimou. This is the kind of directing I believe Xiaoshuai Wang was going for in "Bejing Bicycle" but fail short of the mark.