Zhou Yu's Train
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Movie Reviews of Zhou Yu's Train
Movie Review: Beautiful but. . .
Summary: 3 Stars
If you wish to view beautiful cinematography--the powerful, lyrical shot of the train tracks converging, then separating then converging first comes to mind--this is a film to see.
If you wish to view a beautiful woman--is there a more beautiful woman than Gong Li?--this is a film to see.
But do not expect a fully realized story or neatly expressed--or even understandable--emotions. Watch, don't think; appreciate, don't demand.
Movie Review: Good acting but weak confusing story; don't waste your time.
Summary: 2 Stars
This Chinese film has beautiful cinematography. The countryside comes alive with beauty. It is also groundbreaking for a Chinese film because there are romantic scenes of hugging and kissing, all shot in soft focus and with great feeling. The actress, Gong Li, who stars in the film, is beautiful. And the acting is uniformly good.
The story is confusing however. It's about a woman who takes a long train ride twice each week to see her poet lover. She meets another man on the train who is a veterinarian. The audience soon realizes that he would be a better match for her but she doesn't think so and continues with her improbable romance with the poet who lives in a library and is about to move to Tibet. The whole setting was silly as each of the main characters seemed to be solitary creatures without any family. It was also never clear how she got the time off from her job as a porcelain artist to take the long trip each week. Or why the veterinarian was on the train either. There are a lot of shots of the train and I guess this was supposed to be symbolic. But the story was really terribly weak.
I was bored throughout and I can't understand why I sat through the whole film. I guess I was just waiting for something interesting to happen. It didn't. And the story ended with even more confusion. Therefore, I cannot recommend it in any way. Don't waste your time.
Movie Review: Boring!
Summary: 2 Stars
Zhou Yu's Train is a very slow film without any real narrative flow. It is also over-long and exceedingly boring. Close-up shots of Gong Li "thinking" or slow motion shots of her running seem to go on forever.
My main problem is that Gong Li's character comes across as a selfish and spoilt bitch. Just because she is beautiful and everyone wants to "have" her does not make her likable?
She sleeps with a man and when he asks the stupid question "Do you like me or the poet?" She replies quite coldly the poet. This is almost verbal castration and extremely cruel.
The film is beautifully shot but the settings are cold, ugly and modern.
This film so wants to be a poetical and profound but really is nothing more than a humourless and far from entertaining exercise.
Movie Review: Muddled Train Wreck of a Film
Summary: 2 Stars
Twice a week, Zhou Yu (Gong Li) takes the train to visit her lover, a poet, Chen it!!!! Nice cinematography and soundtrack keep this train wreck afloat. Gong Li is absolutely wasted as a actress in this Sun Zhou directed bore. A film that counts on the "ravishing" Gong Li closeups and endless shots of railroad tracks is enough to make this a one way no return trip. Positively silly!Movie Review: TRAIN IN VAIN
Summary: 2 Stars
Part of the problem may be Gong Li's superficial performance as a young artisan in love with a poet. She flirts well with the camera but does little to reveal the complexities of her character, likewise her dual role as an older woman who serves as narrator of the film, is lacking in depth and conviction. Beautiful cinematography and thoughtful editing can't make up for the overall emptiness of the film.