MOVIE REVIEW: "“THE GOLDEN ERA” (2014) : (黄金时代)

“The principal character of this movie is called XIAO HONG played by TANG WEI.”

“Director ANN HUI has “metaphorically dissected” XIAO HONG’s persona out, garnishing it instead, with the scores of emotional and cultural scars of her growing-up days. XIAO HONG has had a traumatic childhood, and Director HUI vividly recounts these in scenes calling for anguish and tragedy.”

Actress TANG WEI is a good bet, but if only MAGGIE CHEUNG agrees to do the role, it would have been so much better! 

TANG WEI with actor FENG SHAO-FENG.  Can you or not feel the chemistry?

Obsessive and driven, this is a picture of life against the odds in war-torn China. You’d never know when the living flame in you is going to be snuffed out.

A grim picture of lead actress TANG WEI posing among the ruins. This one’s for keeps!

“THE GOLDEN ERA” (2014) : (黄金时代) Movie Review.

“THE GOLDEN ERA”is a dismal film. It’s liken to a poetic ode to darkness.

It is unashamedly an arthouse offering where actors can stop short and speak unto you as the third person, where you can feel the fangs of the lead actress’ s solitariness waiting to overpower you.

It’s that perplexing.

Essentially a biopic about the protagonist Xiao Hong (China novelist), the storytelling is steep with atmospheric misery and intense grief and loneliness that may be hard for some to bear. It scares me.

Xiao Hong has no real friends  when she was living, with whom she can  share problems.

The tone is doom and gloom throughout, and you when you leave the cinema you can almost feel the presence of Xiao Hong assailing you with her unanswered questions.

Tang Wei plays the struggling novelist Xiao Hong (born Zhang Naiying).

She has gone from stages being penniless to having money, having a decent job to being unemployed, switching boyfriends, constantly being forced to “move house” because she cannot pay her rent, and penning her life chronicles whenever she can.

There were a couple of people who respect her writings. One is newspaper editor Xiao Jun (Feng Shao-feng).

The other is her eventual husband Duanmu (Yawen Zhu). Both adamantly left her for personal reasons.

Everyone applauds the painstaking cinematography, the sets and the choices of shoot locations.

This is a morbid movie where the lead actress announces her own death.

XIAO HONG died in 1942.

You can feel the touch of ANN HUI throughout, so we can wax lyrical about her collections of international awards.

Well, ANN HUI is tops as the BEST DIRECTOR in the 2014 Taiwan Golden Horse Awards.

Nay, I am not surprised.

For fans of the Art House, don’t miss this movie!

SUMMARY and FOOTNOTE:

“The principal character of this movie is called XIAO HONG played by TANG WEI.”

“Director ANN HUI has “metaphorically dissected” XIAO HONG’s persona out, garnishing it instead, with the scores of emotional and cultural scars of her growing-up days. XIAO HONG has had a traumatic childhood, and Director HUI vividly recounts these in scenes calling for anguish and tragedy.”

Rating: 3 out of 5 (for its lyrical-type structure).

Local Distributor: GSC MOVIES