Land of Broken Hearts (2024)

Off-Beat Quirky Gem of a Movie

Another completely biased review from me to you.
A lot of people have asked me what I base my ratings on since I seem to give really high numbers to most of what I watch. It's simple, if I enjoy watching the show a lot I give it a high score. If I don't enjoy the show I'll stop watching it. Sometimes I'll actually drop if there is something about the series that sorta pisses me off and I want to say something. Mostly I just quietly quit the show, using the 'if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all' rule of thumb.
This movie is an unexpected gem! Bizarre, quirky, weird, however you want to describe it. I loved it!
First, Zhu Yilong is brilliant. I don't think I have ever seen him look more beautiful. That blue hair and those cheekbones to die for? Yes please! 🥰 His character starts off being a normal boring salaryman. With one difference...he sees aliens filming his life story as it unfolds. They are pretty awful looking aliens. Like Buckeroo Banzai bad! As a matter of fact they do sort of look like Lectroids don't they ? 🤣
I'm unfamiliar with the FL Qiu Tian but she just nailed her character. Mysterious, damaged, off kilter. Love her! 😍
I'm not even sure how to categorize this movie. Is it sci-fi, romance, comedy, drama, slice of life? The answer is 'Yes'! And also 'No' 🤣
Anyhow, this has just the right amount of strangeness to it to keep my attention.
And Zhu Yilong sings the OST. What more could you ask for?
And for people interested, yes this does have a happy ending! And please stay for all the credits so you don't miss something....
Anyhow, if you like weird and quirky give this one a try. And if you want to see the amazing Zhu Yilong with the most incredible blue hair and cheekbones...this is the show for you!

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A Lovely Experimental Cinematic Attempt

In my opinion, this movie draws heavily on Wong Kar Wai's classic film "Chungking Express," particularly the love story between the two characters played by Leung Chiu Wei and Faye Wong.
For me, this one is a kind of conceptual homage and a loose reinterpretation of what the story of Faye and Cop663 (from Chungking Express) could have been.

Zhu Yi Long's performance was interesting. It was indeed good and clearly reflected his own style, without trying to "imitate" Leung Chiu Wai.
However, I found it lacking in realism. His character was supposed to be "numb," but I found him more airhead like ... He clearly carried the movie on his shoulders, the intensity of his presence was lovely to watch.
Faye Wong's energy and her portrayal of her character were too iconic to be simply imitated.
Qiu Tian lacked originality, I felt she was simply trying to copy Faye Wong's free spirit, but in a rather superficial way. Her acting wasn't mediocre, just disappointing..

The direction was very creative, a little too far-fetched in a non-artistic sense, rather in a nerdy intellectual science fiction driven way, which means that the seriousness of the film from a purely artistic point of view dissipates very quickly, giving way to a more amateurish tone and visual...

The story was interesting, quite inspiring actually. I really liked the themes of it : alienation, mental illness, traumas, escapism, critic of ultra capitalism, connection, freedom, identity etc.

"Neither of us liked the scripts we were given.
But we just escaped them in different ways.
I chose to be numb. She chose to pretend."
Some of the dialogue was really deep, it's a shame that this depth wasn't always well executed, especially in the choice of scenes presented.

The chemistry was charming, lacking depth and intensity, but still very enjoyable.

Overall, the film's style seemed too "experimental" while tackling very serious themes, which isn't bad in itself, but not my taste. The film could have demonstrated more subtlety, nuance, authenticity, and depth in an artistic way.


I had a good time watching it, overall, for me, "Land Of Broken Lands" was more of a lovely experimental cinematic attempt (Indie vibes) with potential than a real serious film that added real impact and value.

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