John Hart

FLAWLESS

I recently completed Teng Cong Cong's TO THE WONDER, a six hour movie pretending to be a TV series. It has two minor story flaws but is otherwise a masterpiece.

SEND ME TO THE CLOUDS is flawless. Another masterwork. Some directors take 8 tries to achieve this fascinating yet simple take on love, life, and death. TCC nails it on her first try. WOW.

I'm not going to say much more because it will oversell it.

I will warn viewers this is Arthouse, and all that entails. Arthouse films sometimes have no budgets and so they up the shock value at certain moments to keep you awake. A classic Arthouse trick is to have one shocking 'sexy' scene, if you will, which China seems to avoid at all costs. The scene here isn't gratuitous but I do feel it was an arthose trope more than a story need.

I will say I've never seen our lead actress in anything but will now seek her out the way I did Zhou Xun. I'm also a nutjob for Yuan Hong. who looks bland in his MDL photo but was a DELIGHT in REBEL PRINCESS. He needs to be very popular yesterday.

That's it. It's only 98 minutes. Somber tones, tough subject matter, handled with genius.

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GOOD FUN but it could have been great

Hi,

I won't spoil at first but then draw a line when the spoilers begin, okay?

In general this was a good idea and a lot of fun to watch. Watching two strangers get stuck with each other -- and all that entails -- was super fun, especially since this is a Chinese drama. If you've watched the trailer and are interested, I'd say it's good enough to watch and that you'll be happy (enough) that you did.

You'll like the leads. Especially 'the boy' who does some serious heavy lifting here. He essentially plays two characters with two character arcs, which means he plays four 'individuals' and does so really well. In fact this aspect may be the best part of the series.

I was a little disappointed with 'the girl' because. well... she came off as a little too girlish. Young bright eyes but she's a big reporter. I think I needed more of a Lois Lane, you know? And she didn't seem to be a strong enough actress until the last quarter of the series where her red sad eyes finally made her truly compelling. Apparently I wasn't the only one who found this actress weak because I gather the producers dubbed her voice with a different actress, which in America is verbotten but maybe people in China don't care. Still why bother having two actresses playing one character when you could simply find a better actress in the first place. Hmm. But she's okay and enjoyable in the role just the same.

***************************** SPOILERS BELOW *****************************

There were actually a lot of things that bothered me in this series. Nothing big as much as little pesky issues.

The first was they simply never explained this time overlap thing in the first place. Going to the internet and studying up on time travel was simply an embarrassment of story telling. Every last word regarding entropy and overlap was painfully juvenile writing. These two kids are not experts and so they neither know where to look for information or what to make of what they've found.

Science fiction has a well worn tradition of an 'expert', which is an old male scientist with white hair whom they consult. They could have modernized this cliche by having a blind genius of a scientist woman in wheelchair, a former client of the lawyer who is sort of in on what's happening to them and trying to help them. Sometimes I get this strange feeling that the Chinese are so new to producing any movies or TV that they're literally still in their early days of all this.

The next thing is related an absolutely critical to explain: where did the origami 'bird' come from and why it is magical and why did it pick on these two crazy kids? Just because it exists doesn't mean it 'is' yet. Like the monolith in 2001 you must explain what it is, where it came from, what it can do, and why it is doing it. Or what you're watching feels like a silly Saturday Morning cartoon.

Okay, now, early in the story our leads were aware that there was a 'girl' in 2022 as well. This girl would be perfectly aware of their situation since she's already lived through it. She'd be a CRITICAL source of information on what to do about their dilemma. For reasons that make no sense our couple avoided her like the plague. Because the writers did not wish to reveal her predicament yet. The problem is --

-- you can't do that. The couple would seek her out. And so by episode 3 or 4 you MUST deal with this issue. I would have simply had her GONE. Without a trace. POOF! What happened to her? Where is she? Nobody who knew her knows. This creates a GREAT mystery and allows the story to move forward without pretending the characters wouldn't look her up for help.

So basically LOVE IN TIME is an interesting premise that isn't properly set up to be utterly engaging. The origami bird and ignoring the girl in 2022 for too long kept me out of the story because the viewer needs to know what's what with these critical details.

The story was laced with many subplots to... frankly... make the story last 24 episodes. They were okay themselves but rather cumbersome and clutter. A lot of names and faces and events to keep straight, especially when they'd try and try to change outcomes. In general all the characters were interesting and well played, but I felt it all distracted from --

-- a more interesting drama that could have happened with our girl and her two boys. What if this story had been about how the girl first falls in love with the boy she can only see for 40 minutes a day... but over time... she finds he's more about fun than being serious... and that... she begins to fall in love with the boy in 2021 more?

That would have been a fascinating portrait of a girl who fools around with a better version of the boy she thought she first loved. A real live LOVE TRIANGLE but with this unique twist. Imagine her cheating on the man she loves with himself? I think this would have been more interesting and worked even better.

So LOVE IN TIME is really okay and worth trying. But I think there's a better series hiding inside this concept.

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Story and Pacing mangle an otherwise interesting project

I found this series to be so inconsistent I'm simply going to list observations.

1. The first episodes bait and switch the viewer. They imply this series will have lots of fight scenes. They basically fade away by Episode 10ish and are GONE at the finale, where you'd presume they'd come back for a big finale.

2. Our three lead actors (as shown on the poster) spend too much of the series with stoic faces, making it hard for us to care about them. This creates a problem where supporting characters accidentally SHINE --

3. -- like Song Yi. The scene she pouts in is gold. I really want to see more of her after this. The same goes for --

4. -- the underused Empress, Yong Mei, who is even more stoic than our heroes but she's such a gifted actress it doesn't come off as cold but intensely compelling. I'm now desperate to see her film SO LONG, MY SON but can't find it with English subtitles anywhere. (!!!)

5. I've heard Wang Yi Bo is legend. His character is the Chinese answer to Mr. Spock and (brace yourself) I saw no story reason for him to be in the series.

I believe our lead cast should have been Gao Bing Zhu, Wu Si Yue, and the Empress. Gao should have already been in charge of the CIA, Wu already in charge of the guard, and both at each other's throats because of this mysterious Clan wreaking havoc in the Kingdom. So two characters with opposing careers -- suspicious of the other -- falling for each other in the process. I'd have made Song Yi someone who had a crush on Gao, and I'd have her married to the Crown Prince who would have eventually been revealed as the leader of the clan.

Do you see how 'clean' that cast is? LUOYANG doesn't understand that, in this story: less is so much more.

6. Oh, I took a one night break from this series and saw Huang Xuan in the movie MY COUNTRY, MY PARENTS. It's an anthology pic and he only appeared briefly in the 2nd Story called THE POEM. It was funny to have my break 'ruined' by his presence but I knew I'd keep an eye on his future projects too.

7. The visuals are stunning, but the merciless wide angled cameras and relentless candle lit rooms are way over done. STAR WARS fans believe awesome production values are more important than solid story. As I've been saying since 1977 -- you're SO wrong about that. That said -- there are two GINORMOUS sets in this series you have to see to believe.

8. You have to give it up to the people doing the background music in this show. They were completely over the top and utterly out of control. If someone said, "Pass the soy sauce please" you'd hear all these background noises and music cues suggesting they had said, "Kill them... kill them all." It was an artificial way to raise tension where drama was clearly lacking at times, but (amazingly) the music wasn't so obnoxious to make one abandon the series.

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High quality filmmaking, Solid Acting, Mediocre casting, Storyless Story

Hello,

For us Westerners China has this very frustrating style of romantic story telling. I had to go into spoiler mode to explain myself.

In the West screenwriters are aware that a romance cannot be the only plot of the story. In fact it can't be the main plot. You need something bigger and more compelling than their love. In this case it's boy and girl meet, boy falls for girl, boy invests a lot of time and effort to get girl to like him, she finally does, boy mysteriously disappears, boy and girl reunite.

That's not a lot. Consider CASABLANCA. Man tries to run a business during a war and not take a political side. A fugitive shows up and begs for help. He doesn't want to but with the fugitive is an old flame that broke his heart into a thousand pieces. Man tries desperately not to fall in love with her again and discovers that the right thing to do is to set her and her fugitive free, taking a political position because... he loves her enough to let her go.

See the difference? The love story is buried inside a plot full of risks, twists, and turns. BEST SUMMER almost doesn't have a plot. Yes it's a different style of story but young lovers exist within far more compelling plots than simply eyeing each other.

So what makes matters worse for Western eyes is that if you're going to have a movie just be about a couple -- for the love of God -- at least have them kiss at the end. I've since learned that real Chinese people can see 'kissing' as 'sex', which in the West is laughable and ridiculous. Yes, if the two are kissing in a hotel or a lovely bedroom, I get it. But if they're standing in a public park by a tree -- grow up and let them have a kiss.

Regarding kissing, a funny side note here about something that happened in this movie also happened in THE GREAT CRAFTSMAN. In this film there's a kissless love happening and the girl can no longer stand it and LUNGES at her boy and plants one on him anyway. An extremely mild form of assault. CRAFTSMAN did the same thing and had Wallace Huo LUNGE at Yang Mi to offer her an unwanted kiss. Yet that series ends like this film -- without a final kiss.

Sorry but WTF? How does Chinese culture consistently omit a consensual loving kiss but seem A-OK with a kind of rapey kiss? If anything this should be reversed. Am I crazy? Is the rapey kiss allowed because sex won't come of it? Seriously?!?

So, now with all that out of the way, I'd say the actors were pretty good but the production was great. On a limited budget they made this thing look like a major motion picture. The photography was GORGEOUS. And some people don't get photography. They think if they see pretty mountains and sunsets THAT is great photography. It can be, sure, but the real test is filming the mundane in a cinematic way -- which this movie never stops doing.

The score of this film is lovely too. It's just such a shame that all of this skill was wasted on a one ply toilet paper script. The script was so thin you could see through it and watch another film at the same time.

Please don't think I'm mean person. I did love the characters and wanted to see so much more with them. But the idea this story was once much longer as a drama boggles the mind.

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Rather interesting and good... but not great

Greetings,

I'm stunned no one has written a review yet. Maybe it will encourage people to try it, since the show so far is pretty good.

1. I've watched this dynamic director before with LOUYANG. He's less about nuance, more about keeping things moving. My only annoyance with this director is his overuse of flash-zooms. I don't know what they're called but it's like you're watching something in the distance moving and then BOOM you're a lot closer. It's fake exciting and upsets my stomach. I will say in Episode 36 there's some amazing camerawork with drones in a forest during a chase scene.

2. My silly nickname for this piece is BULLETS OVER BURMA.

3. I felt this story suffered from... umm... gender imbalance. I wanted to see more of the women they had, like the Geisha and the ballerina. More romance between the obvious suspects. This plot would have benefited greatly by balancing the political inhumanities with romantic humanity. Speaking of that plot --

4. -- the idea of a man losing his memories and spending 40 episodes slowly recalling them was too complex, too drawn out, and kinda not worth it's central plot status. Personally I stopped caring at the 2/3rds point. That said --

5. -- the story becomes more addictive the deeper you go, but you must get about a third of the way in to stay in. I'd recommend watching two episodes a pop. Two episodes at a time would also help keep the MANY characters in your head, especially if Chinese names are hard for you to remember.

6. There's a weird moment where a character dies. She is laying on the ground grey as anything. What's weird is that it doesn't look like her, and so you're left wondering if said character is secretly still alive. The man that discovers her dead on the ground would know the difference. (Was the actress too busy or spooked to play dead?) I will say if this character is actually dead, it's a crime. She was one of the best and had that 'humanity' thing mentioned above.

7 . The music is a mixed bag. The background music is solid, but the two main songs belong in the credits only, but unfortunatelykeep appearing in the story itself. One is a riff of Bond's YOU KNOW MY NAME and when it appears in the show it's painfully out of place. If I were the producer of this series, I'd have made the ending credits song the opening song and composed a sad ballad for the ending credits, something most Chinese dramas of this seriousness level do with success. (Find an episode of IMPERFECT LOVE and play the ending titles. You'll want to watch the show it's so beautiful.)

8. Our lead actors are good but our story wastes them in countless talky exposition scenes. To me that story is too ornate for it's own good. Still, the actors are otherwise very talented. Xin Zhi Lei is stunning (as usual) but she -- like so many of the cast -- spends a lot of time reacting to what others say instead of doing anything. Luo Qiu Yun stands around corners or with her back to others and does the exact same reaction about 100 times. I'm not kidding. A subtle turn of the head, a subtle roll of the eyes -- over and over and over again. She's very cute/sexy/pretty but it gets old as hell.

The lead male is a little flat, like an athlete they begged to act. He has this great walk I've never seen another Chinese male actor have, which is kind of leading with his pelvis and simply commanding any room he walks into. He had a difficult role to pull off and was okay, but I felt there should have been more to him somehow.

Here is a special shout out to Dong Xuan/Michelle Dong who does wonders with exposition. She's new to me and lends this series a dignity and centered performance. I want to see more of her.

9. The overall production values are quite good... which makes me wonder why more people haven't seen it. Budget wise this show strikes me as a big deal.

10 . I'm completely unaware of the history of this period. From a Westerner's perspective it's all so new. And sad. I started a discussion below in the comments and the History Buffs shared some very interesting perspectives. I'm happy I'm watching the series and seeing things from this perspective. For those who fear it is propaganda, it is in the way any film about Good Guys VS the Nazis are.

11. Most Chinese Drama's I've watched end poorly. Like the story ends but the series drones on a bit, sometimes for episodes. This series ended properly in a satisfactory manner. Not my fave series but I'm happy I watched it.

I know I don't sound very enthused but it's a solid 7 for me at the moment. Don't let my critical self dissuade, give it a shot if you're looking for something a little different.

UPDATE -- I've since seen WAR OF FAITH and preferred that, which dropped this overall from an 8 to a 7.

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Poor Wallace and Zhu Zhu! (Interesting idea, poorly executed)

Wallace Hou and Zhu Zhu were featured actors in THE TALE OF ROSE, an absolute MUST SEE adult drama. They didn't star together, which is why their doing so here is so terribly exciting.. Unfortunately this production had no idea what to do with these great talents.

Before I take the story apart, some peripheral stuff.

1. Everyone dresses real nice in this show. Too nice. Very distracting eye-candy here. Eleanor Lee was a show pony. Her white dress with black polka dots was crazy memorable. Wallace and Zhu Zhu were always smart looking, except that one time Zhu Zhu picked out his outfit. (Sorry Costume Designer! That tie wasn't!)

2. I have a rule about C-Dramas. If the opening sequence is uninspired or just plain annoying, the show will be the same. They say don't judge books by their covers, but I've never seen a C-Drama you couldn't judge this way. The opening sequence cuteness is annoying as hell. I don't mind lighthearted. I mind juvenile. I skipped it every time.

3. The songs in this show were perfect. They'd dip in, visit, and add something to the atmosphere. Other shows will harp on a few songs and pound them into your head. Not here. Also the background scoring was top notch.

4. The sets were too new and too perfect. Sometimes you have to show worn office chairs to make it clear people have been working there for years, not minutes.

5. Outside of Wallace and Zhu Zhu, the cast was rather bland. Being pretty in nice new clothing was all the production cared about. IN SPITE OF A STRONG WIND offers a strikingly similar office cast, and they're just so much better than this 'Disney' cast. One strange moment is when the young man of our office (Fei Qi Ming) walks by his STRONG WIND equivalent (Zhou Mai Jie).

6. Despite all my story annoyance below, Wallace was doing some great acting. I have a feeling he's not always thought of as a great actor, but despite this show's shortcomings -- he was THE reason I watched it through to the end. Zhu Zhu was pretty good too, but the story constantly restrained her.

THE STORY

So many issues.

1. Nobody had a backstory. Like the sets that didn't look lived in, neither did the characters. There's no male Doctor pursuing Zhu Zhu? Her Dad doesn't own a car? Wallace isn't aware that he's an obnoxious ass until the show starts? He's never had a pet? You don't think it would make 3 tons of sense that he's been divorced twice at this point and just given up on love? It's so bad that one character's backstory is introduced in the 2nd to last episode.

2. Is it true that in China you can simply see your Doctor any time you feel like? And she sees you in her office instead of an examination room? With no other staff milling about? Really?

3. The product placement in this show was over the top, and it damages the story. Deep in the series Shen Wu wears a big stylish jacket with the word 'meta' on it. We're told he's both frugal and semi-tight on cash. I paused the show and Googled that jacket. It's easily worth somewhere between $300-$500.

Cutie-pie Xia Xiao Man lives alone in a lovely apartment she couldn't possibly afford... with a clothing collection that doesn't quit -- and soon complains she's going broke. How are we supposed to respect her if she's got the financial finesse of a 9 year old? (I originally went with 12 year old because I'm American, but because this is China I dropped it to 9.)

(The next paragraph is SPOILER-ISH, but it only spoils a minor development in Ep. 11.)

The entire Harley thing? First we're told how religious their owners are about their bikes. Then Zhu's Dad parts with a bike like the skin of banana. The entire show Xia Xiao works at a Chinese car dealership, one long ad for that car, and then Biker Dad buys 5 of them at once without anyone asking why. (It's because the explanation is so unbelievable they just skipped it.)

Look, if modern programs needed embedded product placement to exist, sure, I get it. But you have to do it the right way.

4. The pacing is awful, which is a shocker for such a short series. 16 episodes long but somehow only needed 10. Every episode is loaded with filler.

I started to think, hey, I know -- maybe this is merely Season 1 of an interesting series, which is why they're in no hurry to move things along. But from what I'm seeing in the last episodes, nope -- they simply don't have a story to tell.

The series title has a question. It's answered by Episode 3. So this critical plot point dies almost immediately.

I thought this series was going to be about a really charming handsome rich guy that simply isn't interested in women. They throw some hotties his way, nothing. They throw some gay hunk his way (just to make sure) but nothing. They spy on him to make sure he isn't secretly married, big nope. That would have extended the premise the length of the series.

Instead, what we have here is MEET YOURSELF syndrome. It's a romantic story that resolves itself too early, and so we're left with focusing on clothing and dull subplots, because 'the show' is basically already over.

5. Who honestly believes Zhu Zhu shouldn't give up on Wallace and find a nice guy? Who honestly believes that Wallace shouldn't have continued with lovely and charming AF Vivienne Ten? Nothing makes any sense. Oh, and the way the story took out the girl with the camera was so deplorably bad I would have ditched the series then and there -- were it not I was episodes away from finishing. And what kind of gentleman ditches her at that moment of need? God awful.

6. Episode 11 is so bad I'd advise viewers to skip it. Oh, and the fact you can skip it without damaging the show confirms that this show is full of filler.

(The next paragraph is SPOILER-ISH, but it only spoils a minor development in Ep 11.)

Another example of how bad Ep 11 is involves Wallace looking for a lost dog. He and Zhu are running around town and -- OH NO -- the dog appears to be dead floating in water. Anal retentive Wallace heroically runs into the 5 inch deep water to rescue the dead dog, only for us to learn it's a doll -- of the same exact dog with similar coloring. Something that on planet Earth has a 1 in a billion chance of happening.

And the way Zhu's Dad's pals gave up their favorite toys with no problem and accepted a ginormous gift from him with no problem? Again: this series appears to be written by 9 year olds.

7. The one thing you can rely upon C-Dramas for? Tears. These people are the best criers on the planet. Even lighthearted shows take a moment for tears here and there, to create contrast. This show? Nope. Nobody gets to cry until the end. There's only a dozen times Zhu Zhu should have choked up, but no-- we can't have real emotions, now can we?.

8. Continuity issues everywhere. Brother in law borrows lots of money. Do we ever learn why? Nope. Wallace tries to teach himself how to be a surgeon. Does that ever come up again? Nope. The pushy 'get married' Mom disappears from the story for too long. The girl in wheelchair vanishes.

*****************************************************

Believe you me I wanted to like this. It started okay but then became clear it was junk food. Wallace and Zhu carry this series as best as they can, but it falls apart too many episodes before the ending to recommend.

Poor Wallace and Zhu Zhu. :(

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THREE ERAS, ONE ERROR

Since this journey travels across time and is divided into three books, I'm going to review each 'book' as a I go.

REPUBLICAN ERA

I've seen a handful of these types of stories, and I can report with relief this isn't a bloody massacre of slayings and endless torture porn. Yes, there are some violent moments, but they're not exploited for cheap sensationalism.

This is really one of the best love stories I've seen in over 25 C-Dramas. I believe it's not as good as Crystal Liu and Wallace Huo in THE TALE OF ROSE, but it may be better than the leads of REBEL PRINCESS, and that was a killer love story.

The thing is the chemistry felt so real here between Jelly Lin and Ryan Cheng I wonder if... maybe... it was real for a reason. In fact it was so good I now understand why so many viewers were displeased by BOOKS 2 & 3 of this series. When you have this good a romance, you can't believe it ended in 11 episodes!

By the way, Jelly Lin is WHY I'm watching this series. Her roles in A DREAM OF SPLENDOR and IMPERFECT VICTIM made trying this show mandatory. She is TERRIFIC and has a very long long career in front of her, and I'm convinced she will be the heiress to Li Qin's roles when the time comes.

Liu Yijun turned in a quality performance as mob boss Zang. Instead of being a mean ruthless bastard (stereotype), he's actually remarkably understated and human. Sure, when push comes to shove, he erupts == but ironically he seems to be a man of peace.

I've seen the transition from this story the next now. I really wasn't ready to leave this story, but the times -- they are a changin'.

COMMUNISM ERA

In one sense I understand why viewer were disappointed with this era. Communism just ain't as sexy and stylish as the Republican era. But the real appeal of part one is the same appeal here: a truly great romance.

So anyone who trashes this segment still has a crush on the prior couple and neglected to move on AND/OR they have a bias against older actors and communism.

I'm here to assure you Segment Two is NOT a reason to drop this series.

The male lead Liu Yi Jun is as amazing as he is unrecognizable from his role in IMPERFECT VICTIM. People may have hated him so much in that role he begged for this one.

Tong Yao was hard to recognize from her role in RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, because that series was a showcase of China's best female talent at that point. She's no mean girl here, and along with Liu Yi -- delivers a graceful understated performance. Their littlest looks will send romantic chills up and down your spine.

Great supporting actors here as well. Yang Yu Ting as the old bitch party leader, Zhang Ye Zi as our female lead's sister in law and childish watchdog, Zhang Rui Han as an apparently bi-polar troublemaker, and Hou Yan Song as the best friend who struggles to change with the communist times. His last moments on screen were a masterclass in nuance.

I must say there's some SERIOUS social commentary about how cruel and judgmental the Communist party can be. It's presented as a cult where party members can harshly judge you for even the mildest semblance of individuality. What really sucks is that young party types can tear into older citizens like they're filth, profoundly disrespecting their elders.

The series implies that when the working class was given the keys to rule the rich and educated, they lacked the proper skills to do so. Like making a 3rd grade student 'educate' their teacher.

I found it confusing how this series got by the censors, but have since learned as bad as they're showing things -- it's only the tip of the iceberg. Therefore, despite this series appearing to be objective, it's sugarcoating the real history and therefore is propaganda. It's like showing Nazis arguing with themselves in pubs but never mentioning the Death Camps.

I bluntly disagree with any reviewer that this segment is in any way a let down. The show clearly warns you it's about 3 different eras, not one, and this second story -- as different as it is from the first -- deserves just as much praise.

ROARING 90s

Of the three era's depicted, this was the error. Despite good intentions, I believe it was poorly conceived.

Like the last two segments, we have a romantic couple, which helps tie these three stories together. That and the fact FL Wang He Run is a relation to the families in these three stories. This is my first exposure to this actress, even though MDL claims I already know her from RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, but it pains me to recall which character she played.

Anyway, she's quite good, and she reminds me of Crystal Lui but 8 years younger. I recently saw the ML Eric Le Yang in IN SPITE OF THE STRONG WIND, where he was rather quirky but entertaining. Here he's more geeky but just as much fun.

Both do a great job and offer a new coupling twist. Where the prior couples had cultural barriers preventing them from them from quickly becoming couples, here the problem is the couple themselves. They're not an obvious match of chemistry. These two strain the expression of opposites attracting.

But there's a message here about capitalism, one that resonated the same in THE YOUTH MEMORIES: big money makes good people do evil things. I know Westerners might scream 'Commie Propaganda!' but just one glance at America's President.

What goes wrong here is hard to pinpoint. My gut tells me that the fashion industry was the wrong industry choice. Or that using a tiny little company instead of a big one wasn't wise.

My other complaint is what I like to call WRITERS WRITING ABOUT WRITING. I've been a creative writer my entire life and observed other creative writers. The insecure writers insert a character into the story who is, themselves, a writer. They do this so that at the end of the story the struggling writer becomes famous and beloved. Like I said: INSECURE.

Our male lead is a teacher struggling with romance and career. That's fine. But towards the end of this segment it's revealed he's a writer, and not just a writer but a 'great' writer -- and the cemented this segment as a misfire and disappointment. Dear Wang Wan Ping -- the writing in your first two segments was extraordinary, never make this mistake again!!!

Apart from the actors and writing, this segment was clearly rushed and rather sloppy.

-- In Episode 25 at the 4:25 mark, PUSH PLAY and you'll see a woman in glasses leave the scene and TOTALLY bump into something offscreen and then stumble back into view. This was a flubbed take. Did they run out of time and money to re-shoot? It would be sad if that's a yup.

-- In Episode 26, around the 8:40 mark -- a fly circles the dinner table and our female lead swats at it from offscreen, another failed take. She wasn't supposed to do that because she wasn't on camera.

-- There was a moment where our ML lead leaves something by a door on the floor, he knocks on that door, and runs off. Our FL opens the door and is already looking down instead of out. Normal people first look out at who might have knocked, not down at what possible package was left. My name for this is a CHARACTER READ THE SCRIPT violation. A failed take.

The series ending was rushed as well. We needed the Aunt from the previous story to ties things together better. To speak to our FL and share the perspective of generations. Although a family heirloom re-appears again, it failed at tying everything together in a powerful way. This writer needs to see THE LAST EMPEROR and learn how to plant and pay off a prop more dramatically at story's end. This story had that chance and completely blew it.

Also, I think it would have been very cool if some of the dialog in this home was echoed over the three different generations. Suppose each female lead asked each male lead, "What do you think of this dress?" and she spun around -- IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT as all the other female leads? What if each male lead walked up to the same window and made the exact same statement like, "There must be a better way."

Such moments would have tied these stories tightly together and whispered to us, "The more things change, the more they remain the same." I think THAT message is what this series meant to say, but if it did -- it was barely a whisper.

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Okay film with an intense/sublime award deserving performance by Xin Zhi Lei

(I will warn you when the spoilers begin, so feel free to read the first part of my review.)

My journey into C-Dramas started during Covid with RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE. If you haven't seen it, stop reading this and give the show a try. It's star studded. Zhou Xun, Wallace Huo, Li Qin... and Xin Zhi Lei as the unforgettable Princess Jia.

Since that show I've desperately tried to find her as good again, and unfortunately most movies and shows just aren't smart enough for her talent. If you've seen her in other works, the odds are good she's just phoning in her performance. This actress can do great things when given the opportunity, but most C-Dramas use her as a 'sexy' snark monster and waste her talents.

The good news is that the producers of THE SUN RISES FOR US ALL understand her talent and used it. In every frame of the piece. Xin Zhi Lei need not bat her eye lashes, swing her hips, or yell to be noticed. Her nuance in this film is sublime -- and she pulls off a very complex character with the greatest of ease, without the need of her supermodel looks.

The fact she won Best Actress in some big Chinese 'Academy Awards' is utterly earned here. Xin Zhi Lei deserves to be a global actress. My dream is that the people that own Bond (Amazon) would create a series in China starring Xin Zhi Lei, the series would be shot in China (in Mandarin), and she'd play a double agent where both East and West have no idea whose side she is actually on. Trust me -- it would be a ginormous hit.

THE SUN RISES ON US ALL is a great looking film. Instead of buffing and glossing China to look like a perfume bottle, this film appears to show the real China. Crowded, a little dirty, moss growing on rooftops because of tropical weather, etc.. There's such an honesty about how things look I feared the crew were sometimes shooting on the streets without permission.

The editing is fine, the lighting is so natural, the pacing is a tad slow but consistently moves along. Male lead Zhang Song Wen is as realistic as the rest of the film. Every watch a movie and you feel like one of the actors isn't an actor at all? That he's just some normal guy they hired on the spot? I call this "the character is not aware they are an actor in a movie". Zhang Song Wen's performance is that good.

So what went wrong here? I'm going to give you the spoiler free version, draw a big line, and then begin spoiling.

Simply put: the story is a one timer. No matter how good the rest of the film is, one timer stories are not about the journey but the destination. Usually these type of films have a goal (Find the dog!) and the characters say little to each other, and then they do speak it's usually trivial dialogue.

I recently showed my nieces GROUNDHOG DAY. The first time you watch the movie, you watch to see if and how he gets out of his predicament. But the film is easy to re-watch, because almost every part of the film is interesting, funny, and/or romantic. You can show clips of such films to others and they're immediately interested.

THE SUN RISES FOR US ALL doesn't have great scenes. Instead, the entire film is one great scene, if you will, which, unfortunately, renders the rewatch value to zilch. Once you know how the story ends, your interest is over.

My biggest problem? It appears the writer/director team wrote themselves into a corner. How to resolve the dilemma between the two leads? The chose a cheap trick unworthy of a first year screenwriter and then didn't do with it what they should have. I'm the screenwriter type in my family but my wife (who I've been trained by my side for year, lol) came up with the fix in seconds. "Why didn't they do this?!?" she asked, and she was right.

SPOILERS *************************************

The story is about a former couple that seemed cursed. They were happy enough until they had a tragic car accident. They accidentally hit someone with their car, they could have maybe saved the hurt person, but instead they drove off and the person died. Our lead was responsible but her husband took the blame -- and five years of prison -- out of love and gallantry.

Our story is about how this one choice ruined them both. She was so ashamed of accidentally murdering someone that her 'getting away with it' slowly destroyed her. So much show she stopped visiting her husband in prison, because to do so was a constant reminder of her guilt and his innocence. She eventually has an affair with a married man as an escape, but this further destroys her soul because she's murdering her marriage and her boyfriend's marriage.

We join this story during her affair and when her husband is released from jail. For two hours the reunited couple doesn't know what to do with each other. There's too much pain and resentment to resume their marriage, and yet here they are stuck with each other out of guilt. (Did I mention she's pregnant with her boyfriend's child and he's dying of cancer?)

So this story paints itself into a corner and -- the screenwriter absolutely clueless on how to resolve the story -- has Xin Zhi Lei pick up a knife and suddenly stab her husband. She has decided to put him out of his misery, and in a weird way accepts that being a murderer is somehow in her nature.

Why is the ending not satisfactory? I told you my wife INSTANTLY knew why. What would have been much better is if she and her husband were being interrogated by the police, and somehow she managed to murder him in front of the cops. And I mean KILL him, not just stick a knife in him and have him still standing.

Why is this perfect? Because she not only puts him out of his misery, but she will get arrested for murder and serve her jail time the way she should have in the first place. The police would have asked, "Why did you just do that?!?" and her final line of the film would have been, "Because I'm a murderer."

This ending is so perfect I'd tell the producers to reshoot the ending. I'm not kidding. It would make this MEH movie a SOLID movie. The entire thing would have made more sense this way, justifying the over two hours of cinema.

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Great Cast, Underdeveloped Relationships

I watched this for Xin Zhi Lei and Huang Jue, only to learn that Zhao Li Ying is a big deal too.

This is a rather simple story about an older sister that sacrificed her future to secure the future of her younger sister. Younger sister becomes a successful actress and brand ambassador, whereas older sister is stuck in an unpleasant life in Myanmar. Older sister's husband decides to extort money from the saved younger sister, and chaos ensues.

Having slept on this film, I think I see a major story issue problem. The husband was a device to introduce desperation and violence to the story, to keep it from being a thoughtful character piece. And that was a huge mistake here. His character should have been erased entirely.

In screenwriting there's a very important question the writer must answer correctly: who's story is this? I don't believe it was the younger sister's story at all. I believe it was the older sister's story of sacrifice given paid off with filial abandonment.

The evidence here is the final scene where the sisters are hanging out together at a street vendor, kind of like best of friends. Well, if they were capable of being such friends, why weren't they already on this page together? Why did older sister show up so mad? Clearly she was dismissed and forgotten, but as the awkward mid-story flashback revealed -- they left on good terms.

I also believe the casting should have been reversed, where Xin Zhi Lei was the big famous actress and brand ambassador, since... she already is one, lol. I would have made the victimized sister more sympathetic, less attractive.

This is that tragedy when a rough draft isn't refined but made into a film instead. The film is certainly watchable, and the direction and production values are solid -- if not sometimes compelling -- but I have so many other Chinese films I'd recommend to someone before I'd recommend this one I'm sorry to say.

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Not perfect, but still a RECOMMEND

Watching a show about PR firms at war with each other over clients? Doesn't sound that great, right? And if I told you there are four romantic couples at various stages of coupling, de-coupling, or re-coupling -- I'd understand if you yawned.

So this show isn't about the premise. It's about the very interesting characters. You will become attached to them and start to hope this series will have a Season 2 maybe. The Gray Whale firm ends up feeling like family, but we also feel for Song Jia's character as well. I will miss them all.

So if I'm this attached -- why only 8.5? Again, Public Relations is only so interesting. Also, the lawyer couple didn't quite work. The show devoted a lot of time to their Mom/Son confusing relationship, but it seemed to go in circles to the point I wanted to see more of the young office girl and the young rich boy instead. Those two simply had a more interesting story.

But now that I've dealt with the show's weakest point, the strongest was our leads Tang Chen and Shou Bing. Song Jia is what dragged my eyes to this show and that girl doesn't disappoint. Fans of SHE AND HER GIRLS won't recognize her here, not at first anyway. But as the story progresses you'll see her stubborn self rise and it's another gem of a performance.

Jin Dong's 'Tang' was new to me and ladies -- he's easy on the eyes. I'm a Wallace Huo man myself but Wallace just may be too good looking for his own good whereas Jin Dong seems more like an actual normal man. You'll absolutely adore every second Tang and Bing spend on screen together -- and they're why this imperfect series get a RECOMMEND from me.

I love Tian Yu's 'Old Sha'. I remember him from JOY OF LIFE but find his performance here very endearing. He's got a sweet Nathan Lane thing happening and really delivers as Tang's best friend in the world.

It was so refreshing to watch a series that didn't have a soundtrack of pop songs pummeled at me non-stop. I think they had 2 songs, and they were only played once. That background music was gorgeous, however, and sets an example of how most shows should use music.

The set designs were appropriately bleak in corporate settings. The informal sets were much warmer, including the nicest hospital room I've ever seen. You hope to get sick enough one day just to be in it, lol.

Three negative notes --

1. Xin Zhi Lei fans will see her in the opening and go OMG and wait to see her appear. The wait is surprisingly long and her stay is surprisingly brief. Almost a bait and switch scenario for fans like me, but she finally got to play a role of a nice beautiful girl instead of a serpent. And what happens to her is so simple and yet so heartbreaking. It's a shame she wasn't made into an actual supporting character.

2. There's a disturbing misogynistic tone that pops up enough times to mention here. You'd presume the series was written by a man and will be shocked to learn it was written by Li Xiao, the feminist A TALE OF ROSE scribe. I just didn't like how Tang would grab Bing. How Bai Ying was dangled before men as (let's face it) 'virgin' bait. And the worst was when moments after a character was in the process of being raped -- there's this God Awful scene in an elevator with the victim that was played for yucks. That one scene prevented me from giving this otherwise solid series a 9.

3. If you devide this show into 4 acts, the second one -- where the new firm is put together -- felt padded at times. It also ran too comedic, straining the more dramatic tone of our leads. But since the first quarter and the second half moved along nicely, I can look the other way here.

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CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS AND A DOG

Overall, a very smooth journey with only minor bumps. Good story, great acting -- RECOMMEND as a brief diversion between longer more intense series. Bullets --

1. I don't know if its Chinese censors or Chinese sensibility, but I find so many of these C-Dramas set at a tone that's as intriguing as it's non-stressful. In American TV, we're assaulted with sex and violence to keep us awake, which if seen at night can make it harder to get to sleep. In China, even in a murder mystery, the settings are simply gentler, the people more normal than 'Norman Bates'. Can't deny I feel relaxed afterwards and ready for good sleep.

2. I know it's a translated title, but I just don't like it. Too technical for this piece. Something softer like DREAMS OF A GIFTED NOVELIST or THE WINDMILL MURDER. (We learn where this title comes from in the final episode, but the payoff isn't worth.)

3. It's hard to believe the female lead here is the same female lead from TO THE WONDER. (And I suspect I'll have the same reaction after BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI, which is next.) Here, Ma Yi Li's understated performance could be mistaken as phoned in, but instead is perfectly suited for her troubled home life.

4. Actress Lan Ying Ying was driving me crazy. She seemed so familiar, but in an American actress way. Each episode I could almost identify her. Then I was like, no -- she's very similar to Zhu Zhu from TALE OF ROSE. But then nope again -- until I realized Lan Ying Ying was in ROSE. Lan grows more and more interesting each time she returns. Such a great role for her. Also, a great ROSE reunion with her and --

5. Tong Da Wei. I forgot that I was introduced to Tong in THE DISAPPEARING CHILD, and so this is my third outing with him and now I'll watch anything he's in. Like Lan, just plain terrific.

6. Christine Zheng's performance is so... moving. It's not that her acting is exemplary. She just nails the role. She wouldn't hurt a fly, and we love her for this. To me, she's the Chinese answer to Elizabeth Hartman, an obscure but great actress from 1960's America. While we're on the look alike thing --

7. -- Liu Huan's portrayal of our FL's husband is great, but I'll be damned if he isn't the Chinese answer to Anthony Perkins. (That's the second reference to Norman Bates in one review.)

8. It's cool how there are two mysteries that divide the series in half EXACTLY at the halfway point of the middle episode. This makes this 15 episode series fly.

9. One picky note is that the series dispensed with characters or mentions of them a little too eagerly. The cop's husband falls out of the story completely in the second half, where a phone call between them could have reminded us of his persisting relevance. Similarly, the lady in the wheelchair had an arranged marriage fiance who disappeared from the story more out of convenience than much else. You'd think Wheelchair would be spend a lot more time complaining about his selfishness, but the story had a romance to tell and cleanly pushed this man out of the way.

This last note is a little spoilerish --

10. Again, this was an enjoyable diversion and frankly I'd like to see the 'Master' and her partner return for another mystery, joined by the separated husband, their daughter, and the cops good friend 'on wheels'. Plus we'd get to watch our FL's journey towards sensitivity and love.

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First time I've ever said this: the series is too SHORT!

Greetings,

Daisy Li showed up midway in A DREAM OF SPLENDOR and stood out in an already fantastic female cast. Short, scrappy, moody, pretty with big ears -- what's not to love? That's why I decided to give this micro-series a roll.

This series is decent but it suffers from a bumpy premise device. A Book of Fate makes all the rules in this story, and we don't know why the book exists, what rules it must follow, what rules it can break -- and eventually -- it came off to me as a device making all sorts of twists possible instead of believable. The twists also came too many too fast.

Whereas most series seem to be longer than they need to be, this series was too short. I think somewhere between 12 - 20 full length episodes would have covered it. But I chose this series as a bit of bubblegum between more serious series and the sweet taste lasted the entire time, so maybe shorter was the right idea.

I can now say that Daisy Li should be getting more lead roles. She's looks 23, is actually 31, but whenever she lowered her voice in pain and sorrow you FELT her actual age and it was perfect. Yes, she's likely going to get impish roles for the next few years, but I hope they give the edge she sometimes had here.

Speaking of an edge, this series had a little too much choking and stabbing of women for my taste. I love many Chinese romantic dramas because they pull back some on violence, but in just the three years I've been enjoying the 'sex' and violence have been ramping up to Western media excess.

(I put 'sex' in quotes because actually the ramping up there is good. No, I haven't really seen many sex scenes. What I have seen is couples actually kissing instead of the story going out of it's way to removing kissing from romances. My favorite scene of this short series is a great kiss. Wife and I have rewatched it about 10 times, lol.)

The male lead here was generic during the first third of this series but came to life afterwards. I'll keep an eye on his career too.

All in all a satisfying tale, but I wish the entire book thing was simpler instead of jarring. (I would have gone with a lady that talks to her in her dreams and begins appearing as a ghost in real life.)

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REVENGE THRILLER BANKS INTO A FASCINATIONG WHODUNNIT

A young dude kills a young lady in a vicious way. Fisherman Dad is pissed and plans to avenge his daughter's death. This man doesn't care who knows his quest because he's willing to die as long as the killer dies first. Our ML is tearing the place to shreds in a really scary yet entertaining way because Daddy Don't Take Prisoners.

But just before this long movie's middle it struck me -- wait -- they never showed us the killer killing the young lady. And all of a sudden we're inside a fascinating whodunnit. I won't drop any hints here but tell you the quest for the killer makes this a THUMBS UP to watch.

What I will say is the movie slightly fumbled the reveal of the executioner. We discover that someone inspired the killer to kill the young lady, but the inspiration was fumbled instead of compelling. Once you've seen this film -- and you should -- see my comment below that says REVEAL SPOILER and tell me if you agree.

I watched this because of ZHOU XUN (RUYI, IMPERFECT VICTIM, IMPERFECT LOVE, etc.) and ZHOU YI RAN (TO THE WONDER). They didn't disappoint.

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The Little Soap That Could!

This No-Budget Soap Opera starts in the 70s with a bunch of childhood friends who we follow thru the decades and their trials and tribulations. What grabbed my interest was how 'communist' it was compared to other C-Dramas I've watched. I really knew nothing about this time in China's history. The other interest here was, well, I was the age of these characters in the 70's in America. And so while I was listening to the Bee Gees, they were doing all sorts of different things.

If you want to know if you should watch this show with as little spoilers as possible, I'll tell you this: I've watched better shows. So if you're new to C-Dramas, this won't disappoint because you have not seen better yet. What I will tell the experienced viewer is that this is a very calm show that doesn't put you to sleep. (I enjoyed THREE BODY but man was that sleepy!) So if you're even curious like I was -- skip the rest of this review and give 3 episodes a try to see if you want to see Ep 4, okay?

Here's some thoughts in no order of importance --

1. Damn this thing was shot on a piggy bank. Pocket change. That's what I mean by a 'little' soap, like a small bar of soap in a hotel room. Despite this the show was pretty good looking. The photography wasn't inspired as much as... urm... just nice to look. The sets were crazy cheap but not as distracting as one reviewer had said. Lots of scenes were reported in on the phone as to avoid having to stage them. You don't watch this series for amazing production values. You watch it for --

2. -- this TERRIFIC cast. I came here for the male and female lead. I frankly feel they're much better here than they were in JOY OF LIFE Season One.

Li Qin ran around JOY with a leg of chicken being cute until the writers gave up on her. Here her character starts a little interesting but simply gets more and more interesting as the show progresses, especially in the 2nd half. (Be patient!) And she's particularly deep inside her character in the remarkably intense final episode.

Xiao Zhan is tackling a very difficult role of being a great guy, a dreamboat, and yet humble, and yet magnanimous, everybody's friend but sometimes someone's enemy too. Several someones. To be honest there were times where the demands of this role exceeded his abilities. The thing is he's just a little too handsome and that can be rather distracting from his character's struggles. You're like, "How can this gorgeous youthfun hunk of man be suffering?!?" Yet he did a pretty good job and I'd bet this role has made him a better actor. Give him time and he'll be the new Wallace Huo.

Liu Rui Lin and Cao Fei Ran play the most important supporting roles. As our ML's main 'brother', this Chinese Richard Gere clone has a thankless job playing Guohua... but kinda nails it. His love interest Hongling plays an even trickier role where you want to slap her sometimes but she can't help every last decision destiny has dropped on her. This actress carries a lot of the show's weight in the first half.

So you think that's it for couples in this show? HARDLY.

Zhao Xin and Cui Hang also make the experience worthwhile. Xin's 'Ye Fang' gets more and more interesting as the show progresses, and this poor actress must restrain herself the entire time. Hang's Hongjun is all over the place in a role that shouldn't work but utterly makes sense.

And get this. There's one more pair to tune in for: Zhang Ling Xin' and Lenox Lu are terrific too in an unexpected way. When Qi Tian first shows up in his truly stupid hat -- I didn't expect much from him. But his low weird gutteral way of speaking made him very different than the rest -- and like I keep saying -- his character grows on you.

There's even one more pair of actors that were eeriely like the Chinese Ralph and Alice Kramden (You Xian Chao and Gao Yuan). No, seriously. Check The Honeymooners on YouTube if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

3. The songs and incidental music in this show are lovely. A good soap opera has themes the play over and over and over and over (Twin Peaks) and this soap has them too. Mostly gentle piano pieces, and the lyrics of the songs they play translate well.

4. This show has two sets of parents that are nearly identical to Western eyes. Prying pushy Momma and Pushover Papa. This was the only casting mistake I caught in the series. Or really a writing error where on couple should have been Pushy Papa and Caring Momma.

5. I don't know what the deal is with C-Dramas but several I've seen end early. There's an episode around 27 that gave me the impression the story was minutes from being over. It feels like the producers were only allowed to produce that many episodes but when the studio saw it they said 'add 10 more'. The good news is that the additional episodes work fine, except perhaps the final one.

6. So if the production values are good, the cast great -- the only way to make this thing watchable is STORY. This is a story that relies heavily upon soap opera melodramatic tropes, which can make it feel so generic as to be generated by AI. This sounds like a knock but, hey, it's fun to watch a soapy melodrama as long as it's not stupid. And the inclusion of the military episodes in the first half is more inventive than hospital scenes, although those eventually merge.

As a Westerner and America, I was fearful this story might be propaganda. For the story starts in heavy communism but ends in vibrant capitalism. So which 'team' is this show on. What makes THE YOUTHFUL MEMORIES interesting is that it's on both teams.

(From here on I might get mildly spoilish -- so stop reading now if you want to be surprised. I won't be offended.)

The show starts with the idea that although communism isn't the most lavish of lifestyles, and that in the 70s if felt like everyone was in the military one way or another, it presented these days with the idea that everyone could have a place. All for one, one for all. Yes, there were misfits who resorted to criminal behaviors, but overall the show suggests that there was a sense of law, order, family, community, propriety, brotherhood, sisterhood, and love. Perhaps thru rose tinted glasses, but you follow me.

By the time commerce smashed into China, and times had changed, a weird thing happens. Brothers turn against brothers. Love and family may not be as compelling as getting rich quick. The unfortunate reality that capitalism generates WINNERS and LOSERS, introducing the idea of MUSICAL CHAIRS to communism. The same misfits and criminals are around societies edges, but this time capitalism is their friend instead of communism their enemy.

The show isn't as political as I'm making it sound. It's really who loves who and when and who doesn't and why, like any good soap. But I will spoil that the show ends with a happy medium politically -- if we meld the brotherhood of communism with the profits of capitalism, maybe life can improve for all in China.

Like almost every C-Drama I've watched, the show's ending was slightly fumbled. Towards the end of the penultimate episode, a new plot is introduced. And it's a biggy. It' s SUPER melodramatic. The problem is it's not what the story was leading up to, it's not named as a specific historical event that happened, and I think was thrown in for sensationalism and nothing more.

Often in American TV shows after 9/11 they threw in a 9/11 like event to rip open the wound and horror, and I believe this show did the same on a different type of tragedy. That said, the show handles this 'big' weird finish well so it's not a failure as much as a fumble.

Hope this helps someone!

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What is it with Zhou Xun starring with... Zhou Xun?

This is maybe the 4th time I've seen the amazing Zhou Xun co-starring with herself. I bet it's killing Meryl Streep it never occurred to her to do the same.

This film is a watch if you enjoy Zhou Xun. It's not her best, it's not her worst. It's pretty good. She's a pleasure to watch and so YAY if she plays two characters even. The shortcoming here is the story.

This Courtroom drama has a rushed feeling to it and we learn why 2/3rds of the way through when it concludes: there's an extra 35 minutes which reveals a handful of secrets. It's a GOTCHA surprise TWIST that, like all such gotchas makes you first say HUH? and the re-examine everything you just saw to understand it a 2nd way.

I've frankly grown weary of these type of stories because it's so tedious to re-examine EVERYTHING and see how the hidden story may have been there all along. Usually these type of stories come off as more contrived than clever and this one is unnecessarily confusing as well.

The twist reveal eats up so much of this tale, wasting time I'd rather see with Zhou Xun fleshing out 3 other characters.

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