Sunday 17th May

Little Red Flowers

Director: Yuan Zhang
Year: 2006
Stars: Bowen Dong, Yuanyuan Ning, Zhao Rui, Chen Manyuan

Now this is an odd film. I still don't really know what the point of it was. It ended with both of us saying "huh?" and then mostly forgetting the banality that had come before. Of course, it being a Chinese movie I may well be missing the point - comments on imdb have made me rethink the film a little, certainly with the suggestion that Chinese directors simply can't say things the way a Western film would, and have to find alternative ways to do it.

My initial thoughts, though, were that the film itself is quite watchable - a Chinese film about a boarding school for 4/5 year olds, it begins well enough, and there's hope that something of interest will follow. Nothing really does - the film simply tells the story of one boy as he starts to grow up at the boarding school.

There's not a lot more to say - if there had been a (obvious to Western audiences) plot or point, this could have been a good film. As it is, there are some very interesting shots and the film is well made, but for an impatient Western audience it's unlikely to find many fans.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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About Me

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I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.