| The Soong Sisters (1997) Director: Cheung Yuen-Ting
Starring: Maggie
Cheung, Michelle Khan, Vivian Wu
A co-production with/With location
shooting in mainland China, this is also the first time a Hong Kong film
directly tackles an important page of modern Chinese history in an epic
scale. It met serious censorship problems with the Chinese authorities
and, as a result, the release (in both Hong Kong and China) was
postponed for over a year, after heavy cuts by the Mainland Chinese
authorities.
"The Soong Sisters" is a very good
looking film. It's a massive film that must of had a nice budget to work
with. It brings to mind the large scale American films of the 50's and
60's. It's the sort of film that isn't made much anymore. Director
Cheung, of "An Autumn's Tale" fame, makes sure every shot is visually
interesting.
Maggie Chueng stands out for most of
most of the film. Her performance is moving. Yeoh comes across as sour
in a restrained role. The problem is she didn't have much to work with.
Her role is small and she never has a chance to show how well she can
act. Wu, who has yet to impress me, is the impulsive youngest sister.
She does a passable job.
The only weak links here is the
script. It's come under fire for it's historical inaccuracies. It's to
be expected with an period piece. Character development could have been
a little tighter.
Overall, great cinematography, an
interesting story and an outstanding soundtrack by Kitaro. Good to great
performances by Maggie, Michelle, and Vivian Wu.
DVD:
List Price: US $27.95
Sale
Price: US$10.50
Language:
Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitle:
English / Traditional Chinese
/ Simplified Chinese
All Regions
(Can be played on any DVD player in the
world)
Wide Screen
Rating:
I - Suitable
for all audiences (roughly equal to an MPPA rating of
"G" or "PG") Films rated Category I
contain nothing most parents will consider offensive for
their children to see or hear. Nudity, drug use, explicit
language, violence and adult situations are largely
absent, and if present are seen only briefly and at a
moderate level.
OR
|