DVD Mini Review - Still Life

I got interested in seeing Zhang Jia's Still Life after it won the LA Film Critics Best Foreign Film Award. It was a most interesting choice since it was not that well known and had only a brief theatrical run in the States.

The story focuses on the effect of the opening of the Three Gorges Dam has on people living near the Yangtze River. Han Semning returns to the area to look for his ex-wife and daughter after not seeing them for 16 years. Finding them does not prove to be easy. Shen Hong is also looking for her spouse, who she hasn't seen for two years.

The film is beautifully shot - it won for best cinematography from the LA Film Critics. It must have been even more gorgeous on the big screen. But there is something missing from this film. While I was quite engaged on seeing what would happen to these people if and when they met up with their spouses I never felt drawn in emotionally. And that is what I wanted. A while ago I saw a documentary entitled Up the Yangtze (on DVD) that dealt with the same issue. But that film was much more emotionally satisfying.

I say see both films because you will learn something that is happening in another part of the world. But be aware that Still Life is not the masterpiece that some critics think it is.