Author Topic: Ang Lee at Venice  (Read 4627 times)

Offline luigival

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Ang Lee at Venice
« on: August 31, 2007, 03:55:31 pm »
True to tradition, requesting me to remember to Brokies, Bettermostians and Tremblayans what's goin' on in Italy, the Venice Film festival is now on, and yesterday marked the official prémiere of Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution" (or: Se, Jie, in Chinese).
I didn't have much time to follow up the event - not talking about flying to Venice for the screening - but tried to catch up some critics reactions on TV and newspapers.
Well, it seems the new creature of Ang has stirred somehow mixed reactions among movie critics. Yesterday on ComingSoon TV - the Italian TV Cinema channel - one of them who had been a great supporter of BBM two years ago, highlighted two weak points according to his point of view, despite  the movie being extremely well produced and supremely well acted.
First, the level of visual sophistication and search for aestheticism reached by Ang has somehow threatend and kiled the true passion that should have been erupting from the screen. Even the more passionate love scenes seem to have been so "stylized" to resemble more a mere visual exercise than the photography of a state of being. He defined the movie as "very cold".
Secondly, he felt the story was too much diluted, bringing the overall length of the film - which runs at more than 2,5 hours - to an excess.
More or less the same comments were formulated this morning by another critic on a major newspaper.
For your pleasure, though, if you can read Italian, I'm attaching herewith the comments of the Grandfather of all movie critics, our Gianluigi Rondi, who adored BBM two years ago, and actually showed great affection also for this latest work of Ang:

di GIAN LUIGI RONDI LUST, CAUTION, di Ang Lee, Cina.
VENEZIA - Ang Lee è tornato in Cina, come ai tempi della "Tigre e il dragone", dopo i successi e i premi in Occidente, e anche qui a Venezia, per i " I segreti di Brokeback Mountain". Si è fatto ispirare da un romanzo di una scrittrice cinese, Eileen Chang, morta negli Stati Uniti qualche hanno fa, "Lust, Caution" (Voglia sfrenata, prudenza) e ci ha dato un film teso, commovente, tragico ma anche visualmente sontuoso, che va degnamente ad aggiungersi ai tanti della sua feconda e fortunata carriera. In Cina, prima a Hong Kong e poi a Shangai, durante l’occupazione giapponese ai tempi della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Degli studenti, fieri, animosi, ma poco preparati, cercano di organizzare una sorta di resistenza clandestina per contrastare alcuni collaborazionisti spietati come in Europa le SS. tra questi c’è un superpoliziotto, anche agente segreto, un certo Mr.Yee, che hanno deciso di eliminarlo. Per riuscirci (è perennemente circondato da armati fedelissimi) pensano di farlo sedurre da una giovane collega che generosamente si presta ma, pur pronta ad assolvere totalmente al proprio impegno, alla fine si innamora dell’uomo che invece doveva circuire. E, con tutti i suoi, pagherà con la vita. Azione, sentimenti, sesso, anche sfrenato, caratteri forti, un’ambientazione splendidamente rievocata, con immagini, nel privato e in esterni nel pubblico, di un realismo spesso sublimato in pittura. Lei è una bellissima esordiente, Tang Wei, lui è il divo asiatico per eccellenza, Tony Leung, nelle vesti insolite di un personaggio negativo.


Of course, I'll be trying to see it as soon as I can, though the release date in Italy has not yet been set.

Luigi
They were two friends of mine

Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2007, 04:12:04 pm »
And as a public service, the English version of that review! (All right, I'll admit, Babelfish helped me out!)

Ang Lee is returned in China, like to the times of the "Tiger and the dragone", after the successes and the prizes in the West, and also here to Venice, for "the secrets of Brokeback Mountain". It has been made to inspire from a novel of one scrittrice Chinese, Eileen Chang, died in the United States some have ago, "Lust, Caution" (Wants unbridled, precaution) and it has given stiff, moving, tragic a film to us but also visual sontuoso, that it goes with dignity to join to the many of its the fecund and fortunate career. In China, before to Hong Kong and then to Shangai, during the Japanese occupation to the times of the Second World war. Of the students, fairs, courageous, but little prepare, try to you to organize rising of clandestine resistance in order to contrast some pitiless collaborazionisti as in Europe the SS. between these are a superpoliceman, also secret agent, a sure Mr.Yee, that they have decided to eliminate it. In order to succeed to us (perennially it is encircled the most faithful armed) think to make it sedurre from one young colleague who generous lend itself but, also ready to acquit totally to just the engagement, to the end innamora of the man who instead had circuire. And, with all its, will pay with the life. Strong action, feelings, sex, also unbridled, characters, an acclimatization splendidly recalled, with images, in the private one and exteriors in the public, of a often sublimato realism in painting. It is a beautifulst esordiente, Tang Wei, he is the Asian divo for excellence, Tony Leung, in the unusual garments of a personage negative.
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Offline luigival

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2007, 04:20:21 pm »
And as a public service, the English version of that review! (All right, I'll admit, Babelfish helped me out!)

Ang Lee is returned in China, like to the times of the "Tiger and the dragone", after the successes and the prizes in the West, and also here to Venice, for "the secrets of Brokeback Mountain". It has been made to inspire from a novel of one scrittrice Chinese, Eileen Chang, died in the United States some have ago, "Lust, Caution" (Wants unbridled, precaution) and it has given stiff, moving, tragic a film to us but also visual sontuoso, that it goes with dignity to join to the many of its the fecund and fortunate career. In China, before to Hong Kong and then to Shangai, during the Japanese occupation to the times of the Second World war. Of the students, fairs, courageous, but little prepare, try to you to organize rising of clandestine resistance in order to contrast some pitiless collaborazionisti as in Europe the SS. between these are a superpoliceman, also secret agent, a sure Mr.Yee, that they have decided to eliminate it. In order to succeed to us (perennially it is encircled the most faithful armed) think to make it sedurre from one young colleague who generous lend itself but, also ready to acquit totally to just the engagement, to the end innamora of the man who instead had circuire. And, with all its, will pay with the life. Strong action, feelings, sex, also unbridled, characters, an acclimatization splendidly recalled, with images, in the private one and exteriors in the public, of a often sublimato realism in painting. It is a beautifulst esordiente, Tang Wei, he is the Asian divo for excellence, Tony Leung, in the unusual garments of a personage negative.

Thanks a lot MaineWriter, though the Babelfish translations always come out in a somehow funny way....
Luigi
They were two friends of mine

Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2007, 04:21:17 pm »
Thanks a lot MaineWriter, though the Babelfish translations always come out in a somehow funny way....
Luigi

That's mostly why I did it...but thanks for sharing your up close and personal view of what is going on in Italy at the festival!

Leslie
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Offline ifyoucantfixit

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2007, 04:33:35 pm »



        Wow Leslie, after reading that Babelfish review translation, it is difficult to tell if they liked it
or hated it......... :-\



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Offline MaineWriter

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #5 on: August 31, 2007, 04:51:10 pm »
There is a thread for this movie over on the Culture Tent and I posted two more reviews there, which are slightly more comprehensible. One mostly positive, the other less so. I don't think Ang Lee will take home first prize this year...

L
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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2007, 08:47:01 pm »
Grazie, Luigi e Leslie!  :)

Offline newyearsday

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2007, 04:24:41 pm »
He takes the prize! He takes the prize!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070908/en_nm/venice_dc

GO, ANG, GO!
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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #8 on: September 08, 2007, 08:43:01 pm »
Yay, that's so great for Ang!
 :)
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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2007, 12:58:12 am »
Thanks for posting that article, Jenny.  Oh how wistful this line made me.  If only it could have been about...

"...sex scenes between them were a major talking point in Venice, and Lee hinted to reporters that they were real."

:)

Offline luigival

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Re: Ang Lee at Venice
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2007, 10:04:07 am »
Whoa! So great he made it once more. Just willing to see the movie as soon as it's released
They were two friends of mine