Lan mei zhi ye
Regie:
Kar-wai WongMuziek:
Ry CooderActeurs:
Norah Jones, Jude Law, David Strathairn, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, Frankie Faison, Katya Blumenberg, Jackie Moore, Adriane Lenox, Benjamin Kanes (meer)Samenvattingen(1)
Een jonge vrouw maakt een reis door Amerika op zoek naar de ware betekenis van liefde. Onderweg ontmoet ze aparte mensen die haar dichter bij haar doel brengen, zoals een bakker die verliefd op haar wordt als ze bij hem een gebakje eet en twee lesbische jongedames die haar de andere kant van haar seksualiteit laten zien. (A-Film Benelux)
(meer)Recensie (4)
It’s not often that you see such an excellent cast in such a bland film. Only one of the three stories is good (the one with Natalie Portman), but the languidness and shapelessness of the director’s narrative takes away her chance to shine.
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These melancholic blueberries have one unbelievably strong thing in them. The longing to return to a place we used to go with someone, where we laughed and felt this is what life tastes like, and that this moment should never pass. And when it did, we want to experience at least a few more minutes from it and ask ourselves if something of our former self still remains. Unfortunately, these authentic experiences are hidden only in Jude Law's storyline, and the larger part is focused on the wanderings of the pleasant Elizabeth. It's not that watching Norah Jones is a bad thing, but her storyline is shamefully tired with its episodic nature, quickly bringing down the overall impression to an average level. Partly to blame is also the clumsy casting. It's a rare occurrence that two of my favorite actors are cast in supporting roles, but Kar-Wai Wong did it quite awkwardly. Rachel Weisz is definitely not convincing as a selfish police wife, nor is Natalie Portman convincing as an arrogant gambler. If this had been edited into a half-hour slice of romance, it would have beeen one of the most impressive conversations of all time.
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In those days, there was a wave of Asian directors trying their luck in the West. And those films of theirs really did look different, and they also featured actors such as Law, Portman, and Weisz. Still, they rarely lived up to expectations.
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Being completely unfamiliar with Kar-Wai Wong's work, I approached My Blueberry Nights without much expectation. An ex-girlfriend recommended the film to me and spoke of it with great enthusiasm (and maybe even subtext, who knows). From the opening minutes it was clear to me that this was no ordinary affair, but an intimately shot drama about finding yourself directed in an unconventional and appealing way. The choice of music was also very nice, the actors very pleasant. It truly doesn’t fall far short of 5 stars, maybe I’ll add the last one after the next viewing.)
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