介绍:
The film "American Dreams in China" is Hong Kong director Peter Chan's first attempt at a contemporary drama. Based on the story that he adopts, I guess he was going after David Finch and "The Social Network," but what he really delivered is a hollow story without a spirit.
Like Finch, Chan tells the success story of insignificant nobodies. In this case, it is about a Chinese teacher who became one of China's wealthiest men through his English-language tutorial centers. Apart from the title, the word "dream" is brought up several times in the movie, which is very much in line with Chan's obsession with the topic. But, two of the major characters in the story showed no dream at all. The only one who dreamt of going to the US couldn't produce a reasonable explanation for his eagerness, and at the end of the day he was disillusioned and had to return to China.
Rather than dreams, it seems to be a movie about friendship. The joint efforts of three friends bring success to their business, but once they've succeeded, difference of opinions sends them on separate ways.
Even on the topic of friendship, the movie failed to offer a complete story. For example, not enough is done to describe the establishment and development of their friendship, so when one of them leaves for the US, the eruption of emotion comes as a surprise to the audience.
One explanation for the weak story is perhaps the director has placed too much focus on reproducing what it looked like in the 1980s and years after that. In this respect, the movie is more efficient than another recent Chinese movie "So Young." The images of deserted factory buildings and enamel cups almost immediately bring the audience back in time.
However, the elaborately-arranged setting is undermined by ineffective cinematography. My immediately impression of the movie is its shaky and stifling pictures, and I was very surprised to find out that they were actually filmed by Christopher Doyle. Maybe, like Peter Chan, he just wasn't used to filming contemporary dramas.
The last straw that broke the camel's back is the acting, or more specifically the dubbing. Actor Huang Xiaoming has always been ridiculed for his English pronunciation. His role as the owner of the English-language tutorial business gives his enemies even more ammunition. Honestly, I would be able to understand his lines without the Chinese subtitles.
So, all things add up, "American Dreams in China" appears to be a failed attempt, and deserves no more than four on a scale of one to 10.
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