Audience Member
On the pretext of making a movie about the Beijing rock scene, Mabel Cheung delivers another quality drama about Chinese identity and geographically and psychologically displaced individuals. As bait she uses the hunky Daniel Wu and the photogenic Shu Qi, making them part of a love triangle with lesser known Mainland actor Geng Le. But the love story stops short rather abruptly, forcing the viewer to ponder a variety of social issues instead, such as the poor economic situation of China's floating population, the corrupt state of the Chinese music industry and possibly even the marginalization of Hong Kong pop- and business culture since the handover. Beijing Rocks works well as long as it remains a low-key road movie with slices of social drama, but as melodrama gets the better of Alex Law's dominantly excellent screenplay, the picture starts to feel high-strung and just a little bit pretentious, minor flaws that won't spoil the overall favourable impression, however.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
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Audience Member
an earnest story about free spirited struggling musicians. as well, a deeper tale on love and friendship. all this in t- he backdrop of life in the mainland. shu qi, daniel wu and geng le definitely give personal powerful performances!
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
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Audience Member
An excellent study in the role of poetic flourishes in Chinese cinema and how, when directors attempt to mix poetry with real life, the entire project falls apart at the seams.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Simply, a good film. The duo of Mabel Cheung (director) and Alex Law (writer) is undoubtedly the most trustworthy filmmaker(s) in Hong Kong today. The catchphrase of this film is "Chinese 'Almost Famous,'" and it is really like that, although the story is not same at all (I gotta admit that there are some similar characters). Also, this film is obviously under the influence of Yuan Zhang's "Beijing Bastards." Although too much use of slo-mo and some showy meaningless effects on image spoil the overall good atmosphere of the film, the story and characters are both attractive, and use of symbolism (the dog, videotape, and Mexican jumping beans) is great as Cheung and Law's other films. Qi Shu is probably little bit too easy choice for the role (she does a good job tho), but Daniel Wu is great choice. I didn't know the other actor, Geng Le, but he fits to this role great too. Richard Ng, Hong Kong's famous comedy actor, gives a great performance even in a serious role. I wish the filmmakers treats Beijing city as the other main character of the film, but the original atmosphere that Beijing has is not caught well onto the film, probably because Cheung and Law are Hong Kongese. Also, the rock songs, another core of the film, should be better. Still, this is a solid tail of the group of several young people grows up through the experience of failure.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
Audience Member
An enjoyable love triangle set against the story of a rockband trying to find fans across the Chinese countryside. Enjoyable for the perfomances of Shu Qi and the quieter male lead.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/04/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I think this is the first movie about Beijing's underground music. Was impressed by the story of Mexican Jumping Bean.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
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