The Chinese Widow

2017

1 hr. 37 min.

History

Drama

Romance

War

List

Reviews

53%

50+ Ratings

Audience Score

Following a retaliatory air strike on Tokyo after Japanese forces bomb Pearl Harbor, an Air Force commander makes an emergency landing in China, where he is given shelter by a local widow.

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Premiered Nov 28

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Michael B

Terrible CGI, and I ain't picky about CGI. I wish there were 80 years of filmography about WWII to help the costumers get US military uniforms right. Oh wait, there is! I guess that means the producers of this movie didn't care about getting details right. This movie didn't make me wish I had the time I spent watching it back, but it almost did. It had some decent acting in it but the production value is a mixed bag. Also, the CCP messaging is not what anyone would call "subtle". Anyhow, it's a meh movie that could have been a really good movie. Sadly it was a movie with too much unfulfilled potential.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

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zelda g

Slow. Good photography, once you get through the opening CGI plane crash. Stilted dialogue, showing its translation from the original Mandarin, Not terrible.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/23/23

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Marc K

Cheap remake of the Doolittle portions from the Hornet & Tokyo bombing raid. Film gets interesting once the pilot was down in China. Harsh war film from there on. It is also a PRC propaganda film with not so subtle message of "why we must continue to hate the Japanese" Ending could have been much better

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/11/22

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Audience Member

Exelente película me gustó mucho ,no me gustó el final por qué creo que la mujer tuvo que haber vivido y no tuvo que morir pero de resto es una gran película con exelentes actores. La actriz Liu Yifei me parece una excelente actriz ojalá tenga muchos éxitos en su carrera

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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cal w

This movie was so god-awful I had to fast forward it to the last 10 minutes to see how it ended. Don't waste your time on this low budget mess. 😱 Made in China. 🇨🇳

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Frances H

A wonderful film that tells the story of the bravery of one Chinese widow when she undertakes to hide an American airman from the Japanese during WWII. So many were brave enough to fight the enemy any way they could, and so many paid the price for doing so. This film honors their sacrifice.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/11/20

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Bille August

Director

Emile Hirsch

Jack

Yifei Liu

Ying

Fangcong Li

Nunu

Yikuan Yan

Kai

Shaoqun Yu

Jun

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Andrew Barker

Variety

An inoffensive, well-intentioned film derailed by a dozen little head-scratching decisions.

Nov 6, 2018

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Fionnuala Halligan

Screen International

A well-meaning, flat film which also feels somewhat unfinished - although there's not much in here to suggest that a further reworking is merited.

Jun 26, 2017

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Todd Jorgenson

Cinemalogue

Although it means well, this emotional stakes in this bilingual World War II melodrama become lost in translation.

Nov 2, 2018

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Synopsis

Following a retaliatory air strike on Tokyo after Japanese forces bomb Pearl Harbor, an Air Force commander makes an emergency landing in China, where he is given shelter by a local widow.

Director: Bille August
Executive Producer: Peng Sun
Screenwriter: Greg Latter
Production Co: Shout! Factory
Genre: History, Drama, Romance, War
Original Language: Chinese
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2018

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