dave j
Monday, June 16, 2014
(1991) Iron And Silk
DOCU-DRAMA
Adapted from the Mark Salzman book detailing his experiences while he was working in China as an English teacher. What's interesting is the fact that both Mark and the Chinese martial arts teacher he bonds with by the name of Pan Qingfu are also playing themselves. Pan Qingfu has also been in other movies including Jet Lee's first martial arts movie called "The Shaolin Temple" made in 1981. One of the most quassential docu-drama's about the culture of China during that time. And although, the acting is not Oscar worthy, there are many fascinating factions happening throughout. This is probably the mature realistic version of "The Karate Kid".
3 out of 4 stars
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
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Audience Member
Photography is dull, direction is basic, performances are so so... But for anybody interested in cultural clash and Chinese culture, it's a very sincere and accurate depiction. Even if things slowly evolve.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Audience Member
So an American college graduate heads to China to absorb some culture. He does so by accepting a gig teaching English. During his time there, he finds a love, learns martial arts, tai chi, etc. It's a very pure movie; it should be, the actor is also the author of the nonfiction book and he even had other people portray themselves in the flick. There isn't a lot of tension so don't expect a 'Red Corner' type of story, but it's pleasant nonetheless.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
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Audience Member
Charming, earnest, low-budget story with beautiful scenery.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
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Audience Member
This movie was awesome for what it was. Gives a really good approximation of Chinese culture, subtle things that I hadn't realized I just took for granted. Anyone planning on visiting China should consider watching this film.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
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Audience Member
as i was saying, whata weekend! friday started early, 7:30 was up and did all the usual home stuff, around 11:00 drove to north berkeley and barted to the city. once in the city, went to macy's men's building to see the HK wushu team demo... hmm.. well, short bits of 15 minutes, which i only saw the first one. super small place, no chemistry ;) few people were around watching, of course, there was no place for people to watch either! oh well...
met with djbam and briefly said hello to a few team member and their coach and went to have some lunch with djbam and a friend to a thai restaurant that had the most amazing waitresses that i have seen lately ;) (not that amazing..... but of course, u have to see the waitresses of canton! eventhough i did meet one interesting last week at friday's, after being in the bay area this weekend, i dunno if i think she is interesting anymore :D)
after lunch, took the bart back to the east bay, grabbed my car and drove to the famous headquarters of RT! too bad i could not get off and take a short tour ;) there is no place to park outside that building! there, saw smellycat and got my package from etchy... yes! among other things there was the japanese movie program of new police story! nice!
went back home and added it to my collection, so etchy can have an idea of the volume of his gift, this is my FORTYFORTH japanese movie program of jackie! check'm out:
[center][img]http://perso.wanadoo.es/jlpaufil2/tiff/jpncoleccion.jpg[/img][/center]
yep, 44 of them, all in perfect condition and conveniently stored ;) so yeah, it was a nice gift, Domo Arigato Goza Imasssu!! ;)
back at home, my friend lan was back from beijing, bringing me the new photo book of wushu that has been published. it's big and thick blue book called "zhong hua wu shu hua ce", very similar to that other book that published around 2000, the "chinese wushu pictorial". This new one has no english name and shows pictures of some history, styles, famous ppl, and schools from all over china. interesting gift for my collection too!
then, to close friday, i watched a nice new DVD that i got; the famous american wushu movie "iron & silk", what a well done movie!! the DVD's image is very clear, but it only comes in fullscreen version which is a shame. there are no subtitles or languages options either, but the movie pays off for what it is...
[center][img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/coverv/89/111089.jpg[/img][/center]
i used to own a very old copy of copy of copy in VHS format, watching it now in DVD quality allowed me to notice so many new things i haven't seen before. the movie does not criticize china so heavily as the book though, it is a bit softer in that sense, but still takes a few stakes at china's views on foreign countries and foreigners plus china systems in general... and like a wushu friend of mine who used to live and work in china during mid 80's said once: "yeah, apart from not being able to get the girl, the rest are things that have happened to all of us" :D:D:D.
understanding all its limitations as a movie, i give it an 8/10 for the enjoyable time...
and more on the weekend later...
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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