Mountains May Depart

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isla s This film starts with an optimistic, energetic and youthful feel to it, with 'Go West' by Pet Shop Boys playing. It is upbeat in the first half but not entirely. It's a sobering family drama about freedom - personal freedom and Chinese cultural expectations, I suppose. It's a bit slow, plot wise, mid-way through and may bore some but I thought it's reasonably good. I'm not sure I'd especially recommend this as such - it doesn't stand out entirely but it's certainly not bad, if that helps at all. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Bold, original and poignant with an incredibly smart look on the workings of modern Chinese society Mountains May Depart is a brilliant if a little flawed twist on a seemingly basic premise. The three acts all have amazing things about them, though I think the second works the best, the transitions are smooth, detailed and carry on from each other excellently well. I hadn't seen a Jia film before this one and his original directing style made me want to watch as much of him as possible. It doesn't always pay off but he's insistent on doing something different that other films, especially of this type do not. While still good, the first act made me think the film was going to be a enjoyable if not a bit mildly diverting but Jia follows the film through with such originality and flair it makes it work as a whole. Capitalism is rife in Chinese society which poses a dangerous precedent of westernisation, loneliness and lack of identity which the film comments on terrifically. The whole thing is filmed beautifully and written well with a few hiccups. This is a fantastically new, thought provoking film that while it doesn't always work I appreciate Jia's attempt at originality and respect him and this film far more than a few others I've liked equally as much. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The structure is great, the emotions are rich, but the third act unravels my prior impression and that's a shame. It's always better to have a bad film with a mindblowing ending than the reverse of that. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Thoughtful and well acted drama on regrets and decisions in life. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member A bunch of 40 year olds trying to act like teenagers. Then '20 years later' they have exact same look, but now more realistic to their real age. Enough said. The direction sucks with so many useless shots. The actress got the lead probably because she's filthy rich but can't act to save her life. I really tried for 40 minutes and was just too much. Not sure why so many good reviews.. don't believe me? Go watch it yourself. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Carlo R Mountains May Depart es un vistazo a la naturaleza de las emociones y a las historias que puede generar una vida. Para quienes están acostumbrados al cine occidental, este filme confirma la universalidad de los sentimientos. La estructura de la película resulta bastante interesante. Basta con señalar que la presentación principal del título ocurre casi una hora después de que el filme ha iniciado. Esto pareciera dejar en claro que la primera parte se trata simplemente de una introducción y no representa necesariamente la esencia de la película; un buen pretexto para los grandes saltos que da la historia durante los primeros minutos, así como la rapidez con la que se desarrollan determinadas situaciones. A partir de este punto, la cinta se torna más lenta y profunda, involucrando no sólo sentimientos románticos, sino también demás elementos y emociones que aportan mayor diversidad al relato. Esta diversidad es tan amplia que en ocasiones pareciera que se trata de distintas películas que se encuentran ligeramente conectadas y que alternan el rol protagonista de los personajes. Se trata de una historia sentimental y reflexiva que recorre distintos aspectos de las emociones humanas, apoyándose en un interesante entorno y elementos propios del país en el que se desarrolla, lo que permite contar con un filme que no sólo funciona como un reflejo de las características humanas, sino también como un pequeño retrato de la cultura china y los elementos que la conforman. A pesar de las buenas intenciones del director y la reflexión que busca generar, Mountains May Depart puede resultar vaga y poco interesante por momentos, recorriendo un camino que pareciera no tener un rumbo totalmente definido y restándole solidez a la cinta en general. El resultado de esta situación es una película con elementos destacables pero que se aleja de ser completamente disfrutable. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 06/15/17 Full Review Read all reviews

Mountains May Depart

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