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      Zhou Yu's Train

      PG-13 Released Aug 1, 2002 1h 32m Drama Romance List
      42% 57 Reviews Tomatometer 59% 2,500+ Ratings Audience Score A Chinese woman (Gong Li) travels by train for sexual liaisons with the schoolteacher (Tony Leung Ka Fai) who wrote a beautiful poem for her. Read More Read Less
      Zhou Yu's Train

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      Critics Consensus

      Despite some beautifully framed images, this mood piece, told in a fractured fashion, is confounding and, ultimately, unsatisfying.

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      Critics Reviews

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      Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle It just may be a movie that has difficulty transcending national borders. Rated: 2/5 Oct 19, 2004 Full Review Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer Li fails to stoke much heat in Sun Zhou's pretentious and symbolic love triangle. Rated: 2/4 Oct 19, 2004 Full Review Marta Barber Miami Herald Beautiful to look at but aimless as a broken compass. Rated: 2/4 Sep 24, 2004 Full Review Dan Sallitt Senses of Cinema One can quibble with the film here and there, and it takes a turn toward conventional sentiment at the end, but it's a pleasure to be able to describe a film as Hollywoodish and mean it as a compliment. Oct 18, 2018 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ...lovely and slight Rated: B Jan 29, 2005 Full Review Don Willmott Filmcritic.com See Zhou Yu's Train for the interesting Chinese scenery, or see it to feast your eyes on the always beautiful Gong Li, but don't see it for the drama Rated: 2.5/5 Nov 27, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Feeble Chinese movie about a woman named Zhou Yu (Li Gong) who falls in love with a teacher (Tony Leung Kar-Fai) because of his insignificant poems (at least I thought they were). They become obsessed with one another and chase each other with the use of trains (trains are huge in China as indicated in the 2009 documentary "Last Train Home" which I recommend over this). However, the teacher is in love with another woman. I seriously love trains and watch them all the time here in Canada (also across the border in the United States), but I really don't like inefficiency, and pretty much, that is what this movie is. It's not interesting, dramatic, significant, and actors just don't look like they care. The only compensating value is the scenery and I suppose the constant site of trains which are used inefficiently throughout, but this movie does very little to interest the viewer. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member brilliant Film I loved it Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member lavish and slow moving this reminded me of the films of Wong Kar Wai as a women moves between 2 lovers, I would say the trains,buses and cable cars serve as a metaphor for sex (oh boy Frued), and distance between us and the characters in the movie, well done. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Let down by a fruitless story, Zhou Yu's Train is yet another sad example of style over substance. Considering the brainpower required to keep up with the confusing narrative, there is minimal payoff here for the committed viewer. Zhou Yu's Train follows beautiful Zhou Yu (Gong Li) as she falls in love with a handsome poet (Tony Leung Ka Fai), however when she meets a charming stranger on her regular train journeys (Honglei Sun), her love is tested as she falls for two men at once. This may sound like your average love-triangle tale but Li also plays Xiu, a woman who falls for the poet through his words without ever meeting him. This opens the film to much speculation over the reason why Li plays both roles; perhaps it's because the story is told from Xiu's perspective and she imagines herself in Zhou Yu's place. However with just a haircut showing the difference between the two characters, it wasn't until the end of the movie that I realised it wasn't just the same character at a different point in time. This of course led to confusion and ultimately frustration, preventing me from fully committing to the story, which failed to hold my attention on several occasions. Thankfully there are areas of the film which can be enjoyed. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Chinese actress Gong Li, regarding her as one of the most underrated actresses around. Her performance here is sadly not on a par with her best work, but is effective nonetheless, as she makes a plausible heroine with enough likeability to see most viewers through to the end of the film. Her natural acting talent is given plenty of room to fill in the gaps in the story, and suffices to an extent, but is not enough to completely overshadow the film's flaws. Equally the aesthetics of the movie are undeniably strong, but again don't manage to make up for the shoddy story. The cinematography is particularly good, framing Li and her costars commendably. The score too is a highlight of the film, accentuating the drama with aplomb. As such Zhou Yu's Train is a decent but inherently disappointing film that fails to stand up next to the high standard set by Chinese romantic dramas of the past. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Una historia de amor bellisimamente fotografiada y bellisimamente actuada por Gong Li y Tony Leung, desarrollada a partir de recuerdos fragmentados, y que aborda el eterno dilema de la mujer: debe elegir al hombre al que siempre tiene que buscar? (el poeta) o mas bien debe quedarse con el hombre que siempre la busca? (el veterninario de cerdos). Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Una historia de amor bellisimamente fotografiada y bellisimamente actuada por Gong Li y Tony Leung, desarrollada a partir de recuerdos fragmentados, y que aborda el eterno dilema de la mujer: debe elegir al hombre al que siempre tiene que buscar? (el poeta) o mas bien debe quedarse con el hombre que siempre la busca? (el veterninario de cerdos). Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis A Chinese woman (Gong Li) travels by train for sexual liaisons with the schoolteacher (Tony Leung Ka Fai) who wrote a beautiful poem for her.
      Director
      Sun Zhou
      Screenwriter
      Cun Be, Mei Zhang, Sun Zhou
      Distributor
      Sony Pictures Classics, Good Machine International
      Production Co
      China Film Co-Production Corporation
      Rating
      PG-13
      Genre
      Drama, Romance
      Original Language
      Chinese
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Aug 1, 2002, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Nov 23, 2004
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $141.7K
      Runtime
      1h 32m
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Digital, Surround