October 9, 2015 in DRAMA FOREIGN

Coming Home Review

Coming HomeRYAN: This is a new Chinese language film with subtitles.  The titles are in white but difficult to read – often going by too fast or white text over white background.  But aside from the poor font color choice, this movie is quite melodramatic.

CAROLINE:  I wasn’t able to screen with you.  Is it very dramatic?

RYAN: The story is quite sad.  It’s about a political prisoner returning home to his wife who has amnesia and it’s really a frustrating story.  It’s like her amnesia is selective, although it’s not.  It just feels convenient for the story.

CAROLINE: That’s too bad.  It sounds like it could be good otherwise.

RYAN: It’s a dreary film – mostly with a desaturated color palate and a slow pace.  You really have to be patient with it – which is appropriate since it’s about patience.  It centers around the quiet moments; a love story about being patient with your true love.  I appreciate that message but LBH – that doesn’t make for the most exciting experience at the theater.

CAROLINE: Well, not everything has to be a blockbuster action movie.

RYAN: Of course not.  But there are ways to let a story unfold that are dramatic and yet gripping.  This movie was all around too slow, quite, down and boring to begin to captivate.

CAROLINE: Are the performances even good?

RYAN:They are outstanding.  This cast is wonderful and early on there are some ballet dance moments that are a highlight.  But I wished they would have continued throughout the film.  Dance as a metaphor in the story could have been cool.

CAROLINE: You’d never get a complaint from me, throwing some dancing in anywhere.

RYAN: There were some holes in the story that the screenplay tries to write off but I didn’t buy the explanations. There’s a much better version of this same kind of story out there – it’s the Nicole Kidman thriller Before I Go to Sleep.  It’s a very similar premise, in that it’s a wife not remembering her husband and I just kept thinking about how amazing that film is… which made this one even more boring.  Skip this one.

SKIP IT

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