UP THE YANGTZE

UP THE YANGTZE - 2007

RATED - NR but PG in other countries. Might get PG-13 rating here due to fair number of 'f' words by one of the main characters. Since he is Chinese speaking the word appears in the subtitle each time. Otherwise, very family friendly. Subtitles are only used for Chinese speaking characters, roughly half the dialogue.

RATINGS - 6 Amazon (4.5/5), 28,675 Netflix (3.5/5), 891 IMDB (7.4/10).

AWARDS - Won or was nominated for many awards at various film festivals including Sundance.

STORY - The film is a documentary primarily about a Chinese family living in the town of Fengdu on the Yangtze River. The world's largest dam project, The Three Gorges Dam, will displace about two million people who live along the river when it is completed. Is this progress or destruction? The film does not attempt to answer the question. It simply tells the story of this family and several others whose lives are affected by the new dam. Yu Shui, the 16 year old daughter, wants to be the first to go on to higher education after finishing middle school. The family, however, knows their future is changing as their home (shack really) on the river will soon be underwater when the dam is completed. That means they will have to rent somewhere and will no longer be able to grow their own food. Yu will have to go to work and earn money to go to school. The film follows this shy, young girl and another, outgoing, young man as they are hired by a luxury cruise ship on the Yangtze catering to wealthy European and North American tourists. They must both learn how to please (cater to) these visitors. Her parents also must cope with the changes happening in their lives. This is a film about real people whose lives are being changed by forces beyond their control and they must adapt to a lifestyle that is both unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The contrast between these people and the 'westernized' Chinese of the larger cities that they visit on the ship's itinerary is also portrayed. As China's economy grows and they gain access to more and more of the world's goods and services, the people, whether they want to or not, are being forced to change. The film doesn't judge the merits, it simply tells the stories. One more opportunity to get acquainted with people from this giant country that has come on to the world stage with such great force. Like it or not, we need to know as much as we can about the people we are joined with at the hip in so many ways. Enjoy. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/28/2010.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB

THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CAPITALISM

THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CAPITALISM - 2008

RATED - NR but G/PG for mature themes and discussion.

RATINGS - 16 Netflix (3.5/5)

STARRING - Ted Koppel

STORY - Imagine if the population of the U.S. quadrupled and the increase came mainly from rural areas and earned a fraction of what the rest of us earned. That would be something like the great contrasts that exist in China as it establishes itself as an economic superpower and the U.S. and China go forward, awkwardly 'joined at the hip', possibly irreversibly so. In this four part documentary Koppel takes a look at this complex love/hate relationship. We hate China when they take our jobs with their cheap labor but the same people who lost their jobs are the same ones (with millions others) who love shopping at Wal-Mart and other retailers with cheap, imported goods from China. We all probably know that but what doesn't seem to make the nightly news is the appetite the growing Chinese middle class have for high end 'American-made' products such as Ethan Allen furniture where the fabric and some components come from China, assembled here and shipped to China. Same is true autos. GM & Ford are flourishing in China and Asia. A Black Buick is a status car in China where 25,000 new cars are added to the highways EVERY DAY - 9,000,000 every year. 80% of Chinese car buyers have never owned an automobile. Think of America's love affair with the automobile back in the 1950's. The segment on auto insurance and how they handle the tsunami of accident claims is entertaining. Making money is the new religion in China. It comes before everything else - product safety, environmental concerns and even morality. In 2006 over 24,000 government workers were convicted of graft. While clearly many more goods come from China than are exported, our relationship is not as simple as the sound bites make it seem. Many American companies have established a very strong presence there and will benefit from the continuing growth of this amazing country and the seemingly unlimited potential of its growing middle class. To understand our future and the future of the planet, we need to understand China, both the good and the bad (huge environmental and energy issues, lack of political freedom). Will we compete or cooperate or both? This excellent documentary is a good beginning for those of us who are not experts. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 07/04/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON

EMPIRE OF THE SUN

EMPIRE OF THE SUN - 1987

RATED - PG for violence and intense scenes of terror. Not overly graphic but take it seriously for younger children. Recommended for 13 and over.

RATINGS - 255 Amazon (4.5/5), 590,285 Netflix (3.9/5), 29,383 IMDB (7.7/10), Roger Ebert (2.5/4).

STARRING - Christian Bale (film debut), John Malkovich, Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire), Ben Stiller.

THEMES - Relationships, the human spirit.

AWARDS - 6 Academy Award nominations and BEST PICTURE nominee Golden Globes.

STORY - Christian Bale makes his stunning movie debut in this Spielberg directed film as Jamie, a 12 year old British boy, who grows up in luxury and opulence as the son of a wealthy textile factory owner in China during WWII. Having attended the best private schools, having every conceivable luxury available to a young boy growing up in that era, not least of which is being able to give the servants orders in direct contradiction to the instructions given by his mother, his life is abruptly changed when the Japanese take over that part of China. His family moves into a hotel temporarily to see what happens and when the Japanese bomb that part of the city, thought to be safe, there is a panic as thousands of British and Chinese try to escape. Jamie and his parents are separated and do not reunite until the end of the war, approximately four years later. The film is the story of Jamie's survival during that time. An extremely bright and resourceful boy (played brilliantly by Bale), he uses his natural leadership and aggression to stay alive and become indispensable to the American who becomes the unofficial leader (godfather) of the prison camp. The camera work, acting and screenplay are exceptional, not to mention the music. The film loses a little something (I think) when Spielberg gets a little too artistic and surreal but this is still one of Spielberg's best. Overall, a very interesting and worthwhile movie about another slice of WWII and how the human spirit adapts when it is put into survival mode. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 05/25/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TRAILER, ROGER EBERT

CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG

CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG - 2005

RATED - G

RATINGS - 12 Amazon (5/5), 783 IMDB (7.4/10), 16,783 Netflix (3.8/5)

AWARDS - 5 WINS at various Film Festivals.

STARRING - The Batchuluun family - a real life Mongolian family. Directed by Academy Award nomimee Byambasurem Davaa (THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL).

THEMES - Family, relationships, love and perseverance.

STORY - First of all, this is not an action packed adventure film. It is a film about the real life struggles of living as nomadic herders in Mongolia. It is about struggling to maintain a life style and way of living that is dying and forcing many to seek employment in the cities. It is about a child who finds a dog and manages to keep it over her parents' objections. Much of what happens takes place in real time and it has the feel of a docudrama. The actors are real people who actually live as they do in the movie. The beauty of the film is in the details as you watch how they go about their daily life making and doing things most of us take for granted with all our modern appliances and conveniences. Like the little wind powered generator that allows them to have a little electricity for periods of time to have a light on at night. Like when their herd has eaten all the grass and they must take their 'home' apart piece by piece and pack it into five ox-drawn wooden carts to find better pastures. The scenery is spectacular and at times you almost wish you could leave our modern culture and trade places. This is a gentle film about people of another world and culture who have learned to accept what nature brings their way on a daily basis and make the best of it. Take a deep breath, sit back, relax and enjoy this one. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/08/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB

NOT ONE LESS

NOT ONE LESS - 2000

RATED - G

AWARDS - Many awards & nominations at various film festivals.

RATINGS - 69 Amazon (4.5/5), Roger Ebert (3/4), 2,942 IMBD (7.5/10)

THEMES - Persistence, love, relationships, overcoming obstacles.

STORY - NOT ONE LESS is in the same category as CHILDREN OF HEAVEN and THE COLOR OF PARADISE. If you like children (especially adorable Chinese children), are interested in education (anybody who's ever been a substitute teacher will definitely identify with Wei-students are no different in rural China than anywhere else when it comes to taking advantage of substitutes), interested in learning about other cultures (we should all be interested in China), then this is a wonderful film. Definitely a film that can be watched by the whole family (should be old enough to read the sub-titles which are not hard). Foreign film makers definitely seem to have the knack of making films that are extremely interesting without all the special effects and craziness that American films seem to need to appeal to audiences. Like the other two mentioned, this is a film about people, real people actually as these are not professional actors. ENJOY!! Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/27/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD, TRAILER, ROGER EBERT