Balzac and the little Chinese seamstress is one of those movies, you're glad you caught at your local cinema, even though you never originally planned to see it. Because it's one of those movies that remind you there's more to cinema than just Hollywood-Blockbuster formula stuff, and if you already knew that, than there's even more than your usual 'trying to hard to be arthouse cinema' stuff.
Sounds like high praise? Don't get me wrong here. I gave it a 6 out of 10 (though it pushes hard for a 7). The story is based on a book of a Chinese author, living in France. And maybe that is, why it worked. On the one side you have a Chinese setting, Chinese actors and a the background of Chinese communism in the seventies, on the other side you have a story you can culturally relate to without being Chinese (or even knowing much about Chinese history or culture (and that doesn't leave a universal love story as the only option you sugarcoated romance freaks)). Take both together and you have an utterly satisfying movie-experience.
The one thing, that's strange though is the fact that it's about the value of books. It sure looks ironic to need a movie, to remind you that a world without books is a prison for your mind. Hmmm! Okay, maybe I'll change my vote to a 7. And now let me continue to read...
Sounds like high praise? Don't get me wrong here. I gave it a 6 out of 10 (though it pushes hard for a 7). The story is based on a book of a Chinese author, living in France. And maybe that is, why it worked. On the one side you have a Chinese setting, Chinese actors and a the background of Chinese communism in the seventies, on the other side you have a story you can culturally relate to without being Chinese (or even knowing much about Chinese history or culture (and that doesn't leave a universal love story as the only option you sugarcoated romance freaks)). Take both together and you have an utterly satisfying movie-experience.
The one thing, that's strange though is the fact that it's about the value of books. It sure looks ironic to need a movie, to remind you that a world without books is a prison for your mind. Hmmm! Okay, maybe I'll change my vote to a 7. And now let me continue to read...