The Ark of Mr Chow (2015) User Reviews

Not awful, but clearly not anything great.

[dongjiezhu · 5/10 · 8 September 2015]

The Ark of Mr Chow is not a bad movie, but it's also not very memorable. The acting, pacing, and dialogue were about average but the problem I had with the movie is that there was no real point to it. It tries to be several classic American movies packaged in a very Chinese bundle. None of it works. It's not nearly well acted or written enough to be Good Will Hunting, not funny or enjoyable enough as the original Revenge of the Nerds, and not relatable enough to be Standy By Me. The focus and tone shifts from scene to scene like it was trying to hard to be all 3 of those movies at the same time. Like the great steps forward (which were in reality great leaps backwards) of the cultural revolution, this movie is a product of the Chinese film industry trying to catch up too quickly with the rest of the world in dramatic, coming of age tales. And it's a shame too, since the concept of incredibly gifted children being plucked out of obscurity by the Chinese bureaucracy to enroll in a top level university could have been mined for an authentic and distinctly Chinese coming of age drama. Great movies about young people discovering who they are very rare in Chinese cinema simply because as a society, children were never encouraged to be anything but what their parents hoped for.

Universal, but still very Chinese

[falling-537 · 9/10 · 19 June 2015]

I saw this movie on its release day in Chongqing, China. I had no idea about it, I just wanted to kill some time and I picked the only movie that was about to start when I arrived at the cinema. I got lucky that it had English subtitles. It is one of my favorite movies now. I was the only westerner in the audience of young Chinese viewers. They were clearly appreciative of the film too.

It is moving due to its examination of teenagers, especially bright ones, and how they feel about themselves and the world. It is also deeply insightful, maybe not always intentionally, about certain very Chinese things.

While it has comic elements, it would be difficult to have a movie about teenagers that didn't, I disagree strongly with those who would categorize it as a comedy. It is a coming of age movie. Very poignant in more than one point in the film.

Physical beauty of women plays a somewhat different role in China than in the west, and this is seen in the film if you know a little of each culture. The role and depiction of family, and family pressure is very Chinese. The characters could have been somewhat better developed, but it is difficult to do that in an ensemble piece.

Bottom line..... I love this film.

very meaningful and encouraging movie

[y-62902 · 8/10 · 24 August 2015]

i am a Chinese，so i can naturally take Chinese guy point of view to write what i think after having watched this whole movie，actually it's quite good and meaningful movie which can inspire your attitude toward life positively ，the main leading characters in this movie have different educational background，which is an reflection of Chinese educational system，even though they all genius，but unfortunately raised in this kind of educational system which is not very well，but this movie wanna tell us "just let it go"do what you wanna do to make your own dream come true， so at the end of movie，all of those genius become somebody in several areas，because the teacher just tell them you are genius，you r born to special，we are born to special，we do we grow the same in the same educational system, because many people are afraid of being difference