Good start, but then it gets ruined

Captivating movie !

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Only two more days to see how well Zhangke Jia's current entry to Cannes "Ash is purest white" will do. As I have not even seen that film, let alone other entries, I really have no idea. "Mountains may depart" (2015) was good enough to be a contender three years ago although it did not bring home the Palme d'Or for Jia. Before going into that film, let's take a brief stroll down memory lane of this auteur director. From the very start in his "Fengyang (his home town) trilogy" in the mid-1990s, with his minimalist style, pain sticking attention to details and a heart that embraces whatever he tries to capture in his films, sixth generation director Jia has stayed true to his course, not succumbing to impersonating Hollywood as some of the fifth-generation directors did, pathetically. "Xiao Wu" (1997), the middle of the aforementioned trilogy, with no plot or story, is a character depiction of a petty thief, personification of a loser. "The world" (2004), treading ever so slightly towards mainstream, continues his quest of reflecting the sometimes-painful metamorphosis that the Chinese populace was going through at the crossroad of modernization (seems so long ago now, looking back). Next came "Still life" (2006), original title "good folks of The Gorges" (not to be confused with Brecht's "Good woman of Szechwan), which won the Golden Lion at Venice. "Still life" has a story, in fact two, but is still thankfully a far cry from mainstream melodrama. Using unrelated micro stories of two protagonists, together with the macro backdrop of the Three Gorges Dam project, Jia continues to explore how life of the ordinary people is affected. With "24 City" (2008), Jia explores new grounds, using not a person but a structure of concrete and steel as the main protagonist. This is the mesmerizing story of the transformation of "Factory 420" (an aviation engine factory built in 1958) to a modern-day upscale apartment complex "24 City", which in turn serves as a motif for witnessing the vicissitudes and development of the city Chengdu. "Mountains may depart", in three "acts" dated at 1999, 2004 and 2025 respectively, follows the life of a rather ordinary woman called SHEN Tao, portrayed by ZHAO Tao (I notice that in many films, in whatever language, the name of the actor is adapted for the protagonist, for simplicity's sake, I guess). Zhao, starting out from day-one as Jia's muse and sole non-amateur in the cast, married him in 2011. By that time Jia had been using some professional actors but Zhao continues to have the lead role. Set in Fengyang, Act 1 (1999) is familiar love triangle involving two suitors, Zhang the extrovert, an ambitious business man and Liang the introvert, down-to-earth coal-miner. Shen makes a not-unexpected choice and Liang leaves, taciturn outwardly and hurt deep inside. Shen marries Zhang. Act 2 (2004) follows the trajectory of two lives. Liang now has a loving and understanding wife who has given him a son (a toddler at this point). Like many coal miners, he is inflicted with lung disease. Desperation to borrow money for the medical bills brings them back to Fengyang where his wife seeks out Shen, who is well off and more than happy to help out. Shen has divorced Zhang who is now a successful businessman, remarried, living in Shanghai with custody of their son Daole (for "dollar") who goes to international school. Upon the death of Shen's father, Daole comes back (by himself, escorted by a flight attendant) to bid his grandfather a last farewell at the funeral. The scenes between mother and son are heartbreaking, as Zhang has been planning to immigrate to Australia with Daole.Act 3 (2025, but not far enough to be SciFi), is set in Australia with dialogue mostly in English, depicts the relationship teenager Daole has with two people, his father which has deteriorated beyond remedy and teacher Mai (Sylvia Chang) which is tantalizingly vague. Zhen appears only at the very end, living by herself in Beijing. I have intentionally left out all the details, the depiction of which is Jia's forte. While staying essentially art-house, this film has come a long way in becoming accessible to the mainstream audience. The range and depth of emotions is more than in any of his earlier film. Zhao has done a splendid job, breaking the audience's heart again and again. You will also note Jia's penchant for motifs. He uses a lot here, from a towering pagoda, to a glaring red wedding invitation card, to a small key. No one can convey so much through these visual images as Jia can.

For the most part, this is a beautifully written movie. The direction and acting are excellent throughout. The writing is too. although the sequence set in Australia is rather unnecessary. I have read reviews saying they found this sequence awkward. it is mostly in English. I didn't find it awkward. It just didn't bring anything to the movie. We could have been spending more time with the wonderful Tao Zhao. As I said all the performances are excellent. But it's her's you will remember, and the film does end perfectly

I like it more than I expected. Spanning over 25 years, it showed how personal relationships changed in China amid the exponential growth in economic development. We only see the snapshots of 1992, 2014 and 2025 and had to deduce what happened in between. Many changes take place over the years but something remain unchanged – Tao, the female protagonist, is upbeat, hardworking, and does not forget her roots no matter how bad the circumstance turns out. She is like a pillar against all the changes around her. Her dumplings, her love for her son, and her love for dogs did not change. She treasures keys. She even remembers the dance steps she learnt 25 years ago. According to Confucius teaching dated back more than 2000 years ago, a woman needs three obedience (三從): obey her father before marriage, obey her husband after marriage and obey her son after her husband is dead. Interestingly this movie mentioned these three important men in a women's life. However, the values are no longer valid with the feminist movement and the rapid changes in economic development and migration. In the case of our protagonist, Tao has a close relationship with her father before her marriage but she seems to have chosen someone her father does not approve. More than a decade later, Tao emerges into a mature business woman who is divorced. When her father dies she has no husband to obey but instead summoned her 7- year-old son to attend his grandfather's funeral. In the third part of the movie, we are not even sure mother and son ever reunite across two continents. And her son seems to be as lost as his father once was. Lovers, father, husband and son all left but Tao goes on with life, with the same smile, wrapping the same dumplings she had made for her loved ones. She has no one to answer to but only herself to depend on in new China and she seems fine. On the contrary, the male characters seems to be at a loss in one way or the other. In 1999, Tao's lover Liangzi left his hometown with a broken heart after Tao chose the wealthier Junsheng. He only returned to his roots after his life dwindled and health deteriorated. Perhaps if he and Tao has been together he would not have had to leave, then he would not have been sick. He always had that sad face and it is painful to see him struggle with life. But Liang is fortunate to have a nice wife who asks Tao for financial help. We do not see Tao regretting her choice even though she has kept his keys all along and passes it back to him. She even keeps the wedding invitation she sent him but he left in the house 15 year ago. Perhaps to her, that was all part of her history. Jinsheng is the one who changes the most throughout the years. In the beginning he wins Tao over with his wealth and material comfort. The aggressive high achiever even cuts off his friendship with Liangzi, in competition for Tao. He is so into wealth that he names his son Dollar. A decade and a half later, Jinsheng and Tao have been divorced and he works in risk management in Shanghai and sends their son to an international school. Again, he thinks money can do everything and provides material comfort to his 7-year-old son. Another decade later, in Australia, Jinsheng is a lonely old man who does not speak English and feels alienated in a strange land. He is even lonelier than before because he finally has freedom but he does not know what to do with it. He has escaped from his enemy so there is no one to chase or fight against. His freedom ironically forms an invisible jail that traps him in his huge mansion facing the beach. All his life he has been chasing for money; now he only has money: but no wife, no lover, no son, no life skills, no happiness or fulfillment. He cannot communicate with his son. From cars to money to guns, he has all the material comfort he can afford but he is still lonely and insecure and not happy. Could very well be how many rich Chinese feel because they do not know what they were working towards.Dollar, his 18-year-old son decides to quit college because nothing excites him anymore. He can do anything but he does not remember what his mother's name was. He has not met her since he was 7. Maybe that's why he develops a relationship with his teacher who could be his mom. He is open to new opportunities but he does not realize that reality can be tough – in this sense he is just like his father. Being uprooted is tough and Jinsheng has done it two times over 25 years while dragging his son along. Something exist throughout the three periods: dog (with Tao's old sweater), key to home, dance, Sally Yeh's song "Treasure", Tao's smile and calmness, her dumplings, mobile phone and electronic devices that supposed to be connecting people (in the third period it actually caused more misunderstanding because of Google translate) but instead making people even more alienated. Quite an inspiring and visionary piece to force us to reflect on what kind of life we are living in China or elsewhere, and what type of life we would like to live. Great acting. Highly recommended.

'Mountains May Depart' does make audiences aware of its 131-minute runtime by a ostensibly prolonged third act that, despite possibly being in roughly equal length to its previous counterparts, trudges while following Dollar almost exclusively. As opposed to Tao, who's arguably the protagonist, I admittedly longed for more of Zhao's vigorously human display, breaking down into tears just as easily as striding with poise and zeal. In the acclaimed director's 7th feature film, Zhangke Jia has attributed epic scale and profoundly relevant ideas to the classic, albeit modernly exhausted, love triangle conflict. Through subtle use of tech, Jia supplies a new pair of eyes – proving it's not what we view, but how we view the world, cultures and people around us.FULL REVIEW HERE: http://indieadam.com/2015/09/17/mountains-may-depart-review- indieadam-tiff-2015/