Seventeen Years
Seventeen Years
| 01 September 1999 (USA)
Seventeen Years Trailers

Yu Xiaoqin steals money from her father and blames on her sister Tao Lan, who accidentally kills her sister while attempting to prove her innocence. After 17 years in jail, Tao Lan is escorted by a guard only to find her home long demolished. The two go to the new address of her ageing parents, and the guard becomes witness to the family's difficult reunion.

Reviews
ThiefHott

Too much of everything

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Teringer

An Exercise In Nonsense

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AutCuddly

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

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Casey Duggan

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

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eza3411

When enjoying a film outside of the Hollywood genre, I must avoid the trappings of comparison which will ultimately elevate my perception of the quality of the movie. Once I was immersed in Seventeen Years, it was impossible not to come to the conclusion that Hollywood is betraying the viewing public with mindless waste, poor actors and little or no texture to their films..... The concepts of family angst, betrayal and bittersweet redemption are revealed through a wonderfully talented cast, playing out their roles with beautiful subtlety and believability. The story is heart wrenching yet encouraging as the guard (Li Bingbing) and her charge (lin liu) travel on a leave from prison to the home of her mother and step father, the father of her step sister whom she accidentally killed. The interaction between the two women (li/lin) is thoroughly heartfelt and you are unable to resist lin's tragic character. This film should have been nominated for more individual recognitions but it was politically incorrect in it's homeland China so as we all know, Hollywood only rewards it's own and Seventeen Years is an incredible treasure that many are not aware of outside the international community. I highly recommend and adore the vision of Zhang Yuan and this work of cinematic art. Please see it and share this with those who love a quality movie.

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yi358

This is one of the movies banned by China. I rented this movie out of curiosity as to see why it was banned. This is a very good movie, it makes you think about parenting and playing it fair to your children. The family is complex since the father has a daughter from prior marriage and the mother also has a daughter from a prior marriage. After this movie, I thought about parenting. The parents need to be sensitive to each child's development. One of the daughter is academic, obviously with high IQ and excelled in school. However, this high IQ daughter has pretty low EQ. She is not a team player and she is ambitious and eager to have a successful and more luxurious life in the future. The other daughter is not doing as good in academics. She is proud of her working class background, more outgoing and unlike the other daughter, she is a team player who wants to contribute to her school's extracurricular activities, etc. In Chinese culture, people place too much emphasis on academic achievement. I think if you watch this movie, you would think about a child's ethical and moral standards as important attributes in a child's development as well.Without giving away too much of the movie, I highly recommend people to see this movie. You won't regret it.

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kmukh_73

Perhaps one of the best (Chinese) movies I have seen in recent years. Very realistic and subtle as well as crisp storyline, cinematography, screenplay as well as direction. Well, may be I understand the situation and the fact of the story better, as I am from India and we (asians) almost have the same community and family values/priority (though different language and culture). It coincides with lots of family wherein, the children are bound to study hard and slipping partiality from parents intrudes on the child who is more obedient and study-bound. These facts might not match with the western children as well as parents.The brilliant performances on the part of parents as well as the expressions of the prisoner and the prison-captain really captivates ones hearts. The story itself is so powerful on human psychology that the film and the story are pieces of course to study and analyze. This is what we still deserve from Hollywood movies, at least bring some of the burning issues in front of viewers eyes.I just saw it today and I am simply spellbound; I recommend this film highly. One of the best Chinese movies since Farewell My Concubine. I don't understand really, after having such a wonderful movie why 'House of Flying Daggers' etc are sent for Oscar nominations.I would give a score of 9/10

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revolutioner

Loved everything about it. You immediately identify with the family, then the two characters that become the focal point in the film. Beautifully shot, it becomes a road picture of sorts, a fascinating study of time and how things change along with it. It's one of those rare films that stays with you for a long, long, time. This is one of many foreign films that plays the festival circuit but doesn't get a general release in the U.S. I saw it in 1999 and thought that I'd have to be satisfied with the memory. There would never be another opportunity to see it again, but amazingly, after six years, it was actually released on DVD!! On a rainy day, pop this one into the VCR/DVD and just enjoy a very special story in a wonderful little film.

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