This is How Movies Should Be Made

The Worst Film Ever

Charming and brutal

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

In some restaurants, the chef goes out of his way to create complex dishes, with intricate combinations of tastes, colours and cooking styles. Others specialize in simple dishes, that stand out because of the quality of the ingredients. A simple pasta pesto can be a treat if it's made with the best olive oil, freshly grated parmesan and homegrown basil. Under the Hawthorn Tree is like such a simple, but delicious dish. It's a straightforward story of a forbidden love, told in a basic way, without many frills. But Zhang Yimou is such a craftsman, that he doesn't need much to make a great movie. The story is set during the cultural revolution, a period of ruthless oppression by the communist regime. The young girl Jing is being watched by the authorities because her father was a 'reactionary' and she risks losing her job as a teacher. During a trip to the countryside she falls in love with Sun. Her mother is afraid the affair will harm Jing's future career, and she forbids the two lovers to see each other. Zhang Yimou tells the story in a simple way, focusing on the two lovers. He uses title cards to make the story go forward, a smart move because it prevents the script from having to explain too much. In this way, Zhang concentrates on the story of Jing and her lover Sun, and nothing else. China in the seventies was a country where people led simple lives. Zhang emphasizes this by using simple props, like a goldfish key-chain made of yarn and beads, or a metal bowl with a special decoration. The hawthorn tree from the title also has a symbolic meaning, and in the very last image of the movie, when we see the tree blossoming, Zhang has an unexpected surprise that will make you smile. The acting is wonderful. The two leads tell just as much with their eyes, their laughs and their expressions as with their words. Take for example the scene where Jing gives her goldfish to Sun, and the camera lingers on their faces to show us how they feel. Wonderful film making. With this film, Zhang Yimou returns to his earlier style of film making, telling stories about the daily life in China. Under the Hawthorn Tree has more in common with his lesser-known films like Not One Less or The Road Home, than with his visually more spectacular films like The House of Flying Daggers, or even Raise The Red Lantern. Some people may be disappointed by the slow story, in which nothing spectacular happens. But some of history's greatest film classics are slow and subtle. In a way, Under the Hawthorn Tree made me think of David Lean's classic Brief Encounter, another story about a forbidden love, that stands out because of the impeccable directing and acting.

Ever since Crouching Tiger, and Hidden Dragon received the Academy Award, directors in China start to make films that do not make sense, and do not tell a story, because they believed that confusing the westerners is the best way to get the Academy Award.However, they all failed. There is one and only one Crouching Tiger, and Hidden Dragon, which most Chinese people do not even understand, but was acclaimed as one of the best films that represent China.Among the losers is Mr. Yimou Zhang, the director of Under the Hawthorn Tree, a film, as you can see from the IMDb rating, did not receive a great response in the western world, but was vastly praised as one of the best movies in recent years.Certainly, for people lack of sufficient knowledge and deep understanding of the Cultural Revolution and the opening policy thereafter, it is difficult, if not impossible, to appreciate the beauty of this film. But at least for Americans, think about the time when country music started to regain popularity. Think about the time when people are tired of the so-called modern way of life. Think about the time when you were tired from the craziness of metropolitan cities. Think about your high school sweetheart who you loved but never had sex with. You probably will have a little more understanding of the success of this film in China.Jingqiu is a representation of the kind of sweetheart that a generation, or maybe generations, of Chinese men have been dreaming about. She is sweet. She is not hot in a sexual way like Megan Fox, but she is the one that a huge amount of Chinese men would like to marry. She is pure. She loves a man wholeheartedly. She is jealous, but in a cute way. She is strong when facing challenges.And, it's been long since Chinese people had a film like this.Today, with the fast economic development and westernization, Chinese people see sex scandals and money-centered relationships way too often. They started to get reminiscent of the past, when love was pure though life was hard. Jingqiu came to them at a perfect time to make them recollect the memory they had back to the good old times.As a final comment, in a lot of ways, this film is just like "Country Road, Take Me Home."

Mao Zedong and the Killing of the KissShan zha shu zhi lian/Under The Hawthorn Tree (2010) is a very romantic film. It is a tear-jerker. It is also beautifully made and can be added to the extensive list of classic movies directed by Yimou Zhang.If you are familiar with the languid style of some Asian cinema, then this film is spectacularly rewarding and intensely moving. This film represents a young generation brought up in an atmosphere of fear and paranoia, cultivated by Mao Zedong and his insidious rule. These characters have been moulded into automatons with their natural impulses cruelly suppressed.Zhou Dongyu is brilliant as the young and inexperienced Jingqiu and Dou Xiao is utterly charming as the male love interest. It seems that many in the West have misunderstood this film. One critic calls this film "emotionally emaciated". How wrong can someone be?Maybe the undeservedly poor rating on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes is because there are no psychotic ballerinas with self-mutilation fetishes or protracted gun fights within CGI dreams? One thing is for sure, Under The Hawthorn Tree is a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

The harsh realities of the 1970's cultural revolution in China are moved into soft focus by awesome cinematography, slow moving scenes and superb acting.The story is beautifully told, and although the ending is hinted at from an early point in the movie, it is nevertheless sad and moving.The grey and monotone scenery is punctuated with the bright colors of the volleyball uniforms, the red jacket, and of course the hawthorn berries which are all symbols of the couples' evolving romance.The proximity of the town to the village to the hospital, and the ferry versus the bus was a bit hard to understand. And how Sun managed to spend some much time in the Jing's town.