THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

Jasmine Women, a classy cinematic adaptation of Su Tong’s novel Women’s Life (co-produced by Tian Zhuangzhuang), deals with the loves and losses of Shanghainese women over three generations, from the 1930s to the1990s. Their fate is far from pretty. The real beauty is in the telling; the life of each character is subtly mirrored in the mores of a given period, as evidenced, for example, in the tale of a single mother circa 1930s. After three years delay, Jasmine Flower (Mo Li Hua Kai in Chinese, a play on the protagonist’s names) was finally released this past April. The late release was due to objections among the film’s investors, who were unhappy with its unusual, yet intriguing, structure. The movie is broken up into three medium length films (129 minutes in total) with each segment (1930s, 1960s and 1980s) having its own distinctive flavor (and form of intrigue). Zhang Ziyi and Joan Chen play three different characters, with both actresses excelling in their multiple roles. Zhang’s performance is of special note; indeed, this 27-year-old Beijing Dance Academy graduate (who pocketed the 2004 Best Actress Golden Rooster Award), is clearly China’s most gifted young actress.
Wanji Group

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

The White Countess is set in late 1930s Shanghai, just prior to the Japanese invasion of eastern China. At the time, nightlife, at least in the foreign settlements, was at its decadent apex. Into this heady world comes a blind American, a former diplomat (Ralph Fiennes), who opens a chic nightclub where he meets a beautiful Russian countess (Natasha Richardson), reduced to working as a bar girl to support her daughter and aristocratic family who have fled the turmoil in their homeland. Co-produced by the Shanghai Film Group, and shot in Shanghai in late 2004, The White Countess is the last collaboration between famed producers Ismail Merchant and James Ivory (A Room with a View, Howard’s End); Merchant died in May 2005 after completing the film. Along with a screenplay by celebrated UK novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, and masterly cinematography by Christopher Doyle, the film displays the Merchant/Ivory’s usual hallmarks: sumptuous production design, detailed period reconstruction, and solid performances. However, this time round, they fall short of their best work. A disjointed structure, ineffective pacing, capped by a hollow emotional climax, all combine to lose the viewer long before the film sails off into a clichéd sunset.
Merchant-Ivory Productions

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

With this disturbing, yet enthralling, thriller, lauded in the US as his best work for a decade, Woody Allen has, ahem, served up an ace against the opposing side (critics and audiences). Match Point’s central question (there’s always a question in Allen’s films), is to what extent our lives depend on luck. On the screen, this quandary is addressed by former tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). About to marry the daughter of a well-off British family, he falls for his prospective brother-in-law’s seductive American spouse (Scarlett Johansson). Match Point is a unique effort among the 71-year-old director’s extensive filmography. It’s Allen’s first (though in all likelihood not his last) attempt to escape intrusive Hollywood executives – the film was shot entirely on location in Great Britain. What’s more, it’s the antithesis of his usual style: no neurotic New Yorkers, no over-intellectualized dialogue, no comic relief, and no jazz soundtrack. Instead, we have a great piece of operatic tragedy, proving that Allen is still a filmmaking force. Indeed, the director, in his inimitable fashion, admits as much. Following an avalanche of positive reviews, he declared: “The only thing standing between me and greatness is me.”
DreamWorks/BBC

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

“Every morning, the President of the United States is given a report that outlines the most active international and domestic threats ... this document is called the ‘Threat Matrix’”. So begins each episode of this ABC TV series, which dramatizes the behind-the-scenes action at the security institutions in the world’s most powerful state. The show is reasonably well written, at least when compared with other such couch-potato fare; though it does, at times, verge on the cheesy, and occasionally suffers from an overdose of gung-ho patriotism, and predictability. The drama unequivocally plays off 9/11, portraying homeland security agents as heroes in their defense of the Stars and Stripes. There are striking similarities with Jack Bauer in FOX’s 24 (see Movie Reviews, P25), but Threat Matrix is less dynamic, suspenseful, and successful. A point underlined by the fact that the series only lasted two seasons (16 episodes). Yet the real menace, for viewers, comes from the TV industry’s endeavor to exploit terrorist attacks for entertainment purposes, trivializing extreme situations, and playing up xenophobic fears. No-brainer TV it may be, but a balanced view would be of greater public benefit.
ABC

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

In The Sentinel, Kiefer Sutherland plays Jack Bauer, a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President from a conspiracy to assassinate him. The main suspect is a fellow agent, with the rest of the film devoted to the subsequent hunt for the mole within. Hang on a minute, that’s the plot from the TV show 24, but with so many similarities one could be forgiven for confusing the two. Sutherland actually plays Agent David Breckinridge, and the suspect is Pete Garrison (Michael Douglas), but the rest of the plot may as well have come from 20th Century Fox’s hit series. Perhaps to compensate for the lack of an original storyline, much of the footage is shot with a handheld-camera in an unsuccessful effort to liven up the proceedings. This style comes as no surprise: director Clark Johnson cut his teeth on gritty cop shows such as Homicide and The Shield. But his sophomore flick, with its far fetched twists and clumsily staged action scenes just can’t match the pace of his small screen efforts. In sum, why should moviegoers pay to see this work at theaters, when they can watch almost exactly the same thing at home (only better) on TV?
20th Century Fox

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
July 2006 issue

According to its publisher Doubleday, Dan Brown’s global bestseller has sold over 60 million copies in 45 languages and counting. As such, it was inevitable that the book would be brought to the big screen, and almost as predictable it would make hundreds of millions at the box office. What no one could have foreseen was that The Da Vinci Code would be such a turkey of a film. In case you’re one of the few souls who hasn’t read the book, the plot can be summarized as follows: French cryptologist (Audrey Tautou) teams up with an American religious-symbol expert (Tom Hanks) to find the killer of the Louvre curator, and unveils a two-thousand-year-old secret that threatens the foundations of modern Christianity. Of course, as one would expect with a Hollywood production, the film is full of gorgeous locations (including the Louvre), and a star-packed cast (with a typically distinguished Ian McKellan as Sir Leigh Teabing). But with too many characters, locations and plot twists, what flowed with relative ease on the printed page, is laborious on celluloid. However, both media do share one thing in common: theological and historical nonsense.
Columbia Pictures

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue

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PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
July 2006 issue

In Isabella, Pang Ho-cheung, known in Chinese entertainment circles as a deadpan comedy director, tries something completely different: family drama. The plot concerns a cop based in Macao (Chapman To), a bachelor whose personal and professional life is a mess. One fine day he meets a young woman (Isabella Leong), who claims to be the daughter of a girlfriend he impregnated sixteen years ago. Pang spends on average a full year to complete a movie, extremely slow by Hong Kong standards. But not by Western standards, especially considering that Pang acts as director, writer and producer on most of his films. In Isabella, Pang’s sixth film, he combines drama and nostalgia, with a dash of comedy in a highly-stylized personal flick. The visuals, as always with this thirty-something filmmaker, are stunning. But his most impressive achievement here is to push both lead actors – 17 year-old teen idol Leong and legendary comedian To – to deliver the greatest performances of their careers. With help from a solid supporting cast, Isabella offers depth and genuine emotions in one of the best Hong Kong dramas released in years.
Media Asia

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

Of late, most Chinese films fall in one of two categories: the flashy blockbuster or the intellectual art-house flick (in the main, aimed at the foreign film festival market). You and Me is no blockbuster, nor is it another dreary grab for offshore recognition. This film pleases both domestic and Western audiences. Produced on a small budget, You and Me relates the conflicting coexistence between a sharp, elderly widow and her young, bullheaded tenant. The deceptively simple plot – the landlady rents her dilapidated Beijing siheyuan for an excessive fee to the student – takes place in a single locale over four seasons, and is devoted to the pair’s daily clash of wills (wonderfully illustrating the Chinese saying: ‘two tigresses cannot stay on the same mountain’). Ma draws on her own experience as a student at the Central Drama Academy in the 1990s, and the story is full of deadpan humor, sparks of tension and bursts of non-contrived emotions. There are no extravagant twists or cliff-hangers here; the accent is on detail (despite the limited budget the film is exquisitely lit). You and Me may not have earned millions in box office receipts, but it does prove that a simple human story is at the heart of good filmmaking.
Beijing Film Studio

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

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PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

In the midst of the Korean War, a US Navy pilot and five Korean soldiers – from both sides of the conflict – arrive at a peaceful village inhabited by some rather strange peasants, who are completely unaware there’s a war in progress. The plot may suggest an offbeat comedy, but this 133 minute film is an exercise in disappointment. The main problem is that the director wavers between fantasy and reality, never choosing a side. Once the initial surprise is exhausted – the military’s discovery of the village – the film descends into a series of predictable, hackneyed situations. True, the eccentricities of the villagers, do, on occasion, add some much-needed spice, but overall the characters are so obviously contrived that much of the humor is lost. As is the viewers goodwill; Welcome poses as a fable, but at the same time pretends to present historical reality. The result is a naïve and bogus representation of the relations between North and South Korea, and the US. Having said that, Park Kwang-hyeon’s directorial debut, the fourth-highest grossing South Korean movie of all time, was the country’s official entry in last year’s Oscars.
Showbox

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

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PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

That a TV-series concerning gambling and corruption is exciting should come as no surprise. Throw in a crack surveillance team under the leadership of a former CIA agent assigned to spy on Las Vegas’ most prestigious casino and audiences are sure to tune in. But Gary Scott Thompson’s (The Fast and the Furious) series surpasses all expectations: the show is bright, ultra-cool, fast-paced and – classy. It also offers an insider’s view of the trade secrets in this sinful tourist mecca. The elite surveillance team is led by veteran actor Golden-Globe/Academy-Awards nominee James Caan (The Godfather, Rollerball), who along with his protégés – a former US Marine and three babes – deal with card-counting cheats; the mob; big spenders; luck, good and bad; inter-casino rivalries, and their own rollercoaster love lives. All of which provides a surfeit of thrills, romance and humor. Each episode begins with a marvelous hook: a one-take-only prologue, neatly wrapped in dazzling visuals. That alone is enough to engage audiences for the duration, but special guest stars (Black Eyed Peas, Sylvester Stallone, Pussycat Dolls…) ensure a long and, in this case, rewarding addiction to vice.
NBC

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

Compared to their Chinese counterparts, Korean filmmakers aren’t very adept at making martial art films (see Musa or The Duelist). And Shadowless Sword provides yet another conspicuous example of what not to do. This film was shot in China, enjoyed a large budget and has excellent production values. Trouble is, it lacks authenticity without which audiences just don’t care about the characters. Or the mise en scene: in 926 AD, following the assassination of the Prince of Balhae, a female warrior is assigned to escort Prince Dae back from his 14-year exile, to ascend the throne and restore order to the kingdom. The rest is filler. In his sophomore film, Kim Yeong-joon delivers a simplistic road movie cum buddy movie/romance/martial art film. One littered with predictable twists and monotonous dialogues. Despite the film’s many faults, the camerawork is quite breathtaking, and the climax is almost worth waiting for. But the choreographed action sequences merely duplicate scenes from its betters, so-called gems of the genre like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers.
CJ Entertainment

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

Although popular with audiences, Hong Kong comedies have never really been highly praised by critics on the Chinese mainland. These films are at worst considered shallow, lowbrow, amusement, and at best, the source of a few guilt-inducing guffaws. 2 Become 1 may not be a revolutionary departure from this genre, but it does provide more substance than is the norm, enough to last beyond the theater exit door. The plot concerns a young, independent woman, Bingo (Miriam Yeung), who works as a ‘creative’ at an advertisement company. Her carefree chuppie lifestyle is turned upside down after a laid back doctor (Richie Jen) discovers a lump in her breast. Produced by seasoned filmmaker Johnnie To, renowned for his commercial comedies and ‘auteur’ gangster flicks, the film uses comedy to deal with serious matters indeed: breast tumors; cancer prevention; male impotency; women in today’s corporate world, and so on. Of course, the film offers the usual sight gags and the usual broad commercial reach with two big name leads, a pop music score, and not least, the screen debut of Hong Kong’s singer/songwriter superstar of the month, Justin Lo. Nevertheless, 2 Become 1 proves HK comedies can convey universal themes with maturity and if not tact, at least some understanding.
Media Asia

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
June 2006 issue

(c) that's PRD
PRD Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
June 2006 issue

Here’s a film that will make backpackers think twice before they take to the road in search of easy women, in Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe. Three young (and horny) American guys are advised that Europe’s hottest chicks are to be found in a Bratislava suburb, in Slovakia. Off they go. But what they don’t realize, until, of course, it is too late, is that American guys are prized in this particular market. Prized for their blood. The 95-minute film starts off as your average teen movie with plenty of the usual hanky-panky, then shifts to the serial killer mode, then on to sheer horror, before finally ending up in the survival genre. Indeed, Hostel isn’t for the squeamish; it’s one wry, twisted, gob-smacking, raw and filthy piece of celluloid. 568 liters of blood were used during production – that’s 6 liters spilled every minute. In spite of the gore, director/scriptwriter Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) does a good job blurring audience perspectives – viewers aren’t quite sure if they’re meant to be voyeurs or victims. It comes as no surprise, then, that Quentin Tarantino is producer and that Japanese trash-cinema king Takashi Miike guest stars.
Lions Gate Films

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue

The so-called civilized Western world owes a great deal to its glorious ancestors the Romans, including the notions of war, empire and republic. It seems life in the good ol’ days was full of violence (and orgies); superstition (the winner of a given war was forecast with bird guts); and media pundits (who wandered about shouting out the news in the forum [marketplace]). Such is the focus of the first season Rome, the HBO/BBC multi-award winning TV-series set during the last years of Gaius Julius Caesar’s reign, shortly after completing his conquest of Gaul (modern France). “Rome was a dog-eat-dog place of energy and chaotic filth with a very small elite and masses of poverty,” says creator/writer John Milius (Conan the Barbarian). Indeed, Milius doesn’t spare the viewers sensitivity; Rome is for mature audiences – it's gory, brutish, ruthless, addictive and also very erotic. Just like the real thing. To provide a sense of realism, extra care and money were spent in all departments: from the sets to the costumes (at five acres, the world largest outdoor set; 4,000 designs in wardrobe). Rome also boasts a good cast: Ciarán Hinds (Munich) as Caesar is nothing if not a model of authenticity, strength and charisma. Figuratively and literally, Rome’s a hell of a show.
HBO/BBC

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue

That Gladiator, winner of five Academy Awards, has been given the Extended Special Edition treatment comes as no surprise. This three DVD box set was supervised by director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) and recently released in China. True, this USD 100 million epic isn’t as majestic as, say, Ben Hur (1959), but it did revive the ‘swords and sandals’ genre, after a nigh on four decades' absence. Disc 1 offers the longest cut (164 minutes) in its original aspect ratio (2.39:1, anamorphic) with audio commentaries from male lead Russell Crowe and Scott. Disc 2 features a 3-hour documentary “Strength and Honor” that breaks down the various steps of the filmmaking process (from research/scriptwriting to costume and weaponry design, ending with an overview of the film’s impact around the world). By Disc 3, the viewer may have had about enough; this one contains featurettes on visual effects, deleted scenes, storyboards etc., etc. But the storyboard featuring Crowe battling a rhino is quite thrilling, as is the segment about the “resurrection” of Oliver Reed, who died during production. It seems the special effects team had to re-do several shots where his face was placed over a body double.
CAV Warner

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
May 2006 issue