Lost In Thailand
It's busting blocks, apparently.
TO me it seemed like a throwback. "Competitive urbanite meets yokel doofus and learns a lesson" can be cool, but I found this one fairly dull. Possibly the only interesting feature was setting it in Thailand, meaning they could show glistening countryside which looks like China but isn't China, but also meaning sometimes English was the only common language. Perhaps a sly use of other countries to try coming at China's internal communication problems. Or not.
Low energy, kinda shallow, don't know what all these Chinese are seeing in it. It was okay, I guess.
I thought it was ok. I haven't watched many Chinese movies. I didn't like the famous go to Chinese films such as 'Red Lantern' or 'Farewell My Concubine' either. A few of my students made a fuss a year or two ago about 'The Flowers of War', but I thought that was pretty mediocre, as well as unappetisingly racist against the Japanese.
Do you all think that maybe Chinese films just aren't that great? It's ironic to me that my favourite director, Ang lee, is (in the Chinese worldview) Chinese, but my Chinese friends don't seem to appreciate his movies. For the most part of course, they are English language, and the last Chinese language one, Lust caution, was no doubt banned in China for its very explicit sex scenes.
The alternative is that different cultures just have different tastes in films. I recognise this cutural relativism argument, but on the whole I'm sticking to my opinion that Chinese Art; films, TV, music, literature, is all sub-par, and 'Lost in Thailand' has made its way to the top of the pile by virtue of its medicrity.
Like I say though, I haven't watched a lot of mainland films. Also, if Chinese people were to judge Western movies etc, by what is most popular, we probably wouldn't think that they were basing it on the best we have to offer.
'Lost in Thailand' has big stars, plus the main actor and his screen wife are a real life couple. get Tom Cruise and his next wife playing a married couple in a Hoolywood remake, and it would be the most watched fiilm in the US. It may not be great, but I thought it was watchable.