tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2483310749579215048.post8284253513510219215..comments2023-09-15T07:10:44.140-07:00Comments on Favorite Hong Kong actresses: Li Bingbing in "Seventeen Years"ewafflehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339565669634286677noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2483310749579215048.post-65750000150967799822012-08-07T16:22:42.598-07:002012-08-07T16:22:42.598-07:00Dennis--
I agree with just about everything in yo...Dennis--<br /><br />I agree with just about everything in your comment, particularly about "Green Tea" which, while visually an exceptional achievement was so slick and devoted to the shiny surface of things that it just slipped away. <br /><br />Very intriguing comparison with "The Last Detail"--while the American movie was a reverse image of the journey from freedom to incarceration points up the equivalence of many parts of the prison systems of the USA and the PRC. Buddusky wants to show the sad sack Meadows a good time while knowing that he is essentially delivering Meadows to Hell; Portsmouth Naval Prison was known throughout the service for the unchecked brutality of its guards. <br /><br />Tao Lan is guilty of the murder of her sister, an act witnessed by the audience. She is as guilty as guilty can be and clearly deserves to be punished. However a major theme of the movie which I missed entirely the first time through is the commitment of the PRC to rehabilitating prisoners. The way it is done seems crude and formulaic--memorize the rule book so that you can recite upon command from an officer--but it teaches structure, discipline and respect for the law (or at least for the power of those in uniform).<br /><br />"Seventeen Years" raises a lot of questions and it is to his eternal credit that Zhang Yuan asked them although having to do so in an oblique way.<br /><br />I apologize for letting your comment get lost in Blogger limbo--not sure how it happened.ewafflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03339565669634286677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2483310749579215048.post-49090493989901252352012-07-17T08:26:03.280-07:002012-07-17T08:26:03.280-07:00Hmmm, I guess I liked this more than you did - des...Hmmm, I guess I liked this more than you did - despite the lack of any stripping/soaping scenes. Maybe it's because it was my first LBB film. As I wrote in now long dead forums while serving as self-appointed hype man for unknown mainland films: there's something about a girl in uniform (and more so when it's Li Bingbing). Li Bingbing caught my notice in this one and I made a mental note to follow her future works after seeing this.<br /><br />It's been more than a few years since I've watched Seventeen Years. The first time, when any subbed mainland film (even on murky vcd!) was video fodder for purchase and viewing. Later, while making fuzzy screen caps for HKMDB, I still found it riveting to watch. Admittedly, I tend to favor lachrymose melodramas. I guess I like my stories simple and sappy. I enjoyed Green Tea well enough but thought it was too focused on the glossy visuals at the expense of a more coherent storyline. <br /><br /> And for some reason, I've always linked Seventeen Years in my mind to The Last Detail, though it's in reverse I suppose.<br /><br />Now, if I thought I had a chance of finding it, I'd root around and look for my vcd to re-watch Seventeen Years, :Ddleedleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12083281173215035972noreply@blogger.com