Cao mu ren jian

Director Xiaogang Gu presents a captivating and dynamic story in the first two-thirds, but unfortunately, it loses its charm afterwards, becoming a rather bland experience. The narrative revolves around Wu Taihua, portrayed by Jiang Qinqin, who finds herself in a new life ten years after her husband's mysterious disappearance. However, fate has other plans for her as she is forced out of the tea garden by her lover's mother and deceived into joining the pyramid scheme organization called "Butterfly International" by her closest friend.

As Taihua becomes addicted to the scheme, her son Mulian, played by Wu Lei, tirelessly searches for his father while trying to save his mother from the clutches of Butterfly International. Both physically and mentally exhausted, Mulian faces the daunting task of battling the demons that the organization has planted in the hearts of countless individuals. Taihua undergoes a transformation, not only in her appearance but also in her behavior, resembling a "new child," which surprises Mulian. As the mother flutters like a butterfly in her dreams, Mulian desperately attempts to rescue her. Will they be able to escape this earthly purgatory? It seems that feeling happy is more important than the source of happines...

Really full of explosive performances, literally. But this was clearly on purpose. The boy, Leo Wu, was more malleable than the main actress... His scenes in nature were wonderful and he seems to be familiar with some accent... His explosions were also more acceptable. I must say that Jiang Qinqin's acting was over the top in 70% of the movie and the director clearly wasn't that inspired with her... Or maybe he's just good at artistic shots but not at storytelling. I wanted more of the boy looking for his father than anything else... It would be a more interesting plot for me and suited to exploring Mulian's full potential.

Dwelling By The West Lake fails to captivate with its uninspired storytelling and lackluster performances. The idea of pyramid selling, boiler rooms and chop shops has been around in Hollywood but here China is taking a stab at it. This could have been a good movie but the plot meanders aimlessly, leaving audiences disengaged and disinterested. Character development is shallow, making it difficult to invest in their journeys. Their performances are so over the top, any average Joe could have been cast to stand there simply screaming shouting and making odd facial expressions to pass off some sort of deep emotional acting. The cinematography, touted as a highlight, falls short, failing to evoke the beauty and majesty of the West Lake setting or the location which is Hangzhou. Overall, it's a forgettable cinematic experience that fails to leave a lasting impression or deliver any meaningful impact.

This movie is much more inferior than Dwelling in Fuchun Mountain, the former picture of Gu Xiaogang, which is highly praised by critics. In Dwelling by the West Lake, everyone is yelling in an exaggerated way, making audiences very uncomfortable. The story is very conventional and the performance of actors is very bad. This is definitely not CINEMA. If you like Gu Xiaogang's former picture, you will be disappointed by the new one. It is a pity that China loses an important young firmmaker. If Gu Xiaogang continues to produce pictures like that, he will say goodbye to most of the important firm festivals.

Have you ever had any family members being sucked into a pyramid scheme? This is a story about a nature-loving simple college student, walking the walk with his mother, seeking to find herself again. His mother becomes infatuated with the self-actualization that the pyramid scheme offers her; such a false sense of self-worth never felt before is unleashed and it becomes very hard to let go. Between hell and paradise, the film artistically juxtaposes the hell-like identification with commodification against the power of sincere love and serene nature. The female lead's highly dramatic acting is award winning. Leo Wu's lotus blossom like Wulian is worthy of the big screen.

His face, his being and the natural scenery is breathe-taking, while scenes from pyramid scheme will surprise and shock you. This film is definitely a departure from the director Guo Xiaogang's earlier film, an astounding artistic use of hellish commercial world and paradisiac serene nature. A Great way of combining art and real world social issue.