Primavera Numa Pequena Cidade

"Spring in a Small Town" is a very simple movie--a simple premise, a small cast and it's all done in a very restrained manner. It's a definite example of minimalistic cinema and is worth your time.

The film is set in rural China--just a year before the Communist takeover. Liyan is sickly--with tuberculosis. However, his main problem is depression--he feels very sorry for himself and has no will to do anything. Most of the time, he just sits outside and broods. Not surprisingly, his wife (Yuwen) is not happy but is quite dutiful towards her husband. Into this sad family comes a surprise visit from one of Liyan's old friends who he hasn't seen in a decade. But it gets more complicated. The friend (Zhang) is shocked to see that Liyan's wife is his old lover!! Not surprisingly, he and Yuwen say nothing and at first, they keep their distance. Where does all this go? It probably doesn't go exactly where you expect....see it and find out for yourself.

My score of 8 is awfully high for such a simple film, but I was impressed that the movie was handled so simply and honestly. My only complaint, and you can't blame the filmmakers, is that the quality of the DVD print is pretty poor. My assumption is that Cinema Epoch did not have access to a better copy--though it would be nice to see this film restored to eliminate the scratches and clean everything up a bit.

This is a film about deep and unspoken human relationships.

Eventually they do become spoken, but is there a chance to change anything about the situation.

Originally made in Shanghai 1948 and quite free of propaganda the film introduces us to the Dai Family. There is still some weight about the history that surrounds the family. History usually has weight in Chinese literature and serious film.

A young married couple - Liyan, an invalid, and his wife Yuwen live in a once great family compound that is partially ruined.

A bright contrast is Liyan's young sister who cannot really remember the past of the family but accepts everything in quite a natural way. Her spirit is as bright as the other two are reserved.

Into this apparently stable world comes an unexpected visitor...

I ended up feeling quite sad - but definitely a superior film.

After a long war with Japan, Chinese society in 1948 was ravaged by the destruction and the deaths of the seven straight years of the conflict. This movie perfectly depicts the depression of that era and the hopelessness in simple village-folk, while bringing a rather simplistic love triangle story-line at the forefront. Among the most important elements depicted are the internal monologues of Zhou Yuwen (Wei Wei), which narrate her life and bring a unique proto-feminist perspective within a society that was used to female subservience.

Film-making wise, noteworthy moments are the long walks along the ravaged (presumably by Japanese bombs) wall, as well as, the completely silent scenes that happen along the way, that add to the eeriness of the movie.

If you are looking for a slice of life movie, look no further. A word of caution, however: this movie is a story, and a child of its time. There is no spectacular camera work, no epic soundtrack (or sound at all, for the most part), and certainly no special effects. Even the acting and dialogues are passable, at best. If you need any of these things to be immersed or even enjoy a movie, Spring in a Small Town is not for you.

There are four characters in the movie (and I mean four, there are no other supporting cast members or extras). The first two we are introduced are a couple, and they are "content". This is he best word to describe their situation, for they are not happy nor sad. You quickly realize that they have been frozen in time for years.

The conflict is created when an old friend (of both) comes back to town. This establishes the classic love triangle: the old friend has feelings for the wife, and she is torn between her own feelings towards him (or what she believes them to be) and those towards her husband.

There is little more to say about this movie without spoiling, except reiterate that this is a Chinese movie from the 40's. This is very much removed from the "factory assembled" plot lines that have plagued movies/books/video games/series for a long time.

If you were keeping track, the fourth character is the couple's caretaker, and he is a supporting character.

In the end, i still walk away with a lesson: no matter how much we think our life will stay the same, things will always happen. Whether they create change or not, is up to us.

This is a nice little movie with a nice story, that plays the most important role in the entire movie.

It's a quite intriguing dramatic story, with also romance present in it. The story is being told slowly but this works out all too well for its build up. The characters are nice and portrayed nicely by its actors. Normally I'm not a too big fan of the Asian acting style but the acting in this movie was simply good.

Of course the movie is quite different in its approach and style from other genre movies, produced in the west. In a way this movie is more advanced already with its approach than the western movies made during the same era.

I only wished the movie its visual style would had been a bit better. For a movie that is considered a kind of an art-house movie this movie is certainly lacking in some well looking sequences. This was obviously a quite cheap movie to make and it got made quite generically. Not that this is a bad thing, it just prevent this movie from truly distinct itself and raising itself above the genre.

But oh well, this movie is all about its well constructed story and characters that are in it. In that regard this movie most certainly does not disappoint.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/