33 Postcards

This is a quirky and touching movie about a sixteen year-old orphan from China, Mei-Mei, (played with pluck and naïveté by then newcomer Zhu Lin), who travels to Sydney, Australia with a children's choir and slips away to meet and thank the man whose financial donations sponsored her education; as important to her, her sponsor's steady stream of postcards about his perfect life provided her love, support and hope.

Her journey to find Dean Randall, (played by one of my screen favorites, Guy Pearce), is a surprising one. She learns that he is a convicted killer serving time in prison where he is up for parole, and the stories he wrote in his postcards were of a fantasy life. Dean is portrayed as being a sort of killer with a heart of gold, which was hard to swallow except for the fact that Guy Pearce is so likable.

The film passed quickly and gently. Mei-Mei and Dean form a bond, which he resists at first out of shame. It's a touching idea, however the screenplay was full of holes and the direction lacked finesse. The actors did the best they could in this production.

It is incredible how hard it is to write a good story and yet this film takes the simple premise of an orphaned Chinese girl sponsored into schooling by a benefactor she has never met except via postcards and letters and turns it into an achingly good two hours of entertainment.

Mei Mei, Little Sister (Zhu Lin), is a sixteen year old whose life in a Chinese Orphanage has been supported by regular payments made by Dean Randall (Guy Pearce). Mei Mei is training to be the conductor of a children's choir who are to tour in Australia which is where the bulk of this film takes place.

The plot and screenplay are developed with such simple brushstrokes you know there is a masterpiece being painted before our eyes. And this film doesn't let you down through all its wonderful and deft touches. Even the violent scenes are made to fit the delicate canvass the whole is painted upon, and we are never driven to the need for explicit artistic license.

The soundtrack too is so finely tuned to the images, with some breathtaking choral singing at appropriate moments. The acting is strong, brilliant from Zhu Lin and Guy Pearce, and only occasionally overstated by the support. The script is just wonderful but then the message from this film is wonderful too.

Recommended viewing. Nine out of ten.

First,while the film is not-rated I would give it a rating of PG-13,because of some of the subject matter. The film does a beautiful job of demonstrating how people have a universal desire to be a part of a family.It's a sweet story how two people who are separated by thousands of miles can still effect one another greatly.Redemption,purpose, and life's ongoing search to love and be loved are strong themes throughout the film.While I did enjoy the movie,I would have liked to have seen the film-makers give more attention to the earliest years in the orphanage and the hardships Mei Mei had to endure. Overall,you'll come away from watching 33 Postcards feeling happy.

This film was beautifully conceived, and started well. The characters are deft, subtle, and well-played by the excellent cast.

Leading into the last act, though, the characters start behaving erratically, with no discernible motivation. Sadly, the movie overall fails to recover, and it ends up being a frustrating experience. A great deal of potential, squandered in an apparent attempt to generate conflict, which in the end feels unbelievable.

Worth a watch, if you like any of the actors in particular, as their performances are still quite good, even from newcomer Zhu Lin as the delightfully naive-yet-savvy Mei Mei ("Little Sister").

I don't come on here and say much... only when I feel like it is needed. When I read the previous reviews and saw the low IMDb score, I figured something was wrong somewhere? I am so glad, I trusted the previous viewers and went with my gut on this one. What a fabulous movie. It was nicely written, engaging and you really care for the characters and what happens to them. It was a very heart-felt story. This is really what love is all about. The acting was great... guy Pearce was awesome as always and Zhu Lin was also exceptional. All in all a great watch and I am truly glad that I was a part of the experience. Hats off to the actors, writers and directors well done!