Lu Mao Zi (aka The Green Hat) (2004) (China)

[hengcs]

This movie, by Liu Fen Dou, was screened at the 3rd Tribeca Film Festival, and it won
-- "Best Narrative Feature"
-- "Best New Narrative Filmmaker"

I actually like the first 1/3 of the movie! The audience is led to believe it is a movie about crime/thriller and even comedy! But it is only peripherally related to the story of the main protagonist. Nonetheless, it has the exact theme/question as the entire movie. In essence, the movie seeks to ask the "archaic" question:
What is love? And What is sex? Can the two exist in exclusion?

What is good about the movie?
-- Audience may read more into some metaphors (which may or may not be intentional by the director).
-- Although it is a low budget film, the audience is unlikely to feel bored, as it is well paced.
-- The first 1/3 of the movie is fun to watch, while the last 2/3 of the movie is kind of slow, but character driven, with occasional light humor.
-- The ending is good ...

What could be better?
-- The radio program was not "subtitled" because the two characters were also speaking in the car. Actually, the DJ was also sharing some thoughts about "What is being "romantic"?"
-- Some people might feel that the first 1/3 and the last 2/3 are not exactly coherent ... but in my humble opinion, it does share a common theme:
What is love? What will you do for love?
;)

Worth watching? Sure ...

[trevor826]

"The Green Hat" is basically an insult to a man in China to say that his wife/partner is/has been unfaithful to him and he's pretty much accepted the situation, it is an expression rather than an actual item just as the expression "cuckold" is used in the West.

The interconnecting part of this film is that the major male character in each is wearing the metaphorical "Green Hat", the first finding
out that his girlfriend who has been in college in the US for 2 years has found somebody else. The fact that he finds out after he has committed a robbery to be able to afford to fly out and visit her doesn't exactly help and sends him over the edge.

The second, a detective connects with the first for a few minutes before we follow his "Green Hat" situation, he is unable to achieve an erection and his wife has taken a lover. We follow along as he tries various treatments for his problem and also tries to warn off his wifes lover.

The resolution to this part is not what I would have expected but is certainly more probable than the typical "happy" ending we're usually fed.

I enjoyed the film, the first section taking up around a third of the running time ran at a fairly brisk pace whereas the second section seemed stretched out (maybe a bit too much) and the pacing was much slower.

Overall a rewarding experience and I was thankful to see a film which is very unlikely to get any sort of widespread distribution. Seen at the Cardiff International Film Festival Oct 2004.

Cheers Trev.

[arsaib4]

Thanks for the review. I guess it did win Tribeca last year. One critic mentioned that "male nudity" was the primary reason it was banned.

[trevor826]

I can only think of a locker room scene where the detective confronts his wife's boyfriend only to be dismayed that his penis is smaller than the lovers.

Not much to talk about really but I suppose the goverment censors work to strict guidelines.

Cheers Trev.