Pavilion of Women (2001)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Ho Yim

Writers (WGA):

Pearl S. Buck (novel)
Yan Luo (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 November 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

With World War 2 looming, a prominent family in China must confront the contrasting ideas of traditionalism, communism and Western thinking, while dealing with the most important ideal of all: love and its meaning in society.

Plot Keywords:

Invasion | Forbidden Love | Bamboo | Candle | Bath

Cast

Willem Dafoe	...	Father Andre
Yan Luo	...	Madame Wu Ailian
Sau Sek	...	Mr. Wu
John Cho	...	Fengmo Wu
Yi Ding	...	Chiuming
Chieng Mun Koh	...	Ying
Anita Loo	...	Old Lady Wu
Amy Hill	...	Madame Kang
Kate McGregor-Stewart	...	Sister Shirley
Jia Dong Liu	...	Mr. Lang
Shu Chen	...	Head Servant
Hang-Sang Poon	...	Fat Cook
Li Wang	...	Kang Lin Yi
You Jin Xu	...	Matchmaker
Ding Yuan Gu	...	Mayor

Also Known As:

Ting yuan li de nu ren (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and war images.

Runtime:

116 min | Germany:111 min

Country:

China | USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Suzhou, China

Company:

Beijing Film Studio

Director/producer should have read book

Am I the only one out here who read 'Pavilion of Women'? This film took a great book and what would have been a fantastic female role and turned them both into porridge. In the book, the relationship between Brother Andre and Madame Wu was that of a wise teacher and a brilliant pupil until, literally, the day he died: it wasn't until that day that she realized that she loved him. Pavilion of Women is not a 'romance': it is the awakening of a woman to her own humanity, and, through the transforming power of love, to the humanity of others, whom she has previously regarded only as problems to be solved or duties to be performed. To turn it into a 'romance' is an insult to the author, Pearl Buck, who, for the record, did not write Harlequin-level trash, and the audience, who would have been quite capable of understanding the story as it was originally written. Whoever's responsible for foisting this 'dumbed-down' mess on the universe should be ashamed of themselves.