Ai zai bie xiang de ji jie (1990)

Information

Siskoid
In Farewell China, Clara Law paints an ugly portrait of the United States (or at least, of New York)' but also gives no other alternative to her characters, as everyone back home in Mainland China counsels them never to return. After losing touch with his wife gone study in America (Maggie Cheung), a husband (Tony Leung Ka-fai) smuggles himself to the Big Apple to track her down. The picture painted by the people whose lives hers intersected seems disjointed and impossible to reconcile (it is proper, I think, to compare this with the Chinese-American indie film Chan Is Missing), but it will when they finally find each other. Though I can't really co-sign the twist that makes it possible, it doesn't come out of nowhere. But while the search goes on, the husband finds himself in a world of poverty, sin and decadence, helped on his quest by a 15-year-old prostitute, just to give you an idea of how debased Law's America appears to be. And if there's racism - and there is - it's often directed inward. A self-loathing that goes beyond rejecting one's home country, but one's cultural identity, which Law may be equating with the Cultural Revolution. Vivid images, strong acting, but a big downer. Prepare yourself. 2 weeks 1 day ago