Advertisement
Sign in
Username
Password
Remember me
Forgot password?
Wanna join?
Sign up
Find movies you'll love
Home
Movies
People
Groups
Reviews
Podcasts
News
In theaters
Coming soon
DVDs
Trailers
Watch movies
Summer Palace (2008)
Want to see it?
Seen it?
0
1
2
3
4
5
Rate this movie.
Want to buy it?
Write a review
Discuss it
Add to lists
Recommend it
Watch trailer
This page requires Flash Player. Get it.
Rent it, watch it, find it
Advertisement
Synopsis & activity
Cast & crew
Reviews
Trailers
DVD Information
Related movies
All reviews for Summer Palace
Spout Mavens review - Üç maymun ...
by
Risselada
in
Risselada Blog
is neutral about it.
Was this review helpful?
[Be the first to tell us!]
"I'm told that Üç maymun (Three Monkeys) is Turkey's official submission for consideration of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I really have no idea how many films with this level of production are made in Turkey each year. And now that I think about it, I can't think of a single movie I have ever seen that has come out of Turkey. The only movie I can think of that I've seen that is even set substantially in Turkey is Midnight Express, and I believe that was an American produced film that wasn't especially fair in portraying the full Turkish culture for Americans. However there's actually not too much about Three Monkeys that sets it in any particular location. At least there was nothing culturally unusual or alien to me. I'm not saying that there SHOULD be, just an observation from someone who doesn't know too much about Turkey and hasn't seen too much of their artistic exports. What we have here is a film that is well executed in many ways, nice p ... "
[More]
Spout Maven Review: 'Summer' Lo ...
by
minerwerks
in
minerwerks Blog
is neutral about it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"Palm Pictures' DVD of 'Summer Palace' arrived adorned with a 'BANNED BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT' banner and reviews touting sex and politics "on full boil." In reality, this tells me about good old American hype than anything about the Chinese government. While interesting, the film wasn't quite as hot as the quotes imply.Yu Hong (Hao Lei) is a young girl from northern China near the border of North Korea. She travels to Beijing to attend University in the late 1980s. Upon meeting fellow student Li Ti (Hu Lingling), Yu Hong begins to open up to the new experiences the school and the city have to offer, as well as her awakening passions. These passions are further drawn out when she meets Zhou Wei (Guo Xiaodong), and the two become lovers.As a backdrop to the personal drama, there are hints of a growing political unease, which culminates in many of the students taking part in the famous demonstration in Tiananmen Square. The swift reaction of the Chinese government sends the various ... "
[More]
The Year My Parents Went On Vac ...
by
joem18b
in
joem18b Blog
hasn't rated it.
Was this review helpful?
[Be the first to tell us!]
"O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias (2006)***** SPOILERS *****The Year My Parents Went On Vaction tells the story of a pre-teen boy in São Paulo, Brazil, separated from his parents during a military coup in 1970. As the army takes over, the country is distracted in part by Brazil's successes in the World Cup of that year (sort of like following the pennant race or NFL football in the U.S. as the country's financial system implodes). The movie is pleasant, never dull, well shot, with a delicate score that adds to the feelings of sadness and loss inherent in the plot (the director threw out the first score written for the movie; Beto Villares then did it over and got it right).TYMPWOV begins with a mother and father taking their son to grandfather's house in São Paulo. The three are riding in a VW bug, '65 or earlier. A Brazilian friend suggests that for verisimilitude, they should have been in a Renault or Citroen, because the bug was the inexpensive ... "
[More]
Spout Mavens review - Yihe yuan ...
by
Risselada
in
Risselada Blog
is neutral about it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"I've been pretty lax about making myself write these maven reviews in a timely manner. I notice that just about everyone else has already written a review on Summer Palace already, and anything I'm about to say has probably already been covered by someone. I'd recommend joem18b's review of the film as one of the most comprehensive collection of thoughts on various aspects of the film. Of course it may take you longer to finish reading his 4,778 word review than it does to watch this 140 minute movie. How much does enjoying and understanding this film rely on being already aware of certain aspects of a culture? It's a question I have to ask when considering a film made outside of the culture I am familiar with. In this case I am very unfamiliar with China's political history and the featured events in Tiananmen Square. This movie shows some of the physical events occurring, but the reason behind them is not explained. I thought perhaps the reason was that the filmmakers were ... "
[More]
Summer Palace
by
BigJeffLebowski
in
BigJeffLebowski Blog
hasn't rated it.
Was this review helpful?
[Be the first to tell us!]
"Whenever a film depicts the lives of fictitious individuals against a noteworthy historical backdrop, the question must be raised: do the filmmakers use their characters to humanize an otherwise emotionally unfathomable event, or do they cheaply exploit it to give their film greater social, political, intellectual, or philosophical weight? For the first half of its nearly two and a half hour running time, Lou Ye's Summer Palace manages to deftly filter the unrest of late 1980s China through the microcosm of a teen attending Beijing University. But following a dramatization of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations (and a where-are-they-now montage that swiftly glosses over the next decade), the film struggles for the next hour to rediscover the tone and pace that made its story thusfar so resonant. Yu Hong, a teenager from Tumen, serves as our protagonist and Metaphor with a capital M. Yu Hong is a thoughtful yet uncertain girl, more sure of what she doesn't want to be than what sh ... "
[More]
Important and Tumultuous Period ...
by
The_American_Dream
in
The_American_Dream Blog
is neutral about it.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"There is not a great deal to be said for this movie. And it is not because of the sex which is what I was afraid of. But I hoped that this one would, in its epic standing, that it would pull a large amount of material across time and people to make it interesting. Unfortunatly "Summer Palace" is really more than a let down to the point of almost being a waste. "Summer Palace" swings back and forth from what it gets made out to be. That being and political and sex charged drama spanning most of the dramatic periods in China's history. Well strictly speaking, it does that. This story of people does weave itself (or rather its characters) across distance and events rather completely. However, maybe only half way in or slightly more I was really wondering why I was supposed to care. Frankly, this is something that can be done very well and in a manner where I really do care. "A Beautiful Mind" is an example of a movie about people that really does span events and changes very well. "A ... "
[More]
Summer Castle.
by
Smooth_J
in
Smooth_J Blog
liked it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
""Sex and politics are on full boil!" NY Times "Its sex scenes are mini revolutions!" Guardian "I got a boner--from all the sex!" TVs Fred Savage, DGA nominee That is the first impression that the viewer of Summer Palace is supposed to receive. A hot-seat, glorified porno, and that's mostly what the film is. However, it's a bit more high-class than that: Lou Ye has a better eye for photography than your average porno auteur, and he manages to meld the debauchery with political events, whether or not his characters (that happen to be having sex at the time) know what the hell is going on. I actually liked the film. While the running time was a bit on the long-side, and certain scenes were way too brooding and self-important, there were frequent shines of brilliance in Lou Ye's direction. The story involves a girl named Yu Hong from a small Chinese town, who is introduced as being strange and strong-willed and in a passionate romance with her boyfriend. Just as soon as she sleeps ... "
[More]
The Year My Parents.... review
by
leeroy711
in
leeroy711 Blog
is neutral about it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"***** Stars out of 5 Directed by: Cao Hamburger. Starring: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut and Daniela Piepszyk Running Time: 104 minutes Rated: PG Released: 2007 Language: Portuguese with English subtitles Synopsis: The year referred to in the title of this film is 1970. Brazil is being held by a totalitarian regime. The great soccer player, Pele has just scored his thousandth goal and the national team is preparing for the World Cup. Mauro (Joelsas) is like any 12 year old Brazilian boy at the time. He thinks only of soccer and girls. Unfortunately for him, his political parents have to leave him with his Grandfather while they go “on vacation”.
[More]
Summer Palace review: "Did I mi ...
by
leeroy711
in
leeroy711 Blog
is neutral about it.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"Summer Palace (2006) *** Stars out of 5 Directed by: Lou Ye. Starring: Hao Lei, Guo Xiaodong and Hu Ling Running Time: 114 minutes Rated: UR Released: 2006 Language: Mandarin with English subtitles Synopsis: Summer Palace is the story that follows a beautiful and rebellious young Chinese woman, Yu Hon (Hao Lei) throughout almost a two decade period. Her story starts in a small town in 1988 where she receives word that has been accepted to Beijing University. We follow her and the rest of mod "
[More]
Spout Mavens Disc #10: Summer P ...
by
rik_tod
in
The Cinema 4 Pylon: SpOutpost
hasn't rated it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
[What do you think?]
"Yihe Yuan [Summer Palace]Director: Lou YeChinese, 2:20, colorCinema 4 Rating: 5I am nothing in this world, and I am too much for this world. How shallow everyone must be to never realize how unfathomable I am. How can they not know that I am unknowable? Is that unreasonable of me? Don’t dare to ask…I am given a DVD of Summer Palace, but I have already seen The Unbearable Lightness of Being a dozen years ago, and so I don’t see the point. I watch it anyway, and find that I am alternately this and that. Don’t ask me what “this and that” are; they could be one or the other, but each are as much a mystery to me as myself, and therefore, not only would I never understand, but you would never understand either. And now, out of both of our confused states, we will sleep with each other, and then I will cry for some unknown reason in the darkness. And you will still never understand.Out of an oath of fealty to the art of nudity, I continue watching Summ ... "
[More]
Advertisement
© 2009 Spout LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide.