The Sun Also Rises

Cast members:

Jaycee Chan

Joan Chen

Anthony Wong

Zhou Yun

Jiang Wen

Kong Wei

Plot:

The 2007 Chinese film directed by Jiang Wen details four interconnected stories with strong color of magic realism. The final episode involves all the characters, returns to the setting of the beginning of the film, and brings their lives full circle.

One day, a pregnant woman is on her way to meet her husband, a volunteer in the army. Coming along is another woman, who is going to her fiancé to get married. The second woman meets the fiancé in front of a stele engraved sign "The End", and they hold a happy wedding ceremony with a bonfire party.

The first woman, however, only receives the remains of her husband, including his uniforms and love letters between her husband and a foreign woman. She is in deep sorrow for the death of her husband, as well as his betrayal, and becomes psychologically abnormal.

After 20 years, one day, the first woman’s shoes are carried off by a bird, leading to her complete insanity, and she is called Mad Mother.

The second woman lives apart from her husband, Old Tang, who is a teacher, and has an affair with Doctor Lin from the school. Teacher Liang, Tang’s colleague, is a polite and elegant gentleman. One summer’s night, the school is playing an outdoor movie, when suddenly several women claim to be groped by a man’s hands. Liang is framed to be the offender and is chased away.

Liang flees into Tang’s room through the window, but discovers the illicit relationship between Tang and Doctor Lin. Lin, fearing that their relationship would expose to others, coaxes Liang to jump out from the window. Liang, with his legs broken, is lighted up by 42 flashlights, suffering severe humiliation.

Later that night, Liang’s name is finally cleared, but he is killed by Tang the next day.

Several months later, Tang and Lin’s affair is exposed to the public, and Tang is banished to a village where the Mad Mother’s son lives. Tang becomes obsessed with hunting everyday and turns a cold shoulder to his wife. Tang’s wife, a wanton, then develops an intimate relationship with the Mad Mother’s son.

Tang discovers their adultery afterwards, and after the Mad Mother’s son says to him "Your wife’s belly doesn’t feel like velvet", Tang shoots at the son, and the son falls down laughing.

Comments:

The film has received positive reviews from critics, and is a new style of magic realism. The fluid motion and glorious colors in this romantic fantasy provide a visual treat to audiences.