FuzzyTagz
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
ritu_ruch
To live is one of the most heart wrenching,soul stirring film i have ever seen.Its got great acting,great cinematography,dialogues,music and direction which makes it a real gem of world cinema.Even the subtitles didn't look like a difficult task to read considering how brilliant,sad yet uplifting the film was.Its hard to believe that the main protagonist endured and suffered so much pain in the film yet had the heart and strength to carry on with their lives with a smile on their face.A brave film about a family who choose to live under every possible bad circumstance.I am proud i watched this Chinese film being an Indian.Go for it even if you don't know Chinese because this film deserves more recognition world wide.
PeachHamBeach
...to describe how beautiful and nearly flawless this film is. This is like a feast for a person starving for good cinema, good storytelling, and flawless acting. Like THE JOY LUCK CLUB, it is an epic, an emotional banquet.Fugui (You Ge) and his wife Jiazhen (the incomparable Gong Li) are young parents expecting their second child within a few months. They are financially well off and living comfortably, but Fugui has a terrible addiction to all night gambling. Soon enough, he has lost everything the family owns, and they are paupers overnight.Jiazhen takes their daughter Fengxia and leaves Fugui devastated. He also loses his father to a heart attack and his mother is ailing. He is forced to take lodging in a crummy apartment and just try to get his life back together, becoming a street peddler, then a performer of shadow puppetry. Jiazhen decides to give Fugui one more chance, and seeing as he has nothing left to gamble away, things begin to look up.Until one night, during one of Fugui's puppet shows, he and his troupe are caught up in the civil war against the Liberation Army (pre- communism). A prisoner of war for months, he becomes an entertainer for the Army, and then set free to go home. With a new government in power, Fugui and Jiazhen begin yet another attempt to rebuild. This movie is neither pro nor anti communism. It is simply the portrait of a family caught up in times of tremendous change. A decade later, the family has merged into the mission of Chairman Mao, helping with steel production and eating in communist canteens instead of cooking their own meals. All scrap metal is donated to the cause, and even the children are expected to work long, hard hours smelting, lest their families be thought of as "politically backward." They live their lives in happy anxiety, glad to be alive and together, but always wary of offending someone who could punish them. Fengxia has been left mute by a fever some years prior, and her younger brother Youquin meets with a heart-wrenching tragedy at this time.Two decades after the film begins, China has taken the Great Leap. Fengxia is growing up, and her family introduces her to kindhearted Erxi. They marry and soon are expecting, but more tragedy is in store. The ending of this film is open to discussion, but basically the point is, life is not a destination, it's a journey. Who knows what becomes of this family after the credits? What are their hopes of the future? They were once a rich family, and it's unlikely they'll ever be rich again. Do they even care at this point? After the tragic losses of their children, how do they have the strength "to live" on? Perhaps because Erxi, who has stayed near them in spite of his own tremendous loss, and because of their grandson, who lived after Fengxia died in childbirth. Perhaps that precious child, that "Little Bun" is all it takes to motivate them to keep going. In the face of loss and tragedy, a new blessing makes all the difference. People need something to hope for and dream for, otherwise it would all seem so pointless.For all its richness and tapestry, To Live carries a simple and universal message about the strength of the human spirit and the will "to live."
amandla-10-725802
This is the best movie that I have ever seen.I watched this movie because I was taking a class on the politics of China. When I saw that this movie covered such an expansive time period I thought "great, I will learn something." That I did. I cried, I cheered, I stayed up very late... I made my then future husband watch it... he liked it too, not as much as I do.I tell everyone in conversations about movies that this one is my all time favorite. It took the place of American Beauty, a movie that I have watched about eleven times.So, I recommend it. If I had a lot of money I would pay people to watch this. It is THAT great.
boboman-2
I usually don't really watch movies from China but after watching a few titles such as Not one less and a few more to name including this one I must say I'm moved by movies from China. The movie is about one family life before the communist take over to the 70s where almost end of cultural revolution. The movie is perfectly done and pictures are perfectly shot. The realistic of the movie and the beautifully shot pictures made me stick to my chair without moving and wonder what happen next. This is a master piece indeed. I agree with the previous poster its a shame indeed that this movie is not popular. This apply the same with all other China movie. I suppose the promotion is not hot enough to bring the China cinema to all over the world. People just don't aware that they exist. When you go to the Cd's store, almost 99% of the movies are hardcore action or love and sex movies putting out by Hollywood. I really recommend this movie to all viewer.
