'A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Chinese remake of the Coen brothers first film 'BLOOD SIMPLE', this one is set in 19th century China as opposed to 1980's Texas. The film is directed by Yimou Zhang (who directed such popular and critical acclaimed films as 'HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS', 'HERO' and 'CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER') and it's quite a departure from his older work. Zhang says 'BLOOD SIMPLE' is one of his favorite films and claims the Coens wrote to him after seeing his version and expressed how much they loved it. It's written by Jianquan Shi and Jing Shang and stars Ni Yan, Honglei Sun, Xiao Shen-Yang and Dahong Ni.
The original Chinese title of the film is 'A SIMPLE NOODLE STORY', it was changed to 'A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP' for it's international release. It's set in a small desert town where a man named Wang (Ni) runs a successful noodle shop. He purchased his young beautiful wife (Yan) several years earlier and beats her every night. His wife is having an affair with a servant at the noodle shop named Li (Shen-Yang) and when Wang finds out about the affair things get ugly. Wang enlists the help of a local police detective (Sun) to help him carry out a plan of revenge. Things of course become complicated and bloody.
The film is an odd mix of dark action thriller and screwball comedy. The slapstick jokes aren't exactly my taste in humor but the action scenes are cool and the suspense is intense. It does drag on a little here and there but for the most part the action / crime drama aspect of the film is effective. It's also often visually stunning with plenty of beautiful scenery and elaborate effects. It's not nearly as epic and breathtaking as Zhang's other films but I think it's a nice surprise change for him. By no means is it great or as classic as the original, of course, but it's still a remake worth checking out.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzuEs-uogc
Chinese remake of the Coen brothers first film 'BLOOD SIMPLE', this one is set in 19th century China as opposed to 1980's Texas. The film is directed by Yimou Zhang (who directed such popular and critical acclaimed films as 'HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS', 'HERO' and 'CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER') and it's quite a departure from his older work. Zhang says 'BLOOD SIMPLE' is one of his favorite films and claims the Coens wrote to him after seeing his version and expressed how much they loved it. It's written by Jianquan Shi and Jing Shang and stars Ni Yan, Honglei Sun, Xiao Shen-Yang and Dahong Ni.
The original Chinese title of the film is 'A SIMPLE NOODLE STORY', it was changed to 'A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP' for it's international release. It's set in a small desert town where a man named Wang (Ni) runs a successful noodle shop. He purchased his young beautiful wife (Yan) several years earlier and beats her every night. His wife is having an affair with a servant at the noodle shop named Li (Shen-Yang) and when Wang finds out about the affair things get ugly. Wang enlists the help of a local police detective (Sun) to help him carry out a plan of revenge. Things of course become complicated and bloody.
The film is an odd mix of dark action thriller and screwball comedy. The slapstick jokes aren't exactly my taste in humor but the action scenes are cool and the suspense is intense. It does drag on a little here and there but for the most part the action / crime drama aspect of the film is effective. It's also often visually stunning with plenty of beautiful scenery and elaborate effects. It's not nearly as epic and breathtaking as Zhang's other films but I think it's a nice surprise change for him. By no means is it great or as classic as the original, of course, but it's still a remake worth checking out.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDzuEs-uogc