First the good things: Tang Wei is a competent actress, perfectly cast for the role. high production value. good attention to details.
Now for the bad: over 3 hours long! The director is so in love with herself, if she had hired a proper editor, the film would have been a much superior one at 90 min. Deliberately trying to be avant-garde. breaking the mold for the sake of breaking mold. The movie is dotted with interviews of the characters around the author, some experimental technique, which completely breaks the immersion while contributing nothing to the film.
summary: tries to be avant-garde like Duras' films, but lacking.
Now for the bad: over 3 hours long! The director is so in love with herself, if she had hired a proper editor, the film would have been a much superior one at 90 min. Deliberately trying to be avant-garde. breaking the mold for the sake of breaking mold. The movie is dotted with interviews of the characters around the author, some experimental technique, which completely breaks the immersion while contributing nothing to the film.
summary: tries to be avant-garde like Duras' films, but lacking.