Begins with a wild coincidence and goes rapidly downhill from there, becoming one of the most unintentionally hilarious tragedies in quite some time.
Lost in Beijing (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:9
Fresh:3
Rotten:6
Average Rating:5/10
Theatrical Release:Jan 25, 2008 Limited
Synopsis:
Set against the frenzied backdrop of Beijing, where a fast growing economy has created a new
class of urban socialites and nouveau riche, Lost in Beijing features four of Asian cinema’s
biggest...
Set against the frenzied backdrop of Beijing, where a fast growing economy has created a new
class of urban socialites and nouveau riche, Lost in Beijing features four of Asian cinema’s
biggest stars - Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Elaine Jin, Fan Bingbing and Tong Da Wei - who together
fumble their way through a tragicomic ménage-a-quatre that left the Chinese censors blazing.
An-kun (Tong Da Wei) and his wife Ping-guo (Fan Bingbing) have built a modest living for
themselves following their move to the capital from China’s poorer northeast. An-kun works
washing the windows of Beijing’s skyscrapers while Ping-guo earns a decent wage as a
masseuse at the Gold Basin Foot Massage Palace, a popular parlour owned by Dong (Tony Leung
Ka-Fai), a rich middle-aged businessman who epitomizes China’s new money-obsessed society.
When Ping-guo returns to the massage parlour following a liquid lunch break with one of her coworkers,
Dong finds her sprawled across a couch in his office. Exploiting her drunken state, he
awkwardly forces himself on her, not realizing that An-kun, atop his perch outside the office
window, is a witness to what is happening. Seeing this as a moneymaking opportunity, An-kun
decides to blackmail Dong – either he pays or he gets brought up on charges for rape. But when
Ping-guo learns that she’s pregnant, the stakes get even higher.
In a brokered deal that includes An-kun, Ping-guo, Dong and Dong’s wife Wang-mei (Elaine Jin),
the fate of the child will join the two couples in an emotional game of tug of war, where the sides
will split over money and revenge, but where love and redemption may rise above them all. --© New Yorker Films
[More]
Starring: Tony Leung Ka Fai, Fan Bingbing, Elaine Jin, Tong Da Wei
Starring: Tony Leung Ka Fai, Fan Bingbing, Elaine Jin, Tong Da Wei
Director: Li Yu
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Reviews for Lost in Beijing
The film benefits from solid performances by its four stars, but it is overly didactic and drawn-out as its comic tone grows darker and darker.
Though the film’s emotional tone is blurry -- toward the end it swerves away from farce and back toward anguish — its social criticism could hardly be more clear.
The sex is sufficient (if you care), the acting is good, and the shots of Beijing's streets and highways are interesting. But the story is contrived.
When a rapist (Tony Leung) is the second-most sympathetic character in a story about greed, duplicity and adultery among four people, it needs a more forgiving audience than me.
It's a funny film, a parable of sorts, and a character-driven take on what's ticking in China.
An involving, highly accessible portrait of an emotional menage a quatre in the modern-day Chinese capital.
Lost in Beijing might have the Chinese censors trying to wield their scissors, but Li Yu's muddled sex drama is unlikely to cause an uproar, or make much of a stir, anywhere else.
The prevalent shooting style is monotonous naturalism, as the camera buzzes between contentious actors and trolls after anything on the move.
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