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Critics Consensus: To Live (Huo zhe) offers a gut-wrenching overview of Chinese political upheaval through the lens of one family's unforgettable experiences.
Critic Consensus: To Live (Huo zhe) offers a gut-wrenching overview of Chinese political upheaval through the lens of one family's unforgettable experiences.
All Critics (21) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (3)
A well-crafted but in no way earth-shaking entry in the helmer's oeuvre.
Zhang's purpose is less to show the oppressive iniquities of Mao's era than to evoke the optimistic spirit that allowed people to survive it.
There is no mistaking the political toughness of this melodrama's message.
It's a good movie from a genuinely gifted filmmaker and no less worthy for not being great.
"To Live" is a simple title, but it conceals a universe.
It's a film of handsome backdrops and often complexly comic scenes, but also of stultifying pointlessness.
It rushes through history as if it were firemen rushing to a fire.
Acompanhar a conturbada vida política chinesa entre as décadas de 40 e 70 através de uma perspectiva intimista é uma idéia inteligente e promissora. Infelizmente, parte da força se perde em função do roteiro excessivamente melodramático.
As is typical with Zhang's films, this one is gripping and leaves you with admiration for the brave souls who survive under totalitarian rule.
Presents a sober view of Chinese life where the destinies of individuals are determined by forces beyond their control.
Zhang has managed to grasp a simple truth that so often eludes modern filmmakers - if the story is recognizable and the characters are real, the audience will easily identify with them and be swept away.
I have never seen a more anti-Communist movie. The horrors of this ideology were everywhere.
This was really good. Li Gong is recognizable from Hero (she's actually been in a lot of things). The scenes of mourning are painful to watch, because it is so real and honest. If you enjoyed other works by this director, (Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of The Golden Flower being the most famous) you will probably enjoy this....no martial arts, however. This is a moving drama with some interesting history. Well done film.
Super Reviewer
[color=red]"To Live" is an emotionally powerful epic about a family living in China from the 1940's to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960's. I felt like this movie gave me the most realistic impression of living under Mao Zedong during this tumultuous period of time.[/color]
An awesome foreign language movie that I watched in a history class.
I think it's safe to say that this is no love letter from Zhang Yimou to Chairman Mao. Any time any means of artistic expression must be destroyed, as with the burning of the puppets, you can be sure that the film, itself a form of artistic expression, is not making a positive statement. An unrelenting look at the ravages of political change in China from the 1940s through the 60s, focusing particularly on one extremely unfortunate, yet in some ways extremely lucky family, if simply surviving equals good fortune. If you're a Li Gong or You Ge fan, you won't want to miss this one.
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