That Hamilton Woman

Also known as: Lady Hamilton

Genre: period drama (in black and white)

With: Vivien Leigh (Emma Lady Hamilton), Alan Mowbray (Sir William Hamilton), Laurence Olivier (Lord Horatio Nelson), Sara Allgood (Mrs. Cadogan-Lyon, Emma’s mother), Gladys Cooper (Lady Frances), Henry Wilcoxon (Captain Hardy)

Director: Alexander Korda

Screenplay: Walter Reisch and R.C. Sherriff

Release: 1941

Studio: Alexander Korda Films, Inc., London Film Productions

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.3/10





I’ll Be Ready When My Ship Comes In  





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Story-line: the port of Calais, France, in the early 1800s. A wretched, miserable-looking Englishwoman is accused of stealing a bottle of liquor and taken into custody along with a bystander named Mary Smith. Once in jail, the poor woman introduces herself as Emma Lady Hamilton… a claim that Mary cannot believe since Lady Hamilton was an aristocrat and reputedly the most beautiful woman in the world.

Pluses: wonderful acting all around but especially by Vivien Leigh (as a character not unlike Scarlett O’Hara), Laurence Olivier (as the dashing Nelson), Alan Mowbray and Sara Allgood, an action-packed screenplay replete with fine dialogues, flawless direction and cinematography, sumptuous sets and costumes, convincing battle scenes and a fitting musical score by Miklós Rózsa.

Minuses: none I can think of.

Comments: THAT HAMILTON WOMAN tells the tale of an opportunistic London showgirl whose transition from dance halls to social balls didn’t shield her from disappointment and whose unexpected happiness was not meant to last. Alexander Korda’s dramatic and very romantic film is remarkable as a showcase for a strong female protagonist and one of cinema’s most glorious couples. This is what star power looks like, movie buffs! 





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Huo zhe

English title: To Live

Also known as: Vivre

Genre: personal epic

With: You Ge (Xu Fugui), Li Gong (his wife Jiazhen), Zhang Lu, Xiao Cong and Tianchi Liu (their daughter Fengxia as a child, teenager and adult respectively), Deng Fei (their son Youqing), Tao Guo (Chunsheng, Fugui’s partner), Ben Niu (the town chief), Wu Jiang (Wan Erxi), Zongluo Huang (Fugui’s father), Yanjin Liu (Fugui’s mother), Dahong Ni (Long'er, Fugui’s gambling opponent)

Director: Yimou Zhang

Screenplay: Wei Lu and Hua Yu (based on Hua Yu’s novel)

Release: 1994

Studio: ERA International, Shanghai Film Studios

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.8/10





The Politics of Daily Life





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Story-line: China in the 1940s. After Xu Fugui’s passion for gambling sends himself, his pregnant wife, his young daughter and his parents spiralling toward bankruptcy, he has no other choice but to struggle for their survival.

Pluses: excellent acting from You Ge, Li Gong and a talented cast, a reasoned, well-written screenplay featuring endearing characters and several intriguing twists, outstanding direction and production values, breathtakingly beautiful visuals and a moving musical theme.

Minuses: none really.

Comments: personal chronicles can be tedious to watch but rarely have I seen one so skilful and gripping as TO LIVE. From one day to the next, Fugui’s family learns humility and resilience through personal misfortunes, war, political upheaval and bureaucratic insensitivity. Yimou Zhang’s ironic, sometimes severe and always impeccable film plays like a metaphor of man’s powerlessness in the face of events both private and collective.   





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