It annoys me to no end when reading critiques on movies by people that do not understand the background. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so sensitive to such issues, but I am. People that don’t understand the emotions and feelings behind such a movie should keep their tongue in their mouth.
I read a lot of reviews on Ang Lee’s 2007 film Lust Caution and many of them were mediocre. Because of these reviews, I held off from watching the movie due to lack of interest. Thank goodness I ignored the comments in the end because otherwise I would have missed one of the best films I’ve seen.
Just a quick disclaimer. I recognize that this film is not for everyone. There are scenes in it that I thought could have been changed, like the multiple sex scenes. Just one would have been enough to allow the viewers to get the feeling, I think.
But for all those people that are Chinese and understand the humiliation suffered for centuries, I strongly encourage you to watch it. Anyone that understands oppression should be able to appreciate the film as well. Because of this, it transcends races, as almost all races have been subjected to some type of oppression. The key is to watch it with the kind of feeling as if you were watching your ancestors in Nazi occupation (if you are Jewish) or in slavery (if you are African American). The holocaust and black slavery are notoriously celebrated as some of the worst stains in human history, and yet the horrors inflicted on the Chinese over the past century are largely forgotten.
I’m not going to make this blog into a history article, so read it up on your own time. There’s lots to pick and choose from, like the British feeding opium to citizens. And when a group burnt a shipment of opium to oppose this, there was a massacre of people. Ever wonder how Hong Kong came into British rule? There’s your answer. And of course, there’s the Japanese occupation of China, which is graphically depicted in the Rape of Nanking.
Yes, this century has certainly been the best of times.
I’m not asking for much. But if you’re going to watch a movie about Shanghai during the Second World War, perhaps it might be nice to get some perspective on what it was like during that time for the people living in it. Not to mention if you’re going to critique it.
You wouldn’t write a review on a car before driving it, would you?
Posted by abc 
Red Looking Glass 