Three's Company in "All About Women" (Photo from www.asia.si.edu)
During the introduction to All About Women at the 14th Annual Made in Hong Kong film festival, the audience learned that Tsui Hark, the film's director, a man known for making action films, thought up the movie after a night of partying in Beijing. He first thought of calling it something like 'All Women Aren't So Bad." (The audience groaned upon hearing this.) Learning details like this is just one of the reasons why going to see a foreign film at a place like the Smithsonian is so worthwhile.
Hark later thought better of that title and got a well-known Korean script writer to write the script and then had it translated into Chinese. To his credit, the director felt as if there aren't enough movies that centered on women, and this is an issue in the entertainment industry worldwide.
Our comedies test boundaries with far-fetched plots, but usually stay true to the laws of physics, so this film was a little different. From the very beginning, "All About Women" incorporated a bit of animation and exaggerated special effects, and these elements garnered a lot of laughs. The actresses, one in particular, demonstrated great skill with physical comedy, even without the special effects. The nerdy character, a stiff dancer, takes dance lessons and to show just how stiff she is, her instructor is able to throw her around as if she were an inaminate object. This was achieved by the actress's posture, but also through special effects. I freely admit that I am no expert on Asian film, so it is possible that this type of thing is commmon and I am just not used to it.
Many of the write-ups for All About Women, refer to this movie a kind of Chinese Sex and the City. Well, in so much as it featured the separate and eventually intertwining stories of modern women looking for (and avoiding) love, it was like Sex and the City...but one big thing it was missing was the close friendship that the women in Sex and the City shared. The three women in this movie (the shrewd executive, the lonely nerd, and the tomboy who prefers a dream man to a real one) were not a close-knit group of friends, but rather women thrown together by circumstance. When they finally meet, they do help each other at some points, but the plot hinges on the fact that to further her own career, the executive uses a man-seducing pheremone that the nerdy woman invented to make her dance instructor fall in love with her. Unlike American films, everyone does not sail off happily into the sunset or experience alterations in character that are so dramatic they do not seem to be the same people.
**********************************
"All About Women" will be shown again today (8/2) at 2pm (tickets are distributed starting at 1pm). Admission is free (donations are encouraged), but you must obtain a ticket.
The remaining films in the festival will be shown on the same schedule (a screening on Friday night at 7pm with a repeat the following Sunday at 2pm).
All films are shown at the Meyer Auditorium in the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery, Jefferson Drive at 12th Street, SW.
One Nite in Mongkok Aug. 7/9
Eye in the Sky Aug. 14/16
My Mother is a Belly Dancer Aug. 21/23
Comments
This sounds really interesting. I hope it's still playing when we get back to DC - if not, I'll look for it on Netflix. Thanks for a great review!
There are lots of pole dancing agencies all over the world that need showgirls. So I just want to give all of you a pole dancing tip: Wear comfortable clothes which expose your arms and legs. Sexiness is optional. Baring your skin will allow you to get a much better grip on the pole with your arms and legs so that you can perform these moves safely. For even better foot grips, try going barefoot. Or get on the pole naked, so you have nothing to slow you down.
I was surfing on the internet when I found this very interesting site. Try to check it, you might find it useful http://www.busama.com/
Loads of jobs to exotic dancers are in today. In topless bikini dancing remember this; training in front of a mirror will help to ensure proper posture and poses.
Have this one too http://www.danceinmacau.asia/
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!