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White Countess, The
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some violent images and thematic elements
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, John Wood, Madeleine Potter, Allan Corduner, and Hiroyuki Sanada
Shanghai, 1936 was a crossroads for political intrigue, refugees escaping turmoil, gathering military forces, international business and underworld culture. Two people caught in this maelstrom forge a bond on the brink of the Japanese invasion: a beautiful Russian countess (Richardson), reduced by circumstances to supporting her family as a bar girl and taxi dancer, and a blind former diplomat (Fiennes), devastated by the loss of his family in political violence and disillusioned by the world's inability to make peace. The story revolves around "The White Countess," the elegant nightclub created by the diplomat to shut out the chaos and tragedy that surround him. (Sony Pictures Classics)
| GENRE(S): | Drama | War |
| WRITTEN BY: | Kazuo Ishiguro |
| DIRECTED BY: | James Ivory |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: May 16, 2006 Theatrical: December 21, 2005 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 138 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | UK / USA / Germany / China |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.3 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Bob C gave it a6:
This was a very good 100 minute movie. Unfortunately at least 36 minutes of extraneous and unnecessary material was left attached. As a result, the first two-thirds of the movie moved way too slowly. Fiennes and especially the gorgeous Richardson were quite good in their respective roles.
Mark B. gave it a5:
Before a preview of Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino once asked an audience who among them had seen and liked the Ismail Merchant-James Ivory production The Remains of the Day, and then famously (or infamously) invited all those who responded affirmatively to get lost immediately. In addition to revealing his own tastes (as if you couldn't have guessed) Tarantino was strongly suggesting that those who loved one film will hate the other. Well, I'm a big fan of both The Remains of the Day AND Pulp Fiction, and as such I think Tarantino's blanket dismissal by implication of the entire Merchant-Ivory catalog displays as narrowminded and simplistic a view as that expressed by those who refuse to even consider watching Switchblade Sisters, Master of the Flying Guillotine or any of the other genre and/or exploitation films QT salivates over. Sadly, though, producer Merchant's and director Ivory's final effort (Merchant died last year) gives Tarantino's generalizations about their work undue credence; it's good-looking but overlong, unfocused, diffuse and a far cry from the glory days of Remains, A Room With a View and Howards End. Like Remains (based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote this film's screenplay), The White Countess deals with the gathering forces that would lead to World War II (Remains poignantly concerned itself with the Nazi influence; Countess with the Japanese presence in China)...and, more specifically, with the prickly, would-be romance between its male and female leads that's continually thwarted both by historical obstacles and by the man's own reticence. Ralph Fiennes plays a blind ex-diplomat (Ooooh! Obvious symbolism, kids!) who enters into a business relationship with an impoverished Russian countess (Natasha Richardson); both go in on an elaborate nightclub. Movies about the ramblings of self-pitying bar owners are risky propositions: when done right you get Casablanca, when less so, the result is a film like this that eventuaslly becomes as tedious as listening to a drunk for several hours. The poorly timed, staged and edited final half hour, when the shoe drops and the invaders attack, doesn't help matters much; if there's a director you DON'T want to entrust action sequences to, it's Ivory! At the end of the day, I suppose there are far worse things you could be doing with your moviegoing time than watch the almost unbearably beautiful Richardson in a variety of clingy evening gowns, even if both she and Fiennes are noticeably stuggling with their accents while she's wearing them. On the other hand, Vanessa Redgrave (Natasha's real-life mom) and Lynn Redgrave (her aunt) as ungrateful family members represent stunt casting at its least effective; I hope they enjoyed the experience of filming together but on this evidence would suggest that future family reunions stay out of camera range.
Pat G. gave it a4:
I'm sorry. I went to this film with high hopes. I like literary films and all of the Regrave clan. But the movie was plain boring most of the time. Flat and slow. It perked up a bit in the last 45 minutes or so because of the action on screen. And I'm afraid that Ralph Feinnes is just wooden. A real dissappointment.
Oleg M. gave it an8:
Guys, listen up! If you plan to go to the movies with your date: this is a perfect one. It's exotic (in a sense that you can discuss it), protracted (plenty of time of checking your date's profile in the dark theatre), romantical (r.fiennes and natasha richardson make such an appealing couple) and so un-american (little violence and even less sex makes it refreshing). Again: don't watch it on your own; get a date with a russian girl and see it with her. Good luck!
[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Beautiful atmosphere, great acting. Fiennes and Richardson never overact, and it's wonderful to watch.
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