Zhou Yu de huo che
User Score
5.8 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6

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  1. ianm
    Jul 20, 2007
    8
    I thought it was good.i agree, the plot was hard to follow, nut with the following of several characters on separate timeliness its not gonna be easy. quite a few of the shots were really very artistic and well done.
  2. ChadS.
    Sep 9, 2004
    4
    Even before we arrive at "The Double Life of Veronique" nonsense, "Zhou Yu's Train" wasn't working for me, largely because of Zhou Yu's (Gong Li) high-maintenance personality, which would be more compatable with an investment banker than a poet. Zhou never struck me as a romantic, and someone who would tolerate a man who generates a low income. As a result, the love affair she conducts with Cheng Qing (Tony Leung Ka Fai) never ignites, or feel the least bit convincing. When he moves to Taipei, "Zhou Yu's Train" really starts to drag, as we're greeted by scene after scene of her moping. Director Sun Zhou has some talent, but he runs out of interesting camera set-ups and angles with that damn train after Zhou Yu's sixth, or seventh trip. … Expand
  3. MichaelB.
    Feb 10, 2005
    5
    Zhou Sun directs Gong Li in dual roles in a New China soap opera. Every weekend Zhou Yu (Li) takes a long train ride to see her lover Chu Qing, a low-level bureaucrat and sensitive poet. Although we see no evidence of passion between them, Zhou Yu sacrifices family heirlooms and some of her best ceramic creations to get a book of his poetry published. Concurrently, she has a passionate affair with the rather shallow veterinarian Zhang Chiang. Neither relationship is completely satisfying to her. Chu Qing ends up as a schoolteacher in Tibet, living with a girl from his hometown who is unremarkable except for her resemblance to Zhou Yu with a different hairstyle. It seems to be a trope on the ancient belief that we each have two souls, one animal and the other spiritual. A truly great love would then demand one person who excites equal passion in both our souls.… Expand
  4. VinceH.
    Aug 21, 2004
    3
    A ponderous, Wong Kar-Wei wannabe that often bores and frustrates more than intrigues. I must go back to the Wong reference mainly because this movie is so CLEARLY influenced stylistically and thematically by Wong's masterpiece "In the Mood For Love", but instead of homage it comes off more like a Tarantino-ish ripoff. A block of music that is repeated throughout, slow dreamy pan shots & close-ups and abstract compositions, etc. The only reason I give this a 3 is because Gong Li is the most beautiful woman to ever grace the planet Earth.… Expand
  5. Krystyna
    Aug 14, 2005
    5
    Director seems obsessed with the camera, less so with the plot. As the movie was nearing the end, I was frantically trying to make sense of the plot, but when the movie came to an end, all I could say was "huh"? I then ran for the computer and did a search for film reviews. Upon reading some reviews I was reassured that it wasn't my fault I couldn't follow the plot.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
49 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 23
  3. Negative: 3 out of 23
  1. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    60
    Chinese thesp Gong Li goes for a striking career makeover in Zhou Yu's Train, a sensual, slickly packaged slice of Euro-style metaphysical cinema centered on a free-thinking woman and the two men in her life.
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  2. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: David Blaylock
    30
    Devolves from opaque mystery into boring melodramatics and incoherent contrivances.
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  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Richard James Havis
    40
    It's an unusual idea but fails -- Sun spends so much time on the mood and atmosphere that he forgets about the story.
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