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Shower
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 2 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Liu Fen Dou
Cai Xiang Jun
Fendou Liu
Diao Yi Nan
Directed by: Yang Zhang
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 7, 2000
DVD: December 12, 2000
Running Time: 92 minutes, Color
Origin: China
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for language and nudity
Starring Wu Jiang, Pu Cun Xin, Zhu Xu, and He Zeng
Set in and around a traditional Chinese communal bathhouse, the film chronicles changing times that put the bathhouse's future in doubt, as the son of the owner comes home to visit when he receives a postcard from his mentally challenged brother informing him that their father has died.
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
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...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Without ever dipping into indignity among wet, half-naked men, Shower sparkles with joy.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Superbly acted, cleverly written, sensitively directed.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Comes as close to perfect as any movie I've seen lately.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The beauties of Shower lie in its human observation, in its funny interplay, candor, lusty acting and hearty simplicity - and also in its warm imagery and the fascinating symbolic use it makes of water.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
A warm-hearted valentine to old traditions in China that are being obliterated by modern - and admittedly more efficient - technology.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan
A lovely film that requires a leisurely sit to think, Shower is not so much a shower as a bath, and a refreshing one at that.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's a beautifully crafted, almost perfectly sustained little drama that skillfully makes a subtle, bittersweet point.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Yang turns this heartwarmer into a feat of delicate magic.
Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Writers Liu Fen Dou and Cai Xiang Jun and director Zhang Yang move freely and gracefully between fantasy and reality in this sentimental film, which never becomes as trite or calculated as you might fear.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Andy Klein
Zhang deftly and quickly draws a half-dozen supporting characters, and his pacing never flags.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Above all, it's a satisfying, almost restful work, as welcome in this less-than-thrilling cinematic summer as a cool soak on a hot summer's day.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Told in a leisurely though concise 92 minutes, Shower is a purifying and refreshing spray of hope that family and lifestyle differences can be reconciled. Lovely.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
You won't see a more humane and delicately moving riff this year on the theme of getting clean.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Although it has some contrived plot devices (including the looming deadline of the city's threat to the bathhouse), it is warm and observant, and its ending is surprisingly true to the material.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Shower is also a comedy -- but it's the movie's melancholy streak that is its strongest asset.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
Take this Shower and feel refreshed; it's a cool dip on a hot day.
Read Full Review >Film.com Robert Horton
There's something thin about the picture-both in its ideas and its visual texture.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Michael Atkinson
Shower isn't a bad movie -- just a baneful sign of things to come.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
Sentiment, the kind bordering on schmaltz and easy tears, is found in Shower, a well-meaning generational drama.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
This gentle, slow-moving film contains some charming sequences but no new insights into the pleasures and burdens of family.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
