A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

Name: A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
Genre: Drama
Released: September 3, 2010
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 57
Cast: Dahong Ni, Ni Yan, Xiao Shen-Yang

2010

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Ratings

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A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: September 3, 2010 | R

Starring: Dahong Ni, Ni Yan, Xiao Shen-Yang

Summary: Wang is a miserable yet cunning noodle shop owner in a desert town in China. Feeling neglected, Wang’s wife secretly goes out with Li, one of his employees. A timid man, Li reluctantly keeps the gun the landlady bought for ‘killing her husband later’. However, not a single move they make escapes the boss’s notice, and he decides to bribeWang is a miserable yet cunning noodle shop owner in a desert town in China. Feeling neglected, Wang’s wife secretly goes out with Li, one of his employees. A timid man, Li reluctantly keeps the gun the landlady bought for ‘killing her husband later’. However, not a single move they make escapes the boss’s notice, and he decides to bribe patrol officer Zhang to kill the illicit couple. It looks like a perfect plan: the affair will come to a cruel but satisfying end… or so he thinks, but the equally wicked Zhang has an agenda of his own that will lead to even more violence. (Sony Pictures Classics)… Expand

Director: Yimou Zhang

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

Mike Scott

Dec 17, 2010

Almost feels as if it is two different films. One is the opening 20 minutes or so, in which most of the screwball comedy takes place. The other comes when Yimou gets on with the real story. That's where the payoff comes in. Read full review

Richard Nilsen

As the film comes to an end, more and more of "Blood Simple" is translated directly to China, even to the last drop. Read full review

Marc Mohan

A twisty, darkly comic story of greed, betrayal and murderous misunderstandings. Read full review

Mark Jenkins

As "Blood Simple" fans should expect, Noodle Shop is a comedy of presumed deaths and unexpected revivals, with some victims flat out refusing to stay in their shallow graves. Read full review

Roger Ebert

I will say that the attempt to reinterpret the memorable closing shot of "Blood Simple" is so gauche and graceless that I involuntarily moaned in disgust. I docked the film another half-star just for that. Read full review

Peter Travers

Some may enjoy the slapstick, which plays like "Harold & Kumar Go to Old Peking," but this bloodless Coen crib job is simply not my cup of noodles. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

I wish I could say that the film is half as intriguing as it sounds, but A Woman, a Gun... lacks the Coen brothers' precision, their diabolical game-board cleverness. It's a remake in shaggy outline only. Read full review

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User Reviews

cirrus888

Feb 6, 2011

Beautifully filmed, expertly told, and compelling to watch. This is Zhang Yimou's attempt at black comedy in the style Coen Brothers and it succeeds on all levels. This is comparable to the original. Worth checking both out.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Kai82

Dec 4, 2022

An interesting but hard to rate movie. It is a mixture of thriller and screwball comedy. For itself it is a nice, calm story with good character dynamics. What does not help is that it was marketed as “A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop” in my country and the new movie from the “Hero” andAn interesting but hard to rate movie. It is a mixture of thriller and screwball comedy. For itself it is a nice, calm story with good character dynamics. What does not help is that it was marketed as “A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop” in my country and the new movie from the “Hero” and “House of the flying Daggers” director Zhang Yimou. With this a lot of people expect something similar. So watching it was a disappointment first but the unique story that feels like theater compensated this for a bit. The story is about a group of people that work in a remote noodle shop in a dessert (I assume a road stop on a trade route). The story starts with the wife of the owner buying a gun. This starts a series of events that I wont spoil. Like I said it is a calm and nice story. For some this slow build is a negative and I reluctantly agree for a bit. It is more focused on the characters, their interactions and caused (story) developments. The original title “A simple noodle story” is more fitting. It sounds too negative. I enjoyed a lot but I am not sure if I can recommend it. The actors/characters saved the movie. The whole cast fully delivered and kept me interested into the events. Without this good performance I would rate this movie lower. Overall this is a nice movie to relax and enjoy a smaller event. I think this can be as much a positive surprise as a negative experience. I give a 6/10 as I liked the characters and story.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Oct 25, 2010

I haven't seen "Blood Simple" since it came out in 1985, but I remember it being clever, violent and exhilarating. This Chinese version by brilliant director Yimou Zhang ("Hero," "House of Flying Daggers) has none of the Coen Brothers' original zing. The plot revolves around betrayal, greedI haven't seen "Blood Simple" since it came out in 1985, but I remember it being clever, violent and exhilarating. This Chinese version by brilliant director Yimou Zhang ("Hero," "House of Flying Daggers) has none of the Coen Brothers' original zing. The plot revolves around betrayal, greed and murder, but most of it moves at a slow, silent pace. The attempts at physical humor are simply silly and the violence is underwhelming. Except for the surrounding hillsides, even the visuals aren't special.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

FreeJeff

Sep 17, 2010

What were they thinking? This remake has a bizarre mismatch of tone, half film noir and half 3 Stooges. It captures the atmospheric noir tones of the original, Blood Simple, very well, but then wrecks it with burlesque slapstick antics that instantly become annoying. This goes on throughoutWhat were they thinking? This remake has a bizarre mismatch of tone, half film noir and half 3 Stooges. It captures the atmospheric noir tones of the original, Blood Simple, very well, but then wrecks it with burlesque slapstick antics that instantly become annoying. This goes on throughout the movie, even when the plot is supposed to generate nail-biting tension. Maybe it was a laff riot in China, but it definitely doesn't work here in America. As a final insult, there are some overbearing special effects near the end that just made me groan. If there was any tension, this would have destroyed it, too.

On the plus side, the film is gorgeous. The scenery, sets, and costumes of medieval China are all stunning and authentic looking (as far as I know). The cinematography is wonderful. All the more reason to be disappointed with the result.

This movie made me realize once again how brilliant the Coen Brothers original was. Skip this, rent Blood Simple instead.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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