Reviews

The main characters come together because of dogs and eventually separate because of a dog. That fact is slightly more uninteresting than most of what happens in between.

There were a few exceptions - when our two heroes first meet, when they twice receive car assistance and when they're at the parents' house. Some of the landscape shots were nice to look at too.

Character development was MINIMAL. Yvan is mild-tempered, deals in imported, used American cars and is, judging by the casual orderliness of his home and personal appearance, a bachelor and probably not dating. Elie/Didier is a junkie-liar-thief who has no money, no drugs, no car and wants to travel to his parent's home. It takes about two thirds of the movie before you discover the relationship each has with their respective families and how it might explain why Yvan befriended Elie/Didier. What is never explained is why Yvan wants to believe the best about Elie/Didier in spite of what he sees. Ultimately, there wasn't enough there for me to take an interest in either character.

This wasn't a terrible movie but once was enough. This movie is MAYBE a 5 but I think closer to a 4.

I knew nothing about the movie until I viewed it. Had I known the central theme was a blossoming love affair between two women I probably wouldn't have watched it. That said, here's my review.

A young woman (Min Li) leaves her orphanage to intern with a renown botanist for 30 days. The botanist's daughter (Cheng An) and Min Li become friends quickly but you soon see something more intimate developing. Enter the botanist's son, on leave from the army. Mr. Chen (the botanist and dad) wants his son (Dan) to marry and have children and so encourages Dan to pursue Min Li. Dan readily agrees but Min Li rebuffs his advances. Min Li will leave at the end of 30 days and Cheng An won't abandon her father to go away with Min Li. Cheng An figures out a way she and Min Li can remain together: have Min Li marry her brother Dan. Dan is stationed in a nearby city and likely will remain stationed there indefinitely. Apparently, women are not permitted on the base so Min Li, as Dan's wife, would reside at Mr. Chen's home along with Cheng An, where she and Cheng An will love each other happily ever after. Things don't work out as planned after Mr Chen finds the women together.

The love affair was shown in a gentle yet effective manner. I remember only one scene with exposed breasts. Mr Chen was self-absorbed and unaware of the women fooling around until the honeymoon began. Dan came off as a brute for abusing his new wife on their honeymoon. He was upset to find his wife wasn't a virgin - which maybe is justified in that culture, I don't know. In the end the women were re-united in a way I didn't expect. I liked the music soundtrack. It had a symphonic feel to it and at times featured the violins. There were some nice scenic shots throughout the movie. For me the movie seemed to last longer than it actually did. My recommendation: watch this movie ONLY if someone pays you.