介绍:
Lately there has been no shortage of controversy in China's film market. A few weeks ago, the Chinese movie "Switch" raked in nearly 300 million yuan for being an incredibly awful product. Now, "Tiny Times", the first film by Chinese author and businessman Guo Jingming has provoked heated debate between Chinese viewers of different generations.
Guo is a successful writer-turned-businessman. His novels were able to tap into the wallets of China's young adolescent readers to bring him quick fame and fortune. Last year, his books sold for 1.4 million US dollars, making him the biggest earner among Chinese authors. But Guo is never too shy to boast about his fortune and often posts pictures about his extravagant life style, so he is constantly criticized by more conservative members of society.
Now with Guo's first film to hit Chinese movie theatres, the conservatives have a fresh fish to fry. The story of "Tiny Times" is about the friendship of four college girls. Unlike Zhao Wei's "So Young" about a month ago, the girls in "Tiny Times" don't attend schools. Instead, they wear magnificent outfits, live in spacious apartments, work for fashion shows and break up with their boyfriends over expensive gifts. In a word, it is "Gossip Girl – the Shanghai freshmen special".
Now some opinion leaders are lambasting the so-called twisted values portrayed in "Tiny Times", they believe the film's abundance of luxury items may lead our youth to harbor unrealistic longings for material wealth. So Guo's obsession with luxury has once more become a topical issue. In fact, the dispute over the blatant display of material wealth has clouded people's observation of the movie from an objective perspective.
For example, despite the lackluster performance of the good-looking, superstar actors and actresses, the movie actually tells a decent story that one can understand without difficulty, beating average Chinese films that are usually weak in script. From time to time, actress Xie Yilin even pokes some fun at the audience to spice things up a little.
Cinematography is slightly above average, but two long takes are instantly effective, including one which lasts for 2 minutes and 40 seconds and another for 4 minutes. Both are challenging shots, especially the latter where the camera follows the lead actress through swarms of people in a 4-storey building. The pictures may look a bit gaudy, but they are quite in line with the lavish costume and setting.
If the film were made by any director other than Guo Jingming, it may not have caused such serious opposition from orthodox critics. But then again, the film may not have sold so well without all the fuss. So be aware, critics, your censure may have promoted the very ideas that you tried to suppress.
We humans never stop seeking material wealth. Our youths, born in an age of prosperity, may have a rightfully higher aspiration than their parents could envision. So instead of giving empty talks on so-called "healthy" virtues, it is better to encourage them to work hard for wealth, both material and spiritual.
On ascale from one to ten, I give "Tiny Times" a five.
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