Konterr Brilliant and touching

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

paulclaassen There really never is a happy moment in the film. It is sad and dramatic (maybe over-dramatic at times, especially in modern day). Slow moving with mediocre acting and dialogue in present day. I wanted to see this because Hugh Jackman stars in it, but he only appears for a few minutes...

Paul Magne Haakonsen Not having seen "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" before now in 2015 was a really big mistake on my account, because this movie is nothing short of spectacular. This is really a beautiful movie, and it is a definite must watch for anyone who enjoy cinema that offers something astounding.The movie is really nicely set up as it skips back and forth between present day China and ancient China, as we follow two sisters in the heart throughout the ages. And director Wayne Wang captured some really beautiful moments of sisterhood, love, friendship and loyalty."Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" has a really good cast, and I must admit that I was more than pleasantly surprised to see talented Korean actresse Ji-hyun Jun starring in this movie, and she really carried the movie so well. And right up there beside her was Bingbing Li with her equally impressive performance. Put together Jun and Li really shined on the screen with amazing chemistry.A movie is nothing with a proper soundtrack, and the music in "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" was majestic and almost ethereal. The score for this movie was so well-composed and complimented the movie quite well.The wardrobe, setting and scenery for "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" was quite good, and there was a lot of nice details to be found in just about every scene.This is a very emotional story that was quite nicely put on the screen by director Wayne Wang, and the movie does spur an interest to read Lisa See's novel to fully get every detail to this story that spans the ages."Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" is a beautiful movie that is well-worth watching and should be watched by anyone who enjoy the finer moments in cinema.

lsmoondancer01 Adapted from the novel written by Lisa See, Snow flower and the Secret Fan, (screenplay written by Angela Workman, Ronald Bass, and Michael Ray and directed by Wayne Wang), is a cinematographically stunning and poignant illustration of cultural parallelism between two dramatically different eras of Chinese culture as it regards the conditions of life for women in these eras. Intertwining 19th century and modern day China, the story follows two pairs of laotong - literally meaning "old sames" (essentially soul sisters committed to one another for life) through the heartbreaking journey of their lives. The film focuses on women's status as second-class citizens and the intensely devoted relationships forged between them as the only source of genuine love and support for one another in the historical social climate that sought to isolate and devastate them paralleled with that of the contemporary era which offers promises through the glass ceiling of a misogynistic culture that appears beautiful from the outside. Snowflower and Lily, the laotong of 19th century China face the excruciatingly painful and crippling tradition of foot-binding, arranged marriages, and living as slaves with no rights and no love, save for the sisterly love they have forged for each other since they were first matched at the age of seven. Though circumstances of life separate them, their loyalty and sacrificial love stands in stark contrast to the cold, detached affect of their surrounding culture. I cannot overstate the absolute eloquence with which Wang visually captured and conveyed profound depth of emotion in such a way as to make the viewer feel intimately connected to the lives of these women. Furthermore, the brilliant score composed by British composer Rachel Portman beautifully complimented the stunning imagery, creating a powerful combination of artistry which further magnified my emotional connection and response to the events unfolding in the lives of Snow Flower and Lily. I must admit to spending a substantial portion of the film with my chest clenched, holding my breath in an attempt to maintain my composure, as I was so invested in the heartbreaking story unfolding on the screen. Nina and Sophia, inspired by their descendants Lily and Snow Flower, become laotong as well. Living in contemporary Shanghai, they are flawlessly portrayed by the same two women (Bingbing Li as Nina/Lily and Ji-hyun Jun as Sophia/Snow Flower), contributing a harmony to the complex structure of this intricate story. While the lives of Nina and Sophia appear to be rather synonymous in some broader ways to the contemporary life of other modern women, it becomes evident that their world is still very much entangled with the oppressive attitudes of its past. For all of their progress, women are still second-class citizens and the love these two women have for one another is the most precious and fragile gift either has. Though some of the hardships and tragedies they face seem less extreme than those of Snow Flower and Lily, the results of those events in their lives bear similarly devastating results. The most exquisite aspect of this film, however, is not the heartbreaking story of all that these women must endure, but of the extraordinary and immeasurable love they share and the extent to which they will sacrifice for one another. This film is profoundly heart-rending with a sublime ability to elicit such authentic emotion from the viewer that it almost carries a therapeutic effect. Without a trace of pretension, it gracefully and humbly shares a glimpse of a culture that is so richly saturated with anguish and offers us the opportunity to surrender wholly, if we will, to the most beautiful and sacred virtues of humanity - empathy and compassion - to a degree that we don't often allow ourselves to experience. Beyond a doubt, it was one of the best movies I have ever seen.

bob-rutzel-1 In 1820s China, two young girls are committed to a tradition to be Sisters-for-Life. In modern day Shanghai, two teenage girls sign a contract to be Sisters-for-Life. This is a Chinese tradition known as Laotong. We would be more familiar with this as BFF, but a very, very intense BFF. This was, I believe, our first introduction to Laotong. We watch two stories unfold in the different time periods whereby the girls follow this tradition. To make things easier for us, each actress plays a character in both time periods. Gianna Jun plays Snowflower and Sophia, and Bingbing Li plays Nina and Lily. See?Nothing of a sexual nature is shown in this deep love between these Sisters-for-Life. The movie could have gone there, but didn't, and we do not know if Laotong encompasses this. There seemed to be a deep caring for good things to happen in the life of each sister. That seemed to be the overriding aspect to the relationship. And, when one sister sees things not going well for the other sister, that watchful sister is torn both physically and mentally. Told you this was a deep love, didn't I? The relationship doesn't change although each girl marries in the 1820s. The bond is still there and strong for Sophia and Lily in the present day although some wrinkles (read misunderstandings) appear. Some wrinkles also showed up in the 1820s with Snowflower and Nina; and the fan was used to communicate with each other. A bicycle accident starts all this and Sophia is laid up in a hospital. Sophia had been writing a book about Laotong with her characters Snowflower and Nina back in the 1820s. Lily visits Sophia and finds and reads the pages to the book and that is how we go back to the 1820s with Snowflower and Nina. This is extremely well done and the chemistry between the Sisters-for-Life in both time periods is excellent, intense and quite touching. There is a good mix of sub-titles and spoken English and the sub-titles are short and easy to read.Hugh Jackman is good, and was probably only included to get the X-Men crowd. But, seriously, his name was the only one most could identify with to get people into the theaters or rent the DVD. This is slow moving as you would expect, well acted by all and the cinematography was very good. And, since we do not know all the ramifications of Laotong we must accept the dialogues as presented. If you decide to see this movie, bring a couple boxes of Kleenix with you. They will be needed. Violence: Yes. Sex: Yes, Nina watches Snowflower and her husband thru loose boards in the floor,but you only see the husband's back, and it only lasts a few seconds. Nudity: No. Language: No.