TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

btm1 I found this film on the MPLEX Chanel TV listings of Comcast Xfinity. The listing gave it just 2 of 4 stars, but as a history buff I found the description blurb compelling: "Intriguing love story, set in 1936 Shanghai, in which a disillusioned blind diplomat (Ralph Fiennes) falls for a ruined Russian royal (Natasha Richardson) working as a B-girl. Richardson's mother, Vanessa Redgrave, and aunt, Lynn Redgrave, costar."I set my DVR to record it a while back but just got around to watching it I am writing this review to protest the 2-star rating of the listing. Maybe its not 4-star, but it deserves at least 3-star. Richardson's Countess' job is more correctly labeled as a "taxi dancer" in a cabaret-bar, not a "bar girl." But in 1936 it is still a disgraceful job in the minds of her mother, aunt and sister-in-law, who live with her and are supported by her earnings, but still pretend their royal birth entitles them to a better life. This becomes significant late in the film. Fiennes' character has given up any pretense of using his reputation as a top American diplomat for the stodgy respectable company that pays his salary, and dreams of one-day owning a cabaret of his own with just the right amount of tension between internationally diverse clientèle, a select group of bouncers, the right entertainment, and the ideal elegant but sad woman to set the sexual atmosphere. He wants to live in his dream bar and shut out the messy real world outside.

happipuppi13 I've realized over the years that I have a fondness for "underdog" movies.No,not in terms of plot but for movies that either don't get the critical recognition they deserve or just were not widely accepted or known by audiences.A family member received this from a friend and we watched it together and while they liked the movie okay,I liked it more and decided I'd keep the DVD.The reason I liked it more was that it could tell a story about this time in the Orient's history,without resorting to overly-violent,disturbing images.We see the invasion of Japan on Shanghai and the chaos and violence associated but are spared having to see bloodied or burned bodies or bullets entering flesh. I found this refreshing for a change.The Russian Countess and her "royal family" and the Mr. Jackson character share the burden of having had their lives leveled by sad and unexpected circumstances. They suffer in their own ways , which is how the two story devices come together as one.She has to be a "private dancer" (and more) to earn money and he's losing his place in the political world because of his blindness. The two are brought together by the taking of blind faith chances or risks.He offers her the chance to be the "centerpice" of his dream of the perfect club,without her having to sell her body. He also takes a long shot risk on a horse race to make this dream a reality.They are also surrounded by people who have no faith in them and dislike their personal choices. Most notably the Countess's family. They are "shamed" by her line of work but do nothing to make money themselves. They also fear her choice of profession is a bad example for her young daughter.It's probably a no brainer that they would fall in love and I like the way it was handled here. They have an agreement not to get personal when working together and for a time I didn't think they'd be lovers in the end.It's the realities of their situations that eventually do bring them together and I found their realization of feelings completely real. This and the climax of the film make the ending not just dramatic but a fully realized and sensible conclusion.Ten stars from me to the late Natahsa Richardson & Lynn Redgrave both who were gone by the time I had seen this. Bravo to you both and all involved. (END)

Spaceygirl "The White Countess" is a beautiful film, sumptuously shot with glorious colours evoking the grandeur of Shanghai in the 1930's. Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson play the male and female leads respectively, struggling with a sub-standard script. People have waxed lyrical about the themes of isolation that run through the rhetoric, but it's just so depressingly done, at the end of the film one doesn't actually care for the protagonists any more. Ralph Fiennes plays his blind diplomat as a buffoon, appearing drunk in almost every scene. Natasha Richardson struggles with a Russian accent and fails miserably. The only masterstroke is the casting of Vanessa and Lynne Redgrave as the mother and aunt respectively. It lends the film an authentic air of continuity. Ultimately, the film fails in its execution, it's overlong and could have done with tighter editing. It's a pity that this had to be Merchant-Ivory's swansong.

David Tuffley (tuffley-1) The poignancy of this movie outweighs any shortcomings in the directorial department. I found myself immersed in the milieu of 1930's ShangHai, a place and time I had only read of and subsequently wondered about.The real strength of this movie is the accessibility with which powerful emotion is portrayed. I found I had real empathy for the characters.The characters were played superbly by one of the most pedigreed casts I've seen in a while.The pace was slow, but measured and well-suited to the plot.Ralph Fiennes was a convincing lead -- the image of him reminds me of TS Eliot mixed with Rick Blaine (Casablanca).Natasha Richardson is brilliant in this role. Understated and quite believable.All in all a beautiful, other worldly movie, and not for the faint-hearted.