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The White Countess [2005]
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
A stellar cast and an intricate script enhance this last film from the elegant producing/directing team of Merchant/Ivory (creators of A Room with a View, Howards End, and more). Set in 1930s Shanghai, "The White Countess" is both Sofia (Natasha Richardson, Patty Hearst), a fallen member of the Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat named Jackson (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient), who asks Sofia to be the centrepiece of the world he wants to create. Sofia accepts to escape a life of prostitution, but Jackson's world proves both fragile and volatile--as does Shanghai itself, on the verge of an invasion from Japan. The script, by novelist Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day), is fundamentally about culture--what it is, how it's formed, how it shapes and is shaped by human desires--but to describe it thus makes the movie sound academic. Instead, it's lush and subtle, fluid in how it weaves together two people deeply wounded by past losses, who gradually come to embrace what the immediate moment has to offer. Fiennes and Richardson are the movie's core, but surrounding them is a stunning supporting cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave (Mrs. Dalloway, Julia), Lynn Redgrave (Shine), Allan Corduner (Topsy-Turvy), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Ringu).--Bret Fetzer
Shanghaied
Review date: 2008-05-06 Rating: 8 out of 10
The film is made with care and everything in it (camerawork, locations, acting etc)is of the quality usually associated with Merchant Ivory films. An American, blinded a few (?) years before, lives in 1930's Shanghai and gets to know a White Russian woman who, with her family, has fled Sovietism and the Soviet Union to exist from hand to mouth in that city, which was partly composed then of several foreign "concessions" (small cities: French, British etc) under direct foreign control. She lives halfway between honest employment and frank prostitution. Fiennes is good as the driven American who falls in love with the White Countess and sets up a bar of that name, only to see the city occupied brutally (though less brutally than the somewhat later Soviet occupations of, say, Berlin or Vienna) by Japanese forces. He loses almost everything except her, she loses her ingrate family (who abandon her after having lived off her for years!) but keeps her daughter and her blind lover.
Overall, a little thin, but worth watching. Really worth 3.5 stars but I should prefer to award 4 than 3...
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Reviews
Love Emerges Victorious as Broken Hearts Unite ...
Review date: 2007-03-30 Rating: 10 out of 10
This film appeals on many levels - there is the exotic historical location of Shanghai in the mid-1930s. The scenery, the setting, the costumes, all of it is authentic. The technical expertise of the producers makes the era come alive on screen. It is a boomtown, a get-rich-quick speculative atmosphere. There is the volatile political tension in Asia between China and Japan. Another factor is the recent Bolshevik Revolution in Russia which caused the aristocrats and Russian royalty to flee ... barely saving their lives by escaping into desperate, degrading poverty. They were lucky to be alive. Shanghai is a fascinating mix of multinationals from many countries. They intermingle under a dark cloud which is expected to burst. Everyone realizes it is only a matter of time before war erupts. A Japanese invasion is deemed eminent ... It is within this complex milieu that Todd Jackson emerges (portrayed to perfection by Ralph Fiennes). He is a former employee of the U.S. Diplomatic Corps who had worked with Woodrow Wilson to create the League of Nations. He survived a bomb explosion but is left blind. He had lived with his young daughter, whom he loved deeply, but who had died in the same tragic event.
Currently, Jackson is the Director of a thriving Shanghai company but he longs to create a nightclub and cabaret where the different internationals in Shanghai can mix without consideration of their national and political differences. The other Directors of the company are contemplating elminating him from the company by buying out his shares but they hesitate due to his recent tragic accident. He spends his free time visiting bars and dance clubs, experiencing the seedier side of the Shanghai lifestyle ... At one such bar, he meets a Japanese businessman Mr. Matsuda with whom he exchanges political and world views. At one of the dance establishments, he over hears someone discussing the background of Sofia Belinskaya (played by Natasha Richardson), one of the dancers/companions who was a Russian Countess. He buys a ticket to dance with her and becomes intrigued by her voice and exotic history. The scene is set for an unlikely romance in the dramatically changing climate of Shanghai. All the characters are multi-faceted and their personalities complicated. The desire to explore the intense nature of their lives is a strong hook in this film.
Sofia is the only one who earns any money to support the former Russian aristocratic family of her deceased husband: her mother-in-law, possibly an Aunt, a sister-in-law, and her daughter. They are ashamed of their poverty and the low life circumstances to which they have been reduced. They try protecting Katya, Sofia's daughter from learning the truth about her mother's lifestyle. Eventually, Todd Jackson opens a nightclub and cabaret where he hires Sofia to be his hostess ... essentially saving her from her lowly life. The film does a superb job of weaving together the sad, tragic lives of these two highly complex characters, each of whom has suffered deep losses in life. They find a way to connect on a personal emotional level which eventually grows into a mature love... despite their vastly different backgrounds. The Japanese invasion of Shanghai nearly destroys their budding romance but sheer fortitude and the power of love reunite the couple. Sofia was nearly permanently separated from Katya during the family's escape to leave Shanghai. The dramatic conclusion to this film is harrowing and breath-taking adding more reasons to call this film outstanding! Erika Borsos [pepper flower]
Grieving Hearts
Review date: 2007-02-19 Rating: 6 out of 10
3.5 stars
"The White Countess" is a film about a man who dreams of owning the perfect little bar, a place of elegance that finds the delicate balance, as he thinks a woman should, "between the erotic and the tragic." Outside, it is Shanghai in 1936 and the world is late for its appointment with war. Inside the bar -- well, inside, Mr. Jackson muses, "With a good team of bouncer, you could conduct the place like an orchestra" Roger Ebert
Kazuo Ishiguro's script and the final Merchant Ivory film sets a sad stage in 1030's Singapore. The film show cases the lives of Ralph Fiennes, a blind American diplomat, turned bousiness man, and Natasha Richardson a Russian countess who has become a 'taxi' dancer. As Natasha says, "We all have to fall in love from time to time. To feed our daughters, and our mothers. And sisters." Natasha's, Sofia saves Fiennse' Jackson from an assault, and he hires her to work in his new bar. Sofia's life has been that of a Countess turned dancer, who supports her family, and they treat her as a whore. After awhile Jackson and Sofia's friendship deepens, but they keep their relationship is one of business. Sofia has a daughter, and her life revolves around making a better life for her. Jackson had a family but they were tragically killed and life goes on as an alcoholic bar owner.
The times are worrisome, the Japanese are about to invade. Jackson has a new Japanese friend, and his ability to keep the outside world away from his life is remarkable. But events happen and Jackson is forced to awaken and assist his real 'White Countess'. The final scenes are fast and furious, and the chaos does not fit into the rest of the film. Lynn and Vanessa Redgrave play Natasha's mother and aunt respectively and are regal and so hateful.
"A series of revelations and realizations drop like dominoes in the last twenty minutes along with a salvo of Japanese bombs. But unfortunately the finale doesn't have the urgency or emotion that would have resulted if the previous two hours were spent properly dissecting the characters" Stella Pipamichael.
A movie well acted, with beautiful cinematography, but the movie has lost some of its story along the way and does not flow well. All in all, Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson's superb acting save the movie. Merchant Ivory died while making this movie. The end of an era.Recommended.
prisrob 2-17-07
Perfectly produced but emotionally uninvolving period piece
Review date: 2006-12-30 Rating: 6 out of 10
This film will probably always be remembered for being Merchant Ivory's last film, rather than for any artistic merit. It has all the correct ingredients for another of their classics - It is lavishly shot, full of terrific actors, written by well respected screenwriter and is a period piece with great production values. Alas, the ingredients have failed to rise to the occasion here.
The story revolves around a blind American diplomat in 30's Shanghai, who aspires to build his own bar amidst the chaotic, bohemian and corrupt atmosphere of the times. He has a singular vision in his head how the bar should be and it needs it's centrepiece - the White Countess, played by Natasha Richardson. She is a Countess from Russia, in exile since the revolution, and with her family living in poverty. When he meets her, she is working as a dancing girl in a bar - he employs her and names his bar after her. However, he remains aloof, as if knowing her more deeply will bring the illusion of stability and grandeur to an end. Events start to (or should I say eventually) overtake them though as the Japanese invasion looms ever closer.
However grand the production values and immaculate the design of the movie, somehow there is little heart. The story has real potential for aching tragedy and romance, and yet despite a fine performance from Natasha Richardson in particular, it is difficult to find an emotional core which resonates on any personal level. Fiennes is normally a dead cert in a movie like this, and yet perhaps because playing an American, never quite finds the tone of his character. In short, the canvas is large, but the romance written on it feels small scale.
Having said that, the movie has its moments, and does not drag as much as some people would have you believe. There are a few memorable moments, such as the blind diplomat wandering unknowing into a line of Japanese soldiers with bayonets ready, asking to get past. It is the expectations you have coming to a Merchant Ivory movie that make this a disappointment. By other standards, it is certainly no classic, but worthy of a watch.
Disappointment
Review date: 2006-09-04 Rating: 2 out of 10
Marchant Ivory films are always generally ones of great interest, but when they fall down as they did with "Maurice" (1987) that overall was far too long, they unfortunately have done so again with "The White Countess". The idea of an American (Fiennes) caught up in the events of Shanghai in the 30's and his desire to shut himself off from the world as he has 'had enough'has in fact also meant that the film as a whole becomes closed off, and inevitably shut in. Although the performances generally are of a high standard - particularly that of Allan Corduner as Samuel Feinstein - overall the film lacks heart and soul, and equally is not helped by its length or by the unfortunate death of producer Ismael Merchant. The other problem is that the only real 'action' in the film, when everyone tries to leave Shanghai in boats as the Japanese take over and bombard the town, comes across as basically a firework display, far from something that would sow terror in the departing crowds, much less the audience. Sony Classics released the film in a limited way, and for some reason, most of the international agreements to distribute the film in cinemas seem to have collapsed, probably as a result of overall disappointment and deception at this unworthy swansong for Merchant/Ivory
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Alan Corduner
Natasha Richardson
Lynn Redgrave
Ralph Fiennes
Vanessa Redgrave
Creators:
Ralph Fiennes (Primary Contributor)
Natasha Richardson (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822932630
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL,
Release date: 2006-08-21
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 130 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005
Language: Icelandic (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
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Language: English (Subtitled)
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Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: Polish (Subtitled)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: Polish (Dubbed)
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Language: Czech (Dubbed)