Movie: Jasmine Women

One of the privileges to be registered as a GSC online member is the birthday gift they dish out … a free pass to a movie, and this is the 2nd time I got it.

So, when I used this privilege this year, I was given 2 choices, Pirates of the Caribbean or Jasmine Women (ok, and a 3rd Malay movie, which was not something I want).

Jasmine women it is … and what did I know about it? It’s starring Zhang Jiyi and it’s about 3 generations of women spanning 3 generations. What I didn’t know also is that she also portrayed the role of the daughter for every generation, so you will see her as 1st, the rebellious actress, then later as the illicit daughter of the actress and lastly, the granddaughter … so you will see her in 1920s, then in 1940s, then 1970s … such is the versatility of this acclaimed actress.

I don’t want to give too much away, but note this … the movie has an intriguing storyline, much less characters than Joy Luck Club, although running in the same vein with fiery & tragic mother-daughter relationships … and the twist of the whole thing is, they more or less had their own grieves to fight with.

The rich colours of the bygone ages will bring back a lot of memories and connect you seamlessly with the sentiment of each period … and the strong portrayal of Zhang just makes it easy to believe (though you might need a second to figure out that she’s playing the daughter over & over again)

I would recommend for most people to take your mum to watch this with you … and from my observation, I was the only one who watched the movie without my parents … so it’s really all about maternal bonds. Nice movie for the weekday nights or weekend afternoons …

Short description from GSC (www.gsc.com.my)

Jasmine Women" tells the story of one family's struggle to overcome its tragic history, as each daughter repeats the mistakes of her mother. Veteran cinematographer and first-time director Hou Yong (Cinematographer of Zhang Yimou's "The Road Home" and Tian Zhuang Zhuang's "The Blue Kite") sets his film in the 1930's, 50's and 80's against the backdrop of an ever-changing Shanghai. The film is all the more remarkable for the fact that Zhang Ziyi plays three roles. Zhang Ziyi plays the young Mo, the young Li and Hua.