A Chinese Movie in English

[Randy W]

. . . and starring Kevin Spacey.

 

The movie is roughly 50% Mandarin, and 50% English to accommodate Kevin Spacey, but includes English subtitles for all the Mandarin parts. The reviews on it are mixed, but after watching it twice (and reading about it), I decided it was actually a good movie once you understand the plot (it's a schizophrenic fantasy for the most part, with Kevin Spacey and most appearances of his wife as elements of the fantasy). It touches on product defects and tainted food scandals.

 

Kevin Spacey is latest A-lister to take on role in Chinese film

(The movie was filmed in Guangzhou.)

 

. . .

 

“Inseparable” is a very different beast. It was made on a budget of $4 million to $6 million and financed by Fantawild Film, a Chinese company; this is the first film that Fantawild has fully invested in.

 

Initially, Eng envisioned a Chinese-language film. But when talks with a Hong Kong actor fell through, he switched to a half-English, half-Chinese script. “I tweaked the script a bit after realizing it could totally work [to have an American character] without it compromising the story,” the director explained. With Spacey having signed on in early 2009 (shooting took place in 2010), "Inseparable" is billing itself as the first fully-financed Chinese film to recruit a big American star.

 

 

 

I don't know if it's on NetFlix (I found it on the HD Movie channel here)

 

The story will probably resonate in China after incidents such as the 2008 melamine milk scandal, which killed six infants and left 300,000 seriously ill. Above all, “Inseparable” explores the pressures heaped on China’s “post-’80s” generation, whose members are battling stress in work and relationships.

Reviews on Chinese microblogs have been favorable.

 

. . .

 

Eng hopes that Spacey’s involvement will open doors for American moviegoers to watch and enjoy a Chinese film. Beyond this he wants to make Chinese audiences, who are largely attracted to big American blockbusters, think.

 

“A lot of people aren’t used to this type of a film, especially in China,” Eng said. “That was our intention. We wanted to do something that was a little bit more daring, more provoking, to get people talking in China.” With Spacey involved that -- at the very least -- he has achieved.