• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Film

I Am Not Madame Bovary: Film Review

By Linda Marric Directed by Xiaogang Feng and staring Chinese superstar Feng Xiaogang, I am Not Madam Bovary is a film like no other film you’ve seen before. This beautifully crafted and unusually shot film is everything you’d want from a social commentary film. It touches on themes ranging from female empowerment, bureaucracy and state […]

Kit Power by Kit Power
May 26, 2017
in Film

By Linda Marric

Directed by Xiaogang Feng and staring Chinese superstar Feng Xiaogang, I am Not Madam Bovary is a film like no other film you’ve seen before. This beautifully crafted and unusually shot film is everything you’d want from a social commentary film. It touches on themes ranging from female empowerment, bureaucracy and state corruption, and it does this with a huge amount of humour and clever subtext. Shot partly in a circular frame, the film isn’t just technically innovative, but is also packed to full of symbolisms and allegory.

Adapted from Liu Zhenyun’s novel I Am Not Pan Jinlian (a nod to Flaubert’s Madam Bovary), the film isn’t so much a straight adaptation of the Flaubert classic, but a rather more touching local story about women and their social standing in modern Chinese society. When Li Xuelian (Feng Xiaogang) and her husband Qin Yuhe (Zonghan Li) stage a fake divorce to get a second apartment which is reserved to single people by the state, things seem to go as planned until 6 months later when Qin Yuhe remarries behind his Li Xuelian’s back and refuses to talk to her about their original plan. Feeling dejected by what has happened, Li Xuelian decides to go to court and have her divorced annulled. When her case is thrown out, she spends the rest of her life suing everyone she can in order to have them to admit that her divorce was indeed a fake one. This greatly angers the powers thatch take it upon themselves to follow her everywhere she goes to stop her from starting more trouble.

Shot partly in a circular aspect ratio, which mimics the literati painting of the Song SDynasty, I am Madam Bovary offers so much more than its audiences would bargain for. It is packed full of hilarious and at times very touching exchanges, the film manages to transcend all cultures by offering a universal story, but also by addressing some of the local problems faced by a growing Chinese population. With extensive footage of political business being conducted mostly by men, Xiaogang Feng touches upon women’s standing and their rights .

On the whole, I am Not Madam Bovary, may not be for everyone and at over 2 hours long may seem a little too arduous for some, but its beauty is clear to see and admire. Feng Xiaogang delivers a fantastically touching and nuanced performance and does the rest of the cast. A truly magnificent pice of filmmaking which will reward those willing to stick with it till the very end.

I Am Not Madame Bovary is in cinemas from Friday 26th May.

 

RelatedPosts

Glasgow Film Festival: What we’ve seen so far

Film Review: PVT Chat

Film Review: Saint Maud

Silver Screen Show: Soul

 

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today, 27 February 2021

Image by AdobeStock

Weather forecast, alerts and UVB index for London, Saturday 27 February 2021

Euro Millions results Friday 26th February 2021

thunder ball results

Thunder Ball Results, Friday 26th February 2021

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.