Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2187. Little Red Flowers (看上去很美) (2006)

    2187. Little Red Flowers (看上去很美) (2006)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on June 17, 2018 2006, 6 - 7.9, 90-99 mins, China, Drama, Jun 18, Movies Of 2018, Review
    7.0 A film of two halves
    • Acting 7.1
    • Directing 7.0
    • Story 6.8
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Dong Bowen, Ning Yuanyuan, Chen Manyuan

    Director: Zhang Yuan

    Running Time: 92 mins


    Little Red Flowers is a Chinese film about a young boy who goes to school for the first time, but struggles to fit in with the strict rules of the establishment.

    It doesn’t quite maintain its quality right to the end, but I was still rather impressed at times by Little Red Flowers. Starting off with a strikingly dark and pointed opening to the story, and maintaining an impressive level of grit throughout the first half, it’s a film with a lot more depth than you’d expect at first, even though the direction it takes towards the film’s finale unfortunately takes away from its greatest intrigue.

    First off, the best thing about this film is the genuinely striking way in which it opens. It may have the appearance and premise of a family film, but there’s a real oppressive darkness to the way in which the first act unfolds, with an ominous atmosphere dominating our young character’s arrival at school, and furthered by the series of rather shocking and unexpected ways in which many of the children face discipline.

    Of course, the film alludes heavily to new codes of social conduct and discipline that came about after the Communist revolution in China, all the while taking place in that very time period, and that gives it an interesting extra level of depth from the start that shows it’s a whole lot more than a family film, featuring real and unpredictable drama.

    So, as the film starts off in striking fashion, it actually manages to maintain an impressive and bold level of darkness and brutality throughout its first act, as we see a strong psychological battle growing between the strict teacher of the class and the young boy who has just arrived on the scene, and the unpredictability of their relationship throughout makes for absolutely riveting watching.

    However, the biggest let-down comes in the form of the direction that the story takes towards the final act. With dark drama from the start, I was looking forward to a riveting and unpredictable finale to the film, however the story decides to take a different tack, returning to a simpler and admittedly more pleasant, albeit far less interesting, plot about young love, childhood innocence and nostalgia.

    That’s not to say that those are story elements that simply don’t work, because we’ve seen them work beautifully on numerous occasions, however that’s not the case here. After such a striking opening half, I was really disappointed to see the film retreat back to something a lot safer and a lot less intriguing. Yes, it does put a sweet smile on your face at times, but it’s a real missed opportunity to carry out what could have been a really bold and properly riveting end to a surprisingly impressive film.

    Overall, Little Red Flowers is undoubtedly a film of two halves. With riveting drama and a strikingly dark and powerful atmosphere from the start, the film’s opening is fantastic, but the way in which it brings things to a close is a lot less impressive, and rather disappointing in all truth, which is why I’m giving it a 7.0.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.5
    Review
    February 22, 20130

    62. Old School (2003)

    8.4
    Review
    March 9, 20180

    2080. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

    8.9
    Review
    December 8, 20130

    376. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

    8.3
    Review
    January 31, 20210

    3239. A Face In The Crowd (1957)

    8.3
    Review
    February 21, 20150

    865. Rebecca (1940)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.