Pavilion of Women Movie Review 2001

Dull adaptation of the 1946 Pearl S. Buck novel. As the Japanese prepare to invade Manchuria in 1938, Madame Wu (Luo), tired of her husband's brutality, decides to give him a peasant girl concubine, Chiuming (Ding), whom he promptly rejects. However, the pretty girl attracts the interest of the Wu's youngest son, Fengmo (Cho), just as Madame becomes interested in American missionary doctor, Father Andre (Dafoe), who runs the local orphanage. The film is in English and the Chinese actors do struggle with their dialogue which doesn't help the emotional balance of the production.

Distribution

Universal Studios Home Video, 100 Universal City Plz., Universal City, CA 91608-9955, Phone: (818)777-1000, Fax: (818)866-1483, URL: http://www.universalstudios.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 120 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Books to Film: Pearl S. Buck, China, Marriage, Period Piece: 1930s, Moms

Screenplay

Luo Yan, Paul R. Collins

Cast

Luo Yan, Willem Dafoe, John Cho, Yi Ding, Shek Sau, Amy Hill, Anita Loo, Kate McGregor Stewart

Cinematography

Poon Hang-Seng

Music

Conrad Pope

Other

John Dunn, Claudia Finkle, Duncan Burns, Wendy Law, James Leung

Producer

Luo Yan, Beijing Film Studio, China Film Coproduction Corp., Universal Focus