Movie Friday...Early

I saw a great film this week. It's from mainland China and it's entitled Shower. This was one of my recommendations from Netflix and I was really happy with this film.

The film is set in a suburb of Beijing. Master Liu runs a men's bathhouse and takes care of his mentally challenged son Er Ming. The film opens with the arrival of Da Ming, the older son from his home in Shenzhen. Er Ming had sent Da Ming a postcard of him and his father with a cryptic picture that led Da Ming to believe his father was dead. When he arrives, he finds life as he had left it before he went away several years ago to pursue bigger dreams.

The bathhouse is a gathering place for all of the men in the community. They talk, laugh, socialize, get massages and treatments, and enjoy their time together. It's very much the beauty shop atmosphere from Steel Magnolias, only in this case it is men in towels. Da Ming spends a few days with his father and brother and gets reacquainted with his former neighbors and friends. Simultaneously, the local government informs Master Liu that his bathhouse is going to be torn down in the push to modernize China. A shopping mall will replace his home and business. The remainder of the film follows the impact that this will have on all of their lives.

The movie follows the lives of the men who make the bathhouse their home. There are some splendid performances in this film, especially the two older men from the bathhouse who raise crickets to fight each other. Also Jiang Wu, playing Er Ming, puts a real human face on the mentally challenged character he plays and is a joy to watch. The magic of acting and a successful film is when you become emotionally vested in the characters well being. This film is incredibly successful on this level. Near the end, I wanted to stand up and cheer for one of the characters as he overcame his stage fright. It is a small film with a big heart and I highly recommend it.

Happy Turkey Day to you all! Gobble, gobble.

Cuidate.