This Is Sanlitun (2013)
British sad sack Gary is a failed entrepreneur who has just arrived in Beijing's stylish Sanlitun district, allegedly to start a business. There are other reasons why he has uprooted himself — he's followed his ex-wife and young son, for one — but he soon finds out that China isn't the easiest place to succeed. Blissfully untouched by self-awareness, and only fitfully in tune with reality, Gary sallies forth to make money, armed with faith in himself and little to no knowledge of Chinese culture. He soon hooks up with Frank, a trust-fund kid from Australia who offers to mentor Gary in Eastern ways, although Frank's pedagogical method is restricted to yelling at Gary for being a Westerner and not being as "Chinese" as him.
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In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
I lived in Sanlitun for two years and so I was intrigued by this movie from the first moment I heard about it. I was just now finally able to locate a copy on a Chinese web site and I eagerly anticipated clicking play, if only to count the places I recognized.And the disappointment began almost immediately.Life in Beijing for an expat is an amazing journey that is almost impossible to convey to anyone who hasn't experienced it. I hoped that this movie would help me explain some of the strange realities of everyday life. The opportunity to create a story that is really interesting and real is so rich and fertile.But the producers of this movie did not take that route. In quick succession we are introduced to a series unsympathetic characters. Actually, this story does not have characters, only caricatures. The protagonist, Gary, is a sad sack of epic proportions. I have met some assholes like Frank, but none so obvious. Still together these two provide the expat version of Dumb and Dumber.The sequence with the school and the restaurant are more interesting, but while the principal is the best drawn of the stereotypes she is still not realistic enough and the fawning Momo is over the top.While the basic situations are all too common in China, the reality of how they play out is never so simple.While I can recommend this movie to other foreigners who have lived in China, it runs more like an inside joke that would not be near as interesting to general audiences.