Shot in black and white, this is a hauntingly beautiful record of some of the foreign community in Tientsin, China, before the Communist revolution swept away that world forever. Although fiction, it maintains a scrupulous fidelity to historical fact, unlike so many other films of this genre (Empire of the Sun, The White Countess).
The film moves along in the present tense - and the viewer with it. Like its characters, we can look back, but cannot know what lies ahead. Using old documentary film, Gregory melds the motion picture with the still photographs which record the life of this vanished community. Skillful editing and camera play bring these still photos to life, and together with excellent voice actors, meld the story into a seamless tale.
A masterful film.
The film moves along in the present tense - and the viewer with it. Like its characters, we can look back, but cannot know what lies ahead. Using old documentary film, Gregory melds the motion picture with the still photographs which record the life of this vanished community. Skillful editing and camera play bring these still photos to life, and together with excellent voice actors, meld the story into a seamless tale.
A masterful film.