Duckweed (2017) Poster

(2017)

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7/10
Plenty of
eldenwang7 February 2017
As for me, this movie is pretty satisfying as a comedy. There are a lot of high-grade jokes among this movie while jokes are very embarrassing in other comedies these days. Except for the humor, the flashbacks amused me very much and I believed this part had been edited surprisingly well. These flashbacks drew a clear and interesting outline of the character's previous life: abused by father, involved in love, betrayed by girlfriend, discouraged by father. Generally, this is a corny movie in which time-travel helps characters clear the misunderstanding of family or friends. However, this movie focus on the sense of humor and thinking of life instead of the science fiction part. In my opinion, the ending is the biggest flaw because there is no intact logical circle. It isn't based on any theory of time travel. The father knew the gesture because the son taught him. However, the son didn't really appear in the father's early life, and therefore, the gesture shouldn't be known. I know that Han Han wanted to write a mysterious ending, but I think it turns out to be the very flaw.
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5/10
A thorough mediocrity is more scattered in form and spirit.
yoggwork18 February 2019
A thorough mediocrity is more scattered in form and spirit. The two main male characters are all poor actors. In addition, did the director have any misunderstanding about the town in 1998? Did you wear it back in the 1980s?
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7/10
Untitled
o-0009620 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This movie brought tears to my eyes,The protagonist traverses the youth who knows his father in the past, and truly understands his father. This is not just a family film, but also an educational film. To all the parents who worry about their children, but also to the brave young people chasing their dreams.
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10/10
Tearjerker Masterpiece
chizdamasii20 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This was by far the biggest role for Chao Deng. My words just cant describe how unique this movie is, you cant put it in comedy, drama, action, romance. sci-fi as it has all of these beautifully integrated. I will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, so here it goes:

The main character, Lang, is a racing driver with a powerful ambition and a special father/son relationship. After THE winning race he takes his father for a ride and they both end back in time, and they embark in the greatest adventure you can imagine.

The music has also a special role, and combined with the powerful emotions this movie transmits will surely make you cry silly at times.

Only one more thing to say: Enjoy!
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8/10
A typical Han-style film
patrick882811 April 2017
I went to see this film on a Wednesday afternoon with a friend. He said he went to see Deng Chao, but I went there because of Han Han. The film is quite good, better than I had expected. The film depicts the China of 1990s,as Han Han understands it. Though a nostaglic mood is a little too early for a 35-year-old writer, the 1990s plays a very critical role in Han's growth and thus must impress him very much. In contrast to the cynicism and social criticism represented in his precessor,Wang Suo's works, Han's works permeat more with rebelism and energy. Han han comes from a small town near Shanghai, so the town presented in this film must be Han's replica of his hometown on a big screen. I hadn't expected Han would make a light comedy, but the production is very funny. But it seems to me the year 1998, which the hero travelled back to is not a good choice. The numerous social events presents in this film seems to be occurring around 1996, not 1998. In that decade, nearly each new year presented a different China, so the accurate selection of the year is very important. While watching the film, I kept thinking of Back To The Future, the American film that impressed many Chinese.I don't know whether Han had watched it, but the plot and style of two films are very similar. But the American film stands the si-ci out very much while the Chinses basically neglects it, only retaining the concept of time travel.
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8/10
Heart-warming and full of laughter
Zensha23 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I laughed and I cried, and that's what this film is all about. It's far from being original, and you can't even call it a sci-fi, but the script writer/director did a brilliant job in striking a balance between humor and other emotions.

***Wee bit of SPOILER here***

The only thing that I thought could be better was the ending. I could easily accept the lack of explanation on how he was 'teleported' to the olden days and back, but I couldn't stand the lack of closure, especially about his mum. Personally I'm a big fan of happy ending, and the end wasn't exactly happy enough for me.

It really should have been a 7, but I gave it an 8, because it really moved me. Not a lot of movies that can make me laugh and cry these days.
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8/10
Don't miss the scene after the credits roll.
KADC29 September 2019
Overlooking Péng's poor age makeup and the disappointingly unexpected state of his and Deng's characters in the final before-credits scene, this was an enjoyable seven-star comic drama (dramady) about a man getting the opportunity to know his father when he was his age, but the poignant scene a minute after the credits start earns Duckweed an extra star. Han made a wise choice pulling this emotional scene from the middle of the movie and placing at the end, bookmarking this movie between two of its best highlights, which allows you to forgive the poorly conceived action scene in the final act. I would have preferred a different conclusion to this story, but overall this movie's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses.
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