''A Simple Noodle Story'' (), internationally ''A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop''. is a 2009 film directed by
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou (; born 14 November 1950) is a Chinese filmmaker.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retrieved 21 August 2008. A leading figure of China's Cinem ...
. Described as a cross between
screwball comedy
Screwball comedy is a film subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1950s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary charact ...
and
thriller,
the film stars
Sun Honglei
Sun Honglei ( zh, s=孙红雷; born 16 August 1970) is a Chinese actor. His critically acclaimed television series '' Lurk'' (2008) earned him the Best Actor trophy at the three most prestigious Chinese-language television awards including the ...
and
Ni Dahong in the thriller segment while comedians
Xiaoshenyang
Shen He (; born 7 May 1981), better known by his stage name Xiaoshenyang (), is a Chinese actor. He was a student of Zhao Benshan and was an errenzhuan performer before joining the film and television industry.
Xiaoshenyang became famous immedia ...
and
Yan Ni star in the comedic segment.
A Chinese remake of the 1984 American film ''
Blood Simple
''Blood Simple'' is a 1984 American independent neo-noir crime film written, edited, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya and M. Emmet Walsh. Its plot follows a Texas bartender ...
'',
[ the debut of the ]Coen brothers
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...
, the plot transports the original film's town in Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
to a noodle shop in a small desert town in Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
province.[ The film has been described as a considerable departure from the director's previous works.][
]
Premise
The abusive owner of a noodle shop in the desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...
in China plans the murder of his adulterous
Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept e ...
wife and her lover but it goes awry after various characters' intertwined stories lead to double crosses and fatalities.
Cast
*Sun Honglei
Sun Honglei ( zh, s=孙红雷; born 16 August 1970) is a Chinese actor. His critically acclaimed television series '' Lurk'' (2008) earned him the Best Actor trophy at the three most prestigious Chinese-language television awards including the ...
– Zhang
*Ni Dahong – Wang
*Xiaoshenyang
Shen He (; born 7 May 1981), better known by his stage name Xiaoshenyang (), is a Chinese actor. He was a student of Zhao Benshan and was an errenzhuan performer before joining the film and television industry.
Xiaoshenyang became famous immedia ...
– Li
* Yan Ni – Wang's Wife
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in June 2009, and the film was released on December 11, 2009 in China.
Reception
Critical response
The film made its international premiere in competition at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as president of the jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama '' Apart Together'', in com ...
, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear
The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
.
The film received polarizing responses from audiences, with some noting the film's visual inventiveness and non-serious tone, while others criticized the filmmaker's use of slapstick humor and over-the-top style. Zhang revealed at the Berlinale that the Coen brothers
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, together known as the Coen brothers (), are an American filmmaking duo. Their films span many genres and styles, which they frequently subvert or parody. Among their most acclaimed works are '' Blood Simple'' (198 ...
had written to him after seeing a copy of the film, and expressed that they loved the changes made in this version.
''A Simple Noodle Story'' has an approval rating of 34% on review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, based on 59 reviews, and an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Zhang Yimou's broad reinterpretation of the Coen Brothers' ''Blood Simple'' struggles to bring anything new to the twisty murder mystery and instead ladles on an excess of stilted comedy". Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
assigned the film a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Derek Elley of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' described the film as a "much more ascetic, chamber-like dramedy" that is a "pretty close adaptation" and "spiced up with some pratfall humor and visually enhanced by saturated lensing." Elley also noted, "Coen aficionados won't be surprised by any of the subsequent twists in the tale, and general auds will be pleasantly amused, as Zhang tries to manipulate events for his own purposes."
Maggie Lee of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' is more mixed on the film, and described it as "a high-rolling but garish production with untranslatable regional ribald humor", and noted the changes from the original with "pacing is much more frenetic with characters and cameras in restless motion. The intervals are crammed with exotic sight gags and colloquial wordplay, such as a dough-making scene choreographed like a plate-spinning acrobatic show or the group hip-hop dance routine."
Some critics also viewed the film as unique in Zhang's filmography. James Marsh of ''Twitch Film
ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...
'' described the film as "a spectacular departure from his previous work", and praised the film's first half as "breakneck paced" with "many laughs to be had throughout", but noted, "The second half takes a deliberate shift into darker territory, as those already familiar with the story will know, and while handled effectively in its own right, it does lose some of the energy generated in the first half." However, Marsh stated: "That said, the film must certainly be deemed a success, both as an experimentation for the director, as an adaptation of ''Blood Simple'' and as a screwball comedy in its own right."[
Edmund Lee of '' Time Out Hong Kong'' described the film as "surely one of the year's unlikeliest projects", and a "sacrilegiously funny period remake." Lee further stated: "Zhang has traded Texas' oppressively bleak vista for China's visually intoxicating desert landscape for this enthralling film, at once hilarious and cruelly ironic."
However, Perry Lam in '']Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
'' criticized it, stating: "The story unfolds in an almost surreal, suspiciously computer-generated setting that is decisively closed off to outer reality. Zhang, who usually cares deeply about his characters, loses his intense emotional command over his actors."
Geoffrey Macnab of ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', reviewing the film at the Berlinale, stated: "Zhang Yimou's remake of the Coen brothers' ''Blood Simple'' is exhilarating and inventive" and "Zhang's formal mastery is little short of astonishing...there are few film-makers who use colour or sound editing in such a bravura way."
Box office
The film cost approximately $12 million to make, notably less expensive than Zhang Yimou's most recent historical epics. The film, in spite of the polarized reception, was successful at the box office,[ and went on to gross 261 million yuan ($38 million) in less than six weeks, tripling the film's budget.][
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simple Noodle Story, A
2009 films
Chinese comedy-drama films
Chinese crime thriller films
2000s Mandarin-language films
Films directed by Zhang Yimou
Chinese remakes of American films
Sony Pictures Classics films
Films set in China
2000s English-language films
Films with screenplays by the Coen brothers