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So Close to Paradise
1998; directed by Wang Xiaoshuai

In production for four years and not released in its' native China for another six, Wang Xiaoshuai's So Close to Paradise is a Mainland take on the gritty crime drama. Even though the genre is a staple for most other film-making centers in the region, like Hong Kong and Japan, it's unusual for a Mainland production to take such a "realistic" view on crime and punishment behind the "jade curtain". Unfortunately, while one does have to respect Wang's techniques and pure chutzpah for sticking with a project for ten years, ultimately, the end results aren't really all that compelling.

The film is played out during the late 1980's, where the beginnings of an economic upswing in urban areas convinced many from the country to travel to the city to find financial stability, either by hard work or crime. Both ends of the spectrum are represented with our main characters: Gao Ping (Tao Guo) wears suits, smokes American brand cigarettes, and has a lovely Vietnamese girlfriend, Ruan (Tong Wang), all gotten via his dealings in the underbelly of society.

Meanwhile, Gao Ping's flat-mate, Dongzi (Shi Yi), is a recent transplant to the city who is still ignorant about "modern" things like electric hair dryers, or seemingly even bars of soap. Despite feeling jealous of Gao Ping's relative success, Dongzi keeps feels enough impending guilt to continually refuse Gao Ping's invitations to join in criminal activities. Instead, Dongzi regulates himself to making a few dollars a day as a dock worker. Eventually, the two men's loyalty and values are put to the test as Gao Ping's unfinished business with a local crime boss comes back to haunt them both.

If you want to check out how the Mainland does crime dramas, So Close to Paradise is worth checking out, but if you're one of those people (like this reviewer) who were weaned on high-octane fare put forth by Hong Kong, you may end up feeling a little disappointed in the end. There is nothing really all that wrong technically with the movie. In fact, it does a great job ala Ringo Lam in setting up an almost documentary-like, yet still stylish, tone and feeling.

But all the style in the world still can't mask the fact that this movie does come off as more than a bit slow-moving at points, and probably could have used a bit of a punch-up in the editing department. Also, most damningly, like many Mainland Chinese releases that are subject to the government's heavy censorship, the ending is obvious, heavy-handed, and almost propagandistic -- which may end up leaving the viewer feeling that they've kind of wasted their time after finishing So Close to Paradise.

RATING: 5

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