Simply Perfect

Great Film overall

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

If The Shower fails to touch your heart in some way? Yeah, you maybe wanna go down hospital there, get yourself one them EKG's, see if your heart still beats, not. Why? Because The Shower tells a simple story of family and dear friends in same manner that Hollywood did many years ago, yet has not for some time due to its standing infatuation with the gods of efficiency, PC, and the same old leftist drivel.The Shower is one of the sweetest, most powerful films to grace the screen here at Casa d'Amplitron. Having watched it again recently, it's all the more poignant as the cancer of centrally-planned New World Odor efficiency spreads like a syphilis rash across the globe and devours every last bit humanity, including the oasis known as The Shower.You'll recognize The Shower's protagonist as one of the most expressive actors on the planet, who played lead in King of Masks. Unless, that is, you were busy watching high-grossing sensible films from Hollywood whose themes concern proper subjects such as surfboard decapitations, exploding helicopters, and face-booted bimbos barking like rabid Teamsters at geek-voiced capons attired sensibly in black rimmed glasses and Gothwear for the Young Condemned.No, my review The Shower don't tell ya much, there, 'bout the it, see? And that's 'cause maybe you wanna go rent it, download it or whatever everybody's does their computers these days - which is not the case here at Casa d'Amplitron, where The Shower graces the below decks film library in respectable VHS format.You want hi-tech vapid entertainment? Go watch some machetes-for-machismo-morons film, something like that. Wanna see if your cardiac T-waves are still capable of breaking over beautiful stories of life, family, and friends? Go hit The Shower.Paul Vincent ZecchinoAristocrat of Film AuteursManasoviet Key, Florida13 September, 2010

I often felt troubled when people asked me to recommend some Chinese movies, not because there weren't any good ones, but because those good ones did not depict today's China. Some of Yimou Zhang's and Kaige Chen's movies are not only good, but also, in my opinion, among the greatest ones that the world has produced. However, the stories in those movies happened many years ago; and these years are the ones that have seen the most dramatic changes of a country in history.My trouble ended with the introduction of Xizao (Shower) in North America. The humors are Chinese styled, but the emotions are, as someone has said in his comment, universal. The values on intimate family relationships, genuine friendships, and concerns for the general public are exemplified in a society that is trying to find a balance between modernization and tradition. When economic development and new technologies menace thousand-year-old lifestyles, people, especially the elderlies, become ambivalent towards them.A country with an extraordinary history and tradition experiencing the most rapid development in the world, today's China can be a perfect set for many more good movies. I often wonder why there are so few movies like Xizao. As it has proved, you don't have to touch heavy politics to depict an authentic picture of today's China. (Kaige Chen's Together is disappointing.)One of the commentators said the movie is uneven at some points. This is probably true, and unsurprising, given that the director is not as experienced as Zhang or Chen. However, I didn't notice the unevenness because I was captured by the actors' wonderful performances. You will be easily amused by Wu Jiang's performance as Er Ming; you would be more impressed by Xu Zhu's Master Liu and Cunxing Pu's Da Ming if you understand Chinese. These are the finest Chinese actors of their respective generations.I noticed that some commentators thought the story happened in a small village. This is a misunderstanding. The set is actually Beijing. Although bathhouses like the one in the movie exist in many Chinese cities, you feel more amazed by the changes that China is experiencing when you know this story happened in a metropolis, right?If you want to understand today's China, watch this movie. If you want to understand the China before and during the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976), you should check out Huozhe (To Live) and Ba Wang Bie Ji (Farewell My Concubine). Artistically, Xizao may not be a masterpiece compared to the latter two, but it is definitely worth watching. In today's world, movies as warm as this one remind us of the beauty of life.

Like another reviewer said, this movie is not a heavy melodrama, but it deals with harsh realities. A very very playful movie that does not dwell for a moment. Some very good acting and some wonderful smiles as well.

For a movie with a plot like this I would normally smell "tearjerker" in the first ten minutes and turn it off, but this was very well made, with emotional subtleties, great acting, and some genuinely funny moments. It was also interesting to see a different culture - a vanishing one at that. My wife and I both dug it!