33 Postcards
2011 Australia
(2012 - April - USA)
1 hr. 37 min.
Rated: Not Rated
Grade: B-
Director: Pauline Chan
Writers: Pauline Chan, Philip Dalkin, Martin Edmond
Stars: Guy Pearce, Zhu Lin, Claudia Karvan | See full cast and crew
Mei Mei (Zhu Lin) is a 16 yr old Chinese orphan girl who dreams of nothing more than being part of the 'perfect' family. Dean Randall (Guy Pearce) has sponsored Mei Mei for the past 10 years, allowing her to get an education. When her orphanage is invited to participate in The Australian Choir Festival Mei Mei takes the opportunity to find her Australian sponsor in Sydney. However, the Dean Randall's situation she finds is far from the idyllic life he depicted in his postcards. Initially mismatched and disconnected the two begin a journey in search of belonging, family, redemption, love and acceptance.
The innocence of the Hayley Mills' heyday, of course, is something your children need protection from. Today's critics are in my view very jaded, to be a good film it can't be uplifting any longer, it needs violence, sex, drugs, nudity and antiheroes, it must elevate the sordid underbelly of humanity, show us the sympathetic side of criminals, terrorists, murderers, atheists, perverts, deviants, gangsters and thieves. Anything espousing morality, traditional family, religion, beauty or uplifting values is derided as old fashioned, sappy, goody goody, un-evolved.
33 Postcards is a sweet little film. Not a great film or a classic but an enjoyable film. I felt a bit of an affinity for the story having visited a Chinese orphanage and my ties to Australia. Plus, I have always liked Guy Pearce (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; L A Confidential; Prometheus, The Hurt Locker, Iron Man 3) as an actor and no, this is not his greatest performance and this is not the best written screenplay and it is not the pinnacle of direction but it is a nice film none the less. I saw it at our local Art House cinema (Art House Cinema 502). If it's not playing in your area you can check it out on Netflix. 33 Postcards is a film you can enjoy with your family although some of the violence will be inappropriate for the wee ones.
33 Postcards marks the first official Chinese-Australian (New South Wales) film collaboration. At the 2011 Sydney Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, it won the Community Relations Commission Award. At its Chinese premiere, just a couple of weeks later at the Shanghai International Film Festival, its lead actress Zhu Lin won the New Talent Award. The film is directed by Pauline Chan and inspired by real life events.
Cast
Rated: Not Rated
Grade: B-
Director: Pauline Chan
Writers: Pauline Chan, Philip Dalkin, Martin Edmond
Stars: Guy Pearce, Zhu Lin, Claudia Karvan | See full cast and crew
Mei Mei (Zhu Lin) is a 16 yr old Chinese orphan girl who dreams of nothing more than being part of the 'perfect' family. Dean Randall (Guy Pearce) has sponsored Mei Mei for the past 10 years, allowing her to get an education. When her orphanage is invited to participate in The Australian Choir Festival Mei Mei takes the opportunity to find her Australian sponsor in Sydney. However, the Dean Randall's situation she finds is far from the idyllic life he depicted in his postcards. Initially mismatched and disconnected the two begin a journey in search of belonging, family, redemption, love and acceptance.
33 Postcards utilizes an old formula that dates back, at least on the silver screen, to the days or D. W. Griffith but as a storyline goes back even further than that. It's the "oh-so-innocent waif and big old baddie" odd-couple formula. It presents the opportunity to utilize the elements, among others, of danger, risk, hope, forgiveness, redemption, friendship, loyalty and love.
First released in Australia in 2011, and April 2012 in the US, 33 Postcards was not well received by the critics, said to be sentimental; ' feel-goodery'; 'Sweet to the point of getting a sugar rush'; blah, blah, blah. For example take this quote from the New York Post:
"Were it not for the staccato bursts of violence, this Chinese-Australian co-production about how an adorable orphan brings love into the life of a hardened convict would feel like a film from Hayley Mills' heyday."
The innocence of the Hayley Mills' heyday, of course, is something your children need protection from. Today's critics are in my view very jaded, to be a good film it can't be uplifting any longer, it needs violence, sex, drugs, nudity and antiheroes, it must elevate the sordid underbelly of humanity, show us the sympathetic side of criminals, terrorists, murderers, atheists, perverts, deviants, gangsters and thieves. Anything espousing morality, traditional family, religion, beauty or uplifting values is derided as old fashioned, sappy, goody goody, un-evolved.
33 Postcards is a sweet little film. Not a great film or a classic but an enjoyable film. I felt a bit of an affinity for the story having visited a Chinese orphanage and my ties to Australia. Plus, I have always liked Guy Pearce (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; L A Confidential; Prometheus, The Hurt Locker, Iron Man 3) as an actor and no, this is not his greatest performance and this is not the best written screenplay and it is not the pinnacle of direction but it is a nice film none the less. I saw it at our local Art House cinema (Art House Cinema 502). If it's not playing in your area you can check it out on Netflix. 33 Postcards is a film you can enjoy with your family although some of the violence will be inappropriate for the wee ones.
The performances are adequate to good, the screenplay is a bit weak but not awful. The Chinese orphanage director, Miss Chen (Elaine Jin), reminded me of an Asian version of Viola Davis in
Won't Back Down.
33 Postcards marks the first official Chinese-Australian (New South Wales) film collaboration. At the 2011 Sydney Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, it won the Community Relations Commission Award. At its Chinese premiere, just a couple of weeks later at the Shanghai International Film Festival, its lead actress Zhu Lin won the New Talent Award. The film is directed by Pauline Chan and inspired by real life events.
On the set with director Pauline Chan.
Cast
Dean Randall Mei Mei
Gary Barbara Carl
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