The White Countess (B or 3/4 stars)
'The White Countess', a drama directed by James Ivory, recalls nostalgia for all the wonderful Merchant/Ivory films of old. Shanghai, 1936: Blind, former American diplomat, Todd (Ralph Fiennes), develops an interesting relationship with a Russian refugee Countess, Sofia (Natasha Richardson), who works illicit job(s) to support the cranky members of her dead husband's one-time aristocratic family. As a countess, she is a white Russian, one who opposes communist rule. Although the film has tedious moments, it's wonderfully acted, emotionally crippling, sumptuously shot & elegantly directed.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 had left Sofia & her family stateless. Having been used to opulent parties, fancy dances, & the like, Sofia (and her family) is reduced to living in squalor in a politically turbulent China. Working as a companion dancer & bar-hostess is not what she nor her family had in mind for an exiled Countess. She doesn't sleep with men, just dances & talks. But her Mother-in-law, Olga (Richardson's real life aunt, Lynn Redgrave) and Aunt-in-law, Princess Vera (her real life mother, Vanessa Redgrave) loathes the job(s) she must do to make $$ for the family. And Sofia desperately hopes to prevent her daughter, Katya, from finding out what mommy does for a living. The rest of the family thinks her mommy is 'tainted'.
So, at first, it seems that Sofia's only ally is Kayta. But after coming to know Todd, the kind, blind American diplomat, she knows she's found another one. With her tendency to wear white, he opens a classy bar and names it after Sofia, 'The White Countess'. Meanwhile, Jackson meets a curious Japanese diplomat, Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada), and they, initially, become friends. What's he doing in exotic Shanghai? Is he up to something sinister?
There's an intriguing connection btwn. Sofia & Todd, but they go to lengths to keep their romance fairly distant. He wants her to know little of his tragic past, and she, likewise. While his club thrives indoors, World War II extends into Shanghai. The Second Sino-Japanese War begins in haste. Will their dreams, hopes, and relationship survive the Japanese attack? Will Sofia, Todd, & her family be able to escape on a boat to Hong Kong? Irregardless, Sofia's family had pressured her to get $$ from Todd. They don't care if she sleeps around for it, or what. Even if they get the $$, they'll STILL look down on her. In that case, balancing her royal dignity with raw survival instincts, is it better for Sofia & Katya to stay behind rather than to return to a false existence in high society?
Richardson is great as the sophisticated leading lady, here. Sofia is oddly passive to most that goes around her, but by the end of the movie, you see that she's just kept everything in the whole time, because she 'had' to. Fiennes is superb as a guilt-ridden man who's tried to reconcile a life with some purpose. The Redgrave sisters play dysfunctional, irrational evil very well, because I hated them in this film; in a good way. Complaints of the film? As mentioned, the pace is pretty slow; that is until the last 45 minutes where the violence of war breaks out in the streets. The plot gets a bit melodramatic in the end (but that reeled me in, more so). It's the stately performances, provocative camerawork & satisfying conclusion that save the film. I quite enjoyed this old-fashioned, foreign romance.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 had left Sofia & her family stateless. Having been used to opulent parties, fancy dances, & the like, Sofia (and her family) is reduced to living in squalor in a politically turbulent China. Working as a companion dancer & bar-hostess is not what she nor her family had in mind for an exiled Countess. She doesn't sleep with men, just dances & talks. But her Mother-in-law, Olga (Richardson's real life aunt, Lynn Redgrave) and Aunt-in-law, Princess Vera (her real life mother, Vanessa Redgrave) loathes the job(s) she must do to make $$ for the family. And Sofia desperately hopes to prevent her daughter, Katya, from finding out what mommy does for a living. The rest of the family thinks her mommy is 'tainted'.
So, at first, it seems that Sofia's only ally is Kayta. But after coming to know Todd, the kind, blind American diplomat, she knows she's found another one. With her tendency to wear white, he opens a classy bar and names it after Sofia, 'The White Countess'. Meanwhile, Jackson meets a curious Japanese diplomat, Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada), and they, initially, become friends. What's he doing in exotic Shanghai? Is he up to something sinister?
There's an intriguing connection btwn. Sofia & Todd, but they go to lengths to keep their romance fairly distant. He wants her to know little of his tragic past, and she, likewise. While his club thrives indoors, World War II extends into Shanghai. The Second Sino-Japanese War begins in haste. Will their dreams, hopes, and relationship survive the Japanese attack? Will Sofia, Todd, & her family be able to escape on a boat to Hong Kong? Irregardless, Sofia's family had pressured her to get $$ from Todd. They don't care if she sleeps around for it, or what. Even if they get the $$, they'll STILL look down on her. In that case, balancing her royal dignity with raw survival instincts, is it better for Sofia & Katya to stay behind rather than to return to a false existence in high society?
Richardson is great as the sophisticated leading lady, here. Sofia is oddly passive to most that goes around her, but by the end of the movie, you see that she's just kept everything in the whole time, because she 'had' to. Fiennes is superb as a guilt-ridden man who's tried to reconcile a life with some purpose. The Redgrave sisters play dysfunctional, irrational evil very well, because I hated them in this film; in a good way. Complaints of the film? As mentioned, the pace is pretty slow; that is until the last 45 minutes where the violence of war breaks out in the streets. The plot gets a bit melodramatic in the end (but that reeled me in, more so). It's the stately performances, provocative camerawork & satisfying conclusion that save the film. I quite enjoyed this old-fashioned, foreign romance.