Rating	M18 Sexual Scenes
Language	Mandarinwith English & Chinese subtitles
Genre	Drama
Director	Cheng Er
Cast	Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, Asano Tadanobu, Gillian Chung
Synopsis	Love, hatred, and betrayal abound in Shanghai during the chaotic, war-torn 1930’s. Mr. Lu is ambushed during an important meeting with the Japanese army, but his sister’s husband, Watabe sacrifices himself to save Mr. Lu. Worse still, the Japanese brutally murder Mr. Lu’s children and sister. To avenge their deaths, Mr. Lu’s mistress attempts to kill the culprit but ends up dead…

REVIEWS

By Jason Lin 09 Jan 2017

The Wasted Times is an artistic film production made for the next generation of audience that might better appreciate it for what it truly is.

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Broadly set during the pre-and-post Japanese occupation of Shanghai, it is uncertain if any specific sentiments or messages are meant to be received by the audience of Chinese filmmaker Cheng Er’s The Wasted Times.

Written, edited and directed by a single perspective and vision, Cheng’s film is very even in terms of treatment. From the high production values observed in exquisite period costumes to the photography that seeks absolute perfection in terms of Du Jie’s imagery composition and mise-en-scène. It reeks heavily of an ambitious production that plans to be recognised as a masterpiece.

Cheng’s screenplay has effective non-verbal writing portrayed by onscreen characters through visceral acts of sex and violence. From its opening chapter with what appears to be a peaceful discussion at a teahouse, no viewers would be able to anticipate the subsequent nonchalant symbolic acts of violence to come. Cheng’s ways with off-screen and non-verbal cinematic elements register well with his audience.

The Wasted Times adopts a non-linear narrative structure that reminds one of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Each chapter is set within a specific period with a story on selected sets of characters. While it might not make much sense to general audience when pieced together after 125 minutes, it enables better focus on every chapter and what it seeks to tell. This might have been an indirect outcome of massive edits upon what must have been a drastically longer original cut.

With a mix of wide shots and medium close-ups, the film suggests that it prefers to keep an optimal distance between the camera and its subjects. This is further substantiated with the decision to introduce classical noir soundtrack to complement onscreen narration in a similar fashion to theatre and opera.

Much credits must be attributed to actors like Ge You and Zhang Ziyi. The onscreen ensemble performance has heightened the element of drama at Cheng’s prescribed intensity. While it is a pity that Zhang’s performances are mostly lewd and demeaning, her final release of emotions while subdued are still palpable (still waters run deep).

It is therefore unfortunate that a film as such requires to be subjected to a realistic review of its true objective(s). Does the film reflect how nobody should be judged by their exterior qualities or how nobody would never be able to challenge fate and destiny due to troubling times? Perhaps akin to what was quoted in the film itself, The Wasted Times is an artistic film production made for the next generation of audience that might better appreciate it for what it truly is.
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The Wasted Times