Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave
Set in Shanghai in the late 1930s, the story of the relationship between a disillusioned former US diplomat and a refugee White Russian countess reduced to a sordid life in the city's bars. Todd Jacks...( read more
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DVD Release Date: May 16, 2006
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Stats: 399 reviews
Flixster Reviews (399)
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November 2, 2008Meh, the actors looked a little rusty. The ambience felt like a disconnection rather than the romantic storyline the poster suggests. It's a good story that could have been done better. What I loved however, was the heavy incorporation of Chinese jazz. The infusion was spectacular.
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August 5, 2008''We all have to fall in love from time to time... To feed our daughters, and our mothers. And sisters.''
Set in 1930s Shanghai, where a blind American diplomat develops a curious relationship with a young Russian refugee who works odd -- and sometimes illicit -- jobs to...( read more) -
March 4, 2008While not perfect I was won over by the performances of Fiennes and Richardson. I cared and rooted for their characters, hence a thumbs up.
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February 9, 2007A very moving film though I admit the picture on the cover is very misleading and I expected far more seduction than is either shown or hinted at.
I would be interested to know what the Americans think of Ralph Fiennes American accent seeing as he usually speaks with such a re...( read more) -
November 20, 2006I don't know why I heard so many good things about this movie. It was slow and extremely melodramatic. At the end I just felt like 'what was the point of that?' Some people say you need to watch this movie twice, I watched it one and a half times and saw no improvement.
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September 3, 2009Lacks everything you might expect from it, except a glum Ralph Fiennes. No romance, no beauty, no passion, no elegance, no moving historical narrative, just a long dry scrape that tries and never succeeds.
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March 28, 2009I so enjoyed this movie. She tried so hard and she played such a lady. She made the film as far as I'm concerned for it's time.
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March 25, 2009this movie is not for all. but once you started it,you will have a hard time ignoring the facts that the story want to tell.
Critic Reviews
January 27, 2006
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune
January 20, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
A rewarding close to the Merchant Ivory oeuvre. full review
January 13, 2006
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
The White Countess is never less than lovely to look at, and sometimes much more. full review
January 13, 2006
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
This is Merchant-Ivory's kind of showmanship, the unflashy adult variety of movie magic that they made their hallmark. full review
January 13, 2006
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
Sumptuous to look at, tastefully dull, and ultimately rather silly, it whisks us to a far-off land -- the Shanghai expatriate community on the eve of World War II -- and strands us among cooked-up cha... full review
January 6, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
As the last film from the legendary team of Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who died in May, The White Countess is a stirring tribute to Merchant, a true builder of dreams in an industry now sorel... full review
December 21, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fiennes and Richardson make this film work with the quiet strangeness of their performances. full review
Comments
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July 21, 2008
Wonderful Tale of love and hope...Ralph & Natasha share good chemistry together everytime on-screen.
Magnificent, White Countess is beautiful.
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