Seventeen Years (1999)

Too much of everything

Excellent but underrated film

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I got this movie from the local library. I have lived in China for over 4 years in different cities. My wife is Chinese, so is my son. He just got his visa so we will be together very soon.I rate this movie up with To Live with Gong Li. It should be required viewing for Hollywood producers and directors. From the opening I was drawn in and remained fixated on every movement and most articles (all of which are familiar to me). The story is very powerful and, as another reviewer wrote, can be from a long time ago or a long time in the future.The water bottle was interesting when the father got more hot water. When I first went to China the bottles had large stoppers in them and you would have to tip and pour them. Later the siphon bottle came to make life a little easier.I was mesmerized by Lui Lin (the correct way to list her name). I was amazed by the actions and caring of the prison guard in making sure Tao Lan did get home despite her great resistance to moving anywhere near home. She displayed great wisdom for someone so young. By the way, she said she was almost 28 and should anyone question why she was unmarried it should be noted that in China many women do not marry until their late twenties.I could not stop crying too. The emotion was so strong, coupled with my remembrances of China. Really, really ask your library, Netflix or anyone else for a copy of this movie.

I personally have found that some of the best films ever made are from China. Perhaps being a student of Chinese philosophy and being familiar with works like the writings of Chuang Tze has inclined me to be taken in by the timeless character of this story, like so many others. So many Chinese films are great because they are about timeless, enduring aspects of our being human and would have been relevant 3000 years ago as they are today, and will be 3000 years from now. And to me what makes and will always make a story great is exactly this: the human spirit as it unfolds in the process of interaction with others and its environment.I cried in parts of this film because of the sheer mastery of several actors of such intense and profound magnitude being able to carry between themselves what seems like the entire universe of the human spirit and psyche. No props needed. No special effects. I wish there were more films like this.

This is an interesting tale that is shown almost documentary style. The film begins with a blended family living with China. The husband and wife don't get along all that well and some of this contention is because they both have teenage daughters from a previous marriage. The daughters also don't particularly like each other and the "good" one actually is pretty cruel for making it look like her step-sister is a thief. However, when the step-sister attacks and accidentally kills her, the story takes a dramatic twist.The film changes to 17 years later. Here we see that the surviving sister is a model inmate in a prison that seems much more like an indoctrination center. I found this pretty fascinating. While this sort of program could easily be used for evil (such as political prisoners), such strong and consistent messages and classes on "correct" thinking and behavior do offer an alternative to the traditional Western-style prisons--that often have inmates leave worse off than when they entered them. In this case, the girl did deserve to be punished but she was also rehabilitatable--mostly because she truly was sorry for what she had done in a moment of anger at age 16.Because she is so committed to change, she and several other model prisoners are given holiday furloughs. However, given her past, it's obvious she is concerned her mother and step-father don't want her to return. What happens next is slow to unfold but very satisfying, as a worker from the prison helps the lady to find her parents (they'd moved) and renew their relationship--if it is still possible.

While working within the system, Yuan Zhang's (or is it Zhang Yuan?)latest film 17 YEARS gives the Chinese totalitarian system a human face. The title, referring to 17 YEARS of separation, also refers to an important year (age) in two of the main characters' lives. It is Zhang Yuan's best work to date, and quite possibly the most realistic, impartial portrayal of China's totalitarian system in recent years. I highly recommend it.