I'm Not Madame Bovary is a 2016 film that was based off the 2012 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Feng Xiaogang and written by Liu Zhenyun. Mainland China is the place of origin for this film making it more of an arthouse film than anything released in other parts of China.
Fan Bingbing, Zhang Jiayi, Yu Hewei, Dong Chengpeng and Guo Tao star as the full cast of characters.
The plot is labeled as a comedy which makes me frown a little bit. I can see the comedy elements in a few scenes but I'm Not Madame Bovary is more of a drama than anything else. Watching the struggle of a women trying to get a divorce from her husband makes you tired after watching it continue on for the first hour and a half. I did mange to put myself into the story by relating to her trying to get her basic right has a human being but is refused to be heard. This battle between her and the Chinese government goes on for ten years. Each year she goes to try to plead her case to the supreme court in Beijing. I felt like I was being led around in a circle about ten times as I watched Madame Bovary. Each circle represents one year out of the ten. I would be lying to readers also if I said that the plot didn't drag on because it did. I kept watching though because I wanted to see the outcome of this women's effort to fix the mess that she and her husband made. A person might think that its a bit much to fight for the right to divorce for ten years however, our leading lady has a deeper reason to fight. Once you find out her reason, you'll understand why she wouldn't give up. Nothing in this film really made me laugh. Chinese viewers might have gotten more of a kick out of the script than I did, being from that culture and all. The whole central conflict for this film was pitiful to me. Some parts could be deemed as funny if you have the sense of humor for these scenes. I unfortunately did not.
Fan Bingbing is a very well known actress for playing female characters that deal with them having to withstand that hardships that come with being a women in mainland China. This character is no different than her other roles that she plays so well. What I really love about her is she conveys her emotions to viewers with her eyes. I saw the burning determination that she had as soon as the camera showed her face. Her interactions with the other actors in the cast also show that she is a driving force in Madame Bovary. Even when she's not on screen, her presence is still felt through the acting of the actors who play the government officials that discuss about how to stop her. Everyone's performance turned this film into a women's rights campaign without meaning to. Most of the male cast either tries to stop her or is down right rude to her. Calling your wife a slut in front of all your friends is never the right thing to do. I'm still kind of mad that this struggle lasted ten whole years…. Get it together people please.
The camera man's decision to film Madame Bovary in a different sort of style turned me off upon first viewing. It was really hard getting used to watching to whole film in the shape of a circle. No, I'm serious. Its like someone took an overlay that's shaped like a circle and put it over the film's frame. You're then forced to view the film through the circle for pretty much all of the film. The circle changes to a rectangle during the scenes shot in Beijing. For what reason, I don't know but I'm guessing it has to do with the cultural comedy element that this film is suppose to be about. Our new found method to view the film aside, I was taken away by all the scenery that was shown. The women's village was a cultural paradise of China's landscapes. I enjoy seeing the small villages outside of Beijing. You don't get to see these places unless you go there yourself or a director is brave enough to film these raw shots making them look the way that he or she wants using their talent. The contrast between the villages and Beijing was very noticeable as well. Beijing is more compacted into itself with a lot of action going on around you while the outer villages were more spread out making the use of a boat raft necessary in order to get to a specific place.
I'm Not Madame Bovary takes a type of patience to make a viewer last to till the credits roll. A lot of the film drags on in plot progression but has enough arthouse charm to keep people watching. I don't think that I will be watching this film again anytime soon but I do recommend this to people who like films from mainland China or might want to experience the place by watching a film. Not the best they have to offer yet it fits right at home in their cinema releases.
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