Summary
Based on a true story, this Chinese-New Zealand coproduction makes full use of the gorgeous NZ backgrounds for a lightweight romance from the director of Youth.
As one of China’s most commercially successful filmmakers, Feng Xiaogang was primarily known for his comedies like The Dream Factory (1997) and the If You Are the One films. The success of his films was largely attributed to Feng tapping into the nationalist vibes of new Chinese cinema, and his most recent outings such as Youth (2017) have been nostalgic pieces about the period of the Cultural Revolution.
So, it’s interesting that Feng’s latest film eschews his Beijing favouritism for the unlikely climes of New Zealand in a co-production that still aims for a particular brand of romantic drama. Based on the true story of one of Feng’s friends, it follows Chinese widower Dongfeng (Huang Xuan) who returns to New Zealand after the death of his wife Yan (Yang Caiyu).
Given that most of this film is played out through an extended flashback sequence, we know from the beginning that there’s going to be tears before bedtime. Playing out with all tricks of the Hallmark trade, we watch as Dongfeng and Yan open a restaurant in a small town and face a laundry list of hardships ranging from pregnancy to psycho patrons, pet problems and pyromania across a lengthy running time.
Cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding (House of Flying Daggers, Shadow) does much of the heavy lifting with some beautiful photography of New Zealand as a backdrop. Mind you, if cinema has taught us anything it’s that New Zealand doesn’t take too many poor photographs.
Chinese celebrity Huang (Legend of the Demon Cat) capably steers his way through the slender material, managing to deliver some emotional moments through some of the more obvious cheese. An initially mournful performance gives way to some levity and angst respectively, although the film is at its most comfortable when he’s interacting with Yang Caiyu (Youth). Joining the Chinese cast is newcomer Lydia Peckham (Hibiscus & Ruthless) as Melinda, steering the cast into bilingual dialogue and acting as a kind of cultural interpreter for audiences on both sides of the equator.
ONLY CLOUD KNOWS (只有芸知道) is a kind of perfect holiday movie for those inclined towards light-hearted romance and have run out of films listed under the Netflix category of “Feel-good romantic movies.” Coming with an added bit of emotional weight thanks to the real people who inspired this, shown in photographs over the closing credits, this is romance that consciously makes a grab for the tissue box.
2019 | China/New Zealand| DIRECTOR: Feng Xiaogang | WRITERS: Feng Xiaogang | CAST: Huang Xuan, Yang Caiyu, Xu Fan, Lydia Peckham | DISTRIBUTOR: China Lion Film (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 132 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 19 December 2019 (AUS)
