Cheap To Live (DVD) (You Ge, Li Gong, Ben Niu) (Yimou Zhang) Price

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Customer Reviews of To Live

The most Under rated movie of all time
Unfortunately foreign movies do not get the credit and publicity they deserve. If only people would be more open minded about foreign movies, they would discover the movie "To Live". To Live is a movie about life itself. It reflects what the common people in China experienced during the Cultural Revolution. We follow the life of an ordinary family that goes through many hardships, wondering if they would live or die. Through the hard times, it makes them realize how important life, family, and love really is. Ultimately in a country where there is so much chaos and tragedy, the only thing the people want, is TO LIVE. The actors/actresses in this movie are splendid, Gong Li is absolutely beautiful. I believe that her role in To Live is the most powerful and finest compared to all of her other movies. Somehow I can not explain it but Chinese movies have a way of portraying a person's character, their emotions in such a way that hits you right on the spot. That is something that American movies have not achieved yet. This movie will make you cry, laugh, and be thankful that you are alive. We win, we lose, life is not easy. I recommend this movie for anyone and everyone. It will make you think about your own life and be more thankful for what you have and don't have. It is just unfortunate that most people would never consider watching a Chinese movie, well they are missing out on the greatest movie.

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Perfect Black Humor¿ a must-see movie
This is absolutely my all-time favorite movie! "To Live" takes a different approach to narrate the confusing periods in Chinese history in the 20th century, to tell a store of life, and a history of a nation. Don't get me wrong! It's not a heavy movie like other portrayal movies of Chinese History such as "Farewell My Concubine", "Blue Kite" or "the Last Emperor" (they're good movies as well, but no comparison to "To Live"); quite the contrary, "To Live" is humorous, delightful, positive, and encouraging. It's not only a good comedy that makes you laugh, but also makes you laugh with tears in your eyes, sad and sore in your heart.

The main story line is how am ordinary family of Fu Gui (Ge You) and Jia Zhen (Gong Li) went through their lives in various movements, wars and revolutions in China. A careless gambler, Fu Gui, lost everything he had - money, property and family - only left with a set of puppets. It's the same set of puppets that went through all the ups and downs with Fu Gui, his family and friends. Through all the tragic and comic moments and events, through all the bitter-sweetness and irony, the characters were in such a positive spirit that they could make jokes of anything in life, but only through the body languages and their eyes, you could see the heartache.

There is an old Chinese proverb that states, "the old man lost his horse, but it turned out to be his good luck". The entire movie is based on this theory: whether you gain or lose, promote or demote, you would never know if it were good for you at the end. Life is a series of comedic dramas; if you don't face it with a positive attitude and joke back, even during the hardest struggle, you would not be able to survive.

This movie is a masterpiece if you want to find out the meaning of Life, and how meaningful it is "to live"!

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Stunning; poignant
I have shown this film to my English students after having read Dai Sijie's book, BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS, because of the portrayal of communism and the effects of the Chinese "cultural revolution". While it at first appears to be loaded with communist propoganda, it becomes apparent by the end of the film that it is an outspoken criticism of Mao and this harsh period of recent Chinese history.

Aside from the political overtones, this is also a masterful study of overcoming loss and adversity that transcends cultural or political boundaries. While my students almost invariably complain about the subtitles at the beginning of the showing, by the end, they have been completely drawn in, and are laughing and crying on cue. If this isn't the true test of a great flick, I don't know what is.

A masterpiece, and one that everyone should see.