Movie Review

[1550399008]

Lu Miao

Today our group is going to make reviews on two movies “And the Spring Comes” and “Mona Lisa Smile”. Both of them have demonstrated point of views on women’s empowerment dramatically.

“And the Spring Comes” which was released in 2007, was directed by director Changwei Gu and written by Qiang Li. Wenli Jiang, Yao Zhang, Guangjie Li were the major actors.

“Mona Lisa Smile” which was shown in 2003 in America and 2004 in China, was directed by the famous English director Mike Newell and written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal. Julia Roberts, Kristen Dunst and Julia Stiles were the major actresses.

Firstly, the scene of social mobility existed in two films. The common destination was big metropolises. For example, protagonists Cailing Wang and Sibao Huang, two young people pursuing for art which respectively were music and art, all dreamt of migrating from small countryside to our capital city Beijing. Sibao Huang said,“ Every time I see someone carrying a bag, leaving this city… No matter where they are going, I envy them.” So, as a matter of fact, Beijing is not only a city, a capital. It’s the embodiment of dream, a place for young people to pursue their goals. A scenery, which was Cailing Wang leaned over the railing, overlooking Tiananmen Square with brightly shining lights in the screen, impressed us very deeply. The processing of light is a punchline for it seemed to be shadowy, obscure and remote dreams. It’s hard to catch and follow. The song “Treasure the Spring” the protagonist repeatedly sang in this movie also showed the actress’s pursuit. Actually, it's a significant clue for the whole movie to go on. “Admire, desire, and wish for the spring to come.” Spring is the same as Beijing. Spring is full of hope. Even though it requires human beings to experience difficulties and obstacles, to take a long journey, it is beneficial for people’s growth and success. At last, the dream will come true. So as Katherine went to Wellesley College to realize her career value. Even though at the very beginning, students in the college deliberately put obstacles in her way, Katherine put all her effort to clam herself down and deal with their tricks with patience. We don't know if it is proper to say it's a battle of wits. Meanwhile, during the course of this match, women's wisdom and intelligence have been outstandingly demonstrated.

Women rights showed a lot both in these two films. In “Mona Lisa Smile”, girls in the traditional school had no right to choose their future. Their purpose of learning was just for marrying a good husband. However, owning advanced ideas, miss Watson broke the traditional ways of thinking and teaching and greatly encouraged her students to pursue what they wanted. Instead of being total housewives, they had their own rights to balance family and career. That is to say, they did not have to focus all their power on the families. Just like the ending of the film, Betty, who used to think marriage was beyond everything, finally refused to sustain her wretched marriage any more, which profoundly reflected the traditional concept of breaking for women's rights. What is more, at the end of the story, the choice of Miss Watson of leaving the school rather than abiding by the school’s conventional maze of regulations was also a vivid reflection of her pursuit for rights. It is no denying that she ought to be given latitude in making decisions about her own future.

While in “And the Spring Comes”, teacher Hu wanted Wang cailing to get married with him in the fake way to reduce his social malicious gossip. But she refused. Not because she was indifferent, but she had rights to choose her own life. As we all know, women, especially one who pursued her dream relentlessly, must be more glittering than others. Because they payed much attention to their own rights and freedom. Women in that period who dared to choose the life they like rather than endless compromise and tolerance deserves our deep admiration. Just like the saying goes that everyone is born equal. Accordingly, women should break free from the traditional roles that society give them in order to pursue their own career and ideal to perfect themselves. Nowadays, it is acknowledged that women are playing more and more significant role in the society. Instead of merely cast all their focus on family, they still become an important part in many companies. They gradually use their own eligibility to turn themselves from a common worker into irreplaceable female boss, making their conventional social status experiencing thoroughly alterations. Both to men and to themselves are one rewarding change.

All in all, these two films give us a lot of inspiration, no matter in the philosophy of life or in the pursuit of freedom, we are able to deeply connect ourselves with the events in movies, which, after all, are just a microcosm of our lives. Hence, we have access to have a good understanding of life from them. These two films pay much attention on dealing with the details of the characters, such as their outlooks or impressions so that we can more deeply understand the psychological activities of the characters. So they are both wonderful movies that deserve all of us enjoying.

[2216668684]

Dear Lu Miao&Liu Tingxuan
First of all, we want to express our appreciation for your group's film reviews. This is a very logical article, which has not only the detailed narration of the film, but also the prominent central idea after comparing the contents of the two films. However, we suggest that the excessive information of the films and the actor-list at the beginning of the essay can be omitted appropriately. When expounding the core idea of the film, the article well links dreams and women's rights, which is meaningful. In the movie review, the dialogue of the protagonist is quoted to reflect their persistent pursuit of dreams and vividly portray the character.
In conclusion, it is a very impressive essay. We’d like to receive your comment to our review as well.
Yours,
Zheng&Yu

[gms5486]

Hello Lu Miao,

Great work! Your analysis was very detailed. I appreciated your analysis of scenery and music in "And the Spring Comes." I did not consider that "Treasure the Spring" was important for context in the movie, and I had believed that it was simply a song with no significant meaning. Your analysis enlightened me. You also provided detailed examples for events in "Mona Lisa Smile," which supported your argument well.

The only criticism I can offer is this. You may want to focus your argument more. The main idea of your essay is somewhat scattered. Is it about social mobility? Is it about women's rights? Is it about inspiration, because the last paragraph talks about the quality of the movies? If you focus on only one main topic, such as women's empowerment, and provide examples that support only that one particular topic, your essay will be stronger.

Thank you for posting!

[sjt5448]

Hi Lu,

I appreciated how you began with geographical movement and related it to social movement and women's empowerment in your exploration of both films. Cailing Wang must deal with never reaching Beijing, the destination of her dreams, and professor Watson has to struggle to make a difference at Wellesley. In regards to the organization of your essay, I think that it is well done. I would only suggest that you combine your first three blocks of text into a more conventional introductory paragraph. I would also consider trimming out some generalized statements from your final paragraph. Earlier on in your essay, you provide very specific examples and even quotations, but at the end things become more generalized and too unfocused. I see that you titled your paper as a movie review, so having a lot of opinions inserted would be alright, but if you wanted to focus more on cultural comparisons in your essay I think removing generalized statements would help maintain focus. It would be great if you have an email or WeChat that I could send my grammatical edits to.

Thanks
Steven Toomey

[1550399008]

Dear Zheng&Yu,
Thank you for your comment. We also consider the description and expression in the first three paragraphs are too tedious. We will make some adjustments in the revision.
Thanks again. Love you!
Yours,
Lu&Liu

[1550399008]

Dear Steven Toomey,
We are glad to hear your comment. Your suggestion really works. Thank you very much.
We also consider the description and expression in the first three paragraphs are too tedious. And some generalized statements should be omitted. We will make some adjustments in the revision later.
In addition, in terms of grammatical errors, we really need your help and advice. Our email address is 1550399008@qq.com.
Thanks again.
Yours,
Miao Lu & Tingxuan Liu

[1550399008]

Hi, Stewart
Thank you for your replying. We think that your suggestions help us a lot in further enhancing our article. Just like you mention in the last that our last paragraph does not summarize the whole text, which is the biggest problem in the passage. So we will pay more attention to rewriting last paragraph. At first, we did want to make our article focus on two points which are common problems for these two films. But after learning about your suggestions, we both think you are really true. It is no denying that one particular topic will make the argument stronger, which can be well shown in your article. So we will better apply this writing method to future writing. As for “Treasure the Spring" , although it is not important in the movie, we can still attribute it to the careful design of the directors. Because it is this song not others that is sung by the main characters. So, to some extent, it is closely related to the analysis of the character’s fate. What ‘s more, it plays a significant role in helping us to appreciate the movie in details. That is a wonderful way to deepen our understanding of the movie. Therefore, we can take care of each small details in out own passage. We will be very happy to get your feedbacks and suggestions again.
Yours,
Miao Lu, Ting Xuan Liu

[1550399008]

Revision:
Movie Review
Today our group is going to make reviews on two movies: “And the Spring Comes” and “Mona Lisa Smile”. Both of them have demonstrated point of views on women’s empowerment dramatically.
“And the Spring Comes” was released in 2007. Wenli Jiang, Yao Zhang, Guangjie Li were the major actors. “Mona Lisa Smile” was shown in 2003 in America and 2004 in China. Julia Roberts, Kristen Dunst and Julia Stiles were the major actresses.
Firstly, the scene of social mobility exists in two films. The common destination is big metropolises. For example, protagonists Cailing Wang and Sibao Huang, two young people pursuing for art which respectively are music and art, all dream of migrating from small countryside to our capital city Beijing. Sibao Huang said,“ Every time I see someone carrying a bag, leaving this city… No matter where they are going, I envy them.” So, as a matter of fact, Beijing is not only a city, a capital. It’s the embodiment of dream, a place for young people to pursue their goals. A scenery, which is Cailing Wang lean over the railing, overlooking Tiananmen Square with brightly shining lights in the screen, impresses us very deeply. The processing of light is a punchline for it seemed to be shadowy, obscure and remote dreams. It’s hard to catch and follow. The song “Treasure the Spring” the protagonist repeatedly sang in this movie also showed the actress’s pursuit. Actually, it's a significant clue for the whole movie to go on. “Admire, desire, and wish for the spring to come.” Spring is the same as Beijing. Spring is full of hope. Even though it requires human beings to experience difficulties and obstacles, to take a long journey, it is beneficial for people’s growth and success. At last, the dream will come true. So as Katherine goes to Wellesley College to realize her career value. Even though at the very beginning, students in the college deliberately put obstacles in her way, Katherine put all her effort to clam herself down and deal with their tricks with patience. We don't know if it is proper to say it's a battle of wits. Meanwhile, during the course of this match, women's wisdom and intelligence have been outstandingly demonstrated.
Women rights show a lot both in these two films. In “Mona Lisa Smile”, girls in the traditional school have no right to choose their future. Their purpose of learning is just for marrying a good husband. However, owning advanced ideas, Miss Watson breaks the traditional way of thinking and teaching and greatly encourages her students to pursue what they want. Instead of being total housewives, they have their own rights to balance family and career. That is to say, they don't have to focus all their power on the families. Just like the ending of the film, Betty, who used to think marriage is beyond everything, finally refuses to sustain her wretched marriage any more, which profoundly reflects the traditional concept of breaking for women's rights. What is more, at the end of the story, the choice of Miss Watson of leaving the school rather than abiding by the school’s conventional maze of regulations is also a vivid reflection of her pursuit for rights. It is no denying that she ought to be given latitude in making decisions about her own future.
While in “And the Spring Comes”, teacher Hu wants Wang cailing to get married with him in the fake way to reduce his social malicious gossip. But she refuses. Not because she is indifferent, but she has rights to choose her own life. As we all know, women, especially one who pursues her dream relentlessly, must be more glittering than others. Because they pay much attention to their own rights and freedom. Women in that period who dare to choose the life they like rather than endless compromise and tolerance deserves our deep admiration. Just like the saying goes that everyone is born equal. Accordingly, women should break free from the traditional roles that society give them in order to pursue their own career and ideal to perfect themselves. Nowadays, it is acknowledged that women are playing more and more significant role in the society. Instead of merely cast all their focus on family, they still become an important part in many companies. They gradually use their own eligibility to turn themselves from a common worker into irreplaceable female boss, making their conventional social status experiencing thoroughly alterations. Both to men and to themselves are one rewarding change.
All in all, these two films give us a lot of inspiration, no matter in the philosophy of life or in the pursuit of freedom, we are able to deeply connect ourselves with the events in movies, which, after all, are just a microcosm of our lives. Hence, we have access to have a good understanding of life from them. These two films pay much attention on dealing with the details of the characters, such as their outlooks or impressions so that we can more deeply understand the psychological activities of the characters. So they are both wonderful movies that deserve all of us enjoying.

[1550399008]

Reflection
From this opportunity of communicating with foreign students, we both think that have learn a lot that cannot be learnt from textbooks. So we really thanks for both teachers and foreign friends.
In the first place, we‘d appreciate it our teacher offer us this opportunity to communicate with foreign students across seas. As English majors, this scarce chance is necessary to seize, which helps us to learn more about the different culture between China and the USA. So thanks for giving us the platform to better ourselves.
Second, thanks for foreign students making remarks and comments carefully and patiently on our essay. Their suggestions in organization and grammar of our essay are really good assistance for us to polish our composition. When in communication, they are really engrossed in offering advice on our writing. For example, they will even take one simple sentence into consideration to tell whether it has connections with the theme. What really counts is that we are able to improve our spoken English through the interactions with them. And in the communication, we could clearly notice the advantages and disadvantages among classmates, foreign students and us. It’s meaningful in earnest.
Last but not least, we long to have more opportunities to communicate with foreigners like this.