A Confucian Confusion (1994) User Reviews

A movie worth watching the second time

[hooraychining · 9/10 · 17 February 2019]

When I watched this movie for the first time, I felt that it was difficult to understand immediately; but when I finished watching it, I couldn't help but clap my hands, and I couldn't wait to watch it again.

I had to Said this is a very good movie. This movie is a bit similar to the "Lust Caution" directed by Ang Lee. It has many connotations, many details, and complicated characters. Through this movie we can see the anxiety of Taiwan after the rich up in 1970s-1980s which like various social phenomena in China now, so this film has strong foresight and practical significance. I have changed the stereotype of the Taiwanese who are also each trying to cheat or outwit the other, saying dirty words, and sophisticated as the Chinese.

A Confucian Confusion

[caorui-81765 · 9/10 · 22 February 2019]

Yang Dechang is a film master, but also a prophet. He can always accurately perceive the state between people after the development of society to a certain extent. So, even the works of more than 20 years ago, today, they can poke into your heart. Maybe you feel the same as the characters in the film. We all "pretend" well, "pretend" to live happily, "pretend" to love deeply, but in fact, between each other, wearing masks, behind the heart of the mask, alienating each other, we are all disguisers. The economy has been independent for a long time, but it is so scarce in heart and mind that it still lives in other people's eyes and does not have its own inner satisfaction.

Neat, nice made

[johnnn · 10/10 · 1 August 1999]

When I first came across 'A Confucian Confusion', I expected nothing much. I was wrong, very wrong. It turned out to be a great movie. On one of your 'average' days, go to a video store, then rent and watch it. I guarantee it will be the best thing on your day. ('Average' here means the rest of the days when you don't win lotto or have a date of your life)

The film looks at a sample of modern Taiwanese life. Edward Yang the director, who won some awards for his later film 'Mahjong', focuses at a different part of the taiwanese society. If in 'Mahjong' he tells the story through the darker gangsters-like fraction of the population, here he puts a light above a 'whiter' group of people, mid to upper class men and women trying to cope with the fast living in the money-driven, ever growing Taipei. And that's all the film's about, a window to some Taipei lives in particular and modern taiwan in general. A society as a result, not necessarily an effect, of the very old Confucian philosophy.

Although this movie is categorized as a comedy, don't expect to laugh out loud during this 90 or so minutes. The most you can get are some subtle smiles and a big one out of satisfaction five minutes after it ends, realizing what a great movie it was.

The comedy may come from some 'very interesting'(bizarre, weird, ultra square, whatever you call it) characters, which make a very interesting but incredibly believable premise. This is possible since the story circles around the showbiz, the 'funny' business.

Excellent performances add a hell lot of greatness to this movie. Well, I couldn't say more. You just have to watch it yourself to appreciate this wonderful film.

I couldn't relate to it, but it's a good movie.

[cinematwenties · 6/10 · 1 November 2023]

I don't like to see yelling people, so I was tired of watching only yelling and over-emotional people in this movie.

Why are the slovenly guys popular with women? At the same time, I thought a pretty women are taking advantage of them, so they are not popular...But even so, is it even worth using...? I don't know.

I feel like the characters are too attractive on the female side, though.

I couldn't really emphasize because I didn't have the experience of bumping of each other, leaving, and then repairing the relationship or making it even better than before.( I can't argue with people, and I don't try to repair a relationship once there is an emotional distance between us)

Dry comedy

[breadandhammers · 24 January 2024]

Directed by: Edward Yang Written by: Edward Yang, Hung Hung

SUMMARY

A dry comedy that follows the an ensemble of young people that are all dealing with finding meaning and fakeness in an a quickly modernizing Taiwan that is moving all too fast. The film centers on a misunderstanding between the most grounded characters Qiqi and Ming, and they are torn apart by a fight but come together at the end.

RATING

B+

This story is a dry, slice-of-life kind of story that moves at a slow pace and is a comedy that comes more from observation than outright slapstick. We are presented with many young yuppie characters in a speedy, modern Taiwan that are all dealing with fakeness in their own way. I thought the cinematography was so informative as Yang really stays in the wide with, usually, one shot - not in a showy "oner" way, but almost have events transpire like a play. This gives the film a very observational kind of feel. "These silly humans in a glass box experiment" kind of feel, which to me, teaches me the power of close-ups.