Pavilion of Women

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Pavilion of Women ★½ 2001 (R)

Dull adaptation of the 1946 Pearl S. Buck novel. As the Japanese prepare to invade Manchuria in 1938, Madame Wu (Luo), tired of her husband's brutality, decides to give him a peasant girl concubine, Chiuming (Ding), whom he promptly rejects. However, the pretty girl attracts the interest of the Wu's youngest son, Fengmo (Cho), just as Madame becomes interested in American missionary doctor, Father Andre (Dafoe), who runs the local orphanage. The film is in English and the Chinese actors do struggle with their dialogue which doesn't help the emotional balance of the production. 120m/C VHS, DVD . Luo Yan, Willem Dafoe, John Cho, Yi Ding, Shek Sau, Amy Hill, Anita Loo, Kate McGregor-Stewart; W: Luo Yan, Paul R. Collins; C: Hang-Seng Poon; M: Conrad Pope.