Fiction

Wo bu shi Pan Jin Lian (OmeU)

I Am Not Madame Bovary
Feng Xiaogang
China 2016
139 min
V'17

The story of provincial café proprietor Li Xuelian begins as a matter of real estate. In order to acquire the apartment they desire, Xuelian and her truck-driver husband conspire to get a “fake” divorce. Once the divorce goes through, however, Xuelian is shocked to discover that her husband has moved into the apartment with another woman. Thus begins Xuelian’s mission to have her extant divorce annulled so she can remarry her husband and then divorce him “for real.” It is a question of principle – which is lost on the local magistrate.
Xuelian travels to Beijing to take her case to a higher court, but there too she is dismissed. Years pass, and Xuelian continues to sue the state for failing to recognize her demands. She accosts justices in the streets, hurls herself in front of their cars, and even seeks accomplices to help her kill them all.
Feng is known for his politically astute comedies. His new film is a cleverly comic commentary on Chinese bureaucracy and male fear of single-minded women. Xuelian may not be wealthy or educated, but nothing can stop her from pursuing what she believes she is owed. (Giovanna Fulvi)

Credits
  • Fan Bingbing - Li Xuelian
  • Dong Chengpeng - Judge Wang
  • Yin Yuanzhang - Gu Daxing
  • Feng Enhe - Chief Justice
  • Zhao Yi - Police Chief
  • Liu Zhenyun
  • based on his book «I Did Not Kill My Husband»
  • Luo Pan
  • William Chang Suk Ping
  • Du Wei
  • Feng Xiaogang
Beijing Sparkle Roll Media, Huayi Brothers Media, Beijing Skywheel Entertainment, Huayi Brothers Pictures, Zhejiang Dongyang Mayla Media

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