The Painted Veil (2006)

Director:

John Curran

Writers (WGA):

Ron Nyswaner (screenplay)
W. Somerset Maugham (novel)

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people

Plot:

A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Cholera | China | Epidemic | Doctor

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Catherine An	...	Hostess
Bin Li	...	Te-Ming
Bin Wu	...	Student 1
Alan David	...	Mr. Garstin
Marie-Laure Descoureaux	...	Sister St. Joseph
Sally Hawkins	...	Mary
Juliet Howland	...	Dorothy Townsend
Toby Jones	...	Waddington
Lorraine Laurence	...	Sister Maryse
Johnny Lee	...	Angry Chinese Man
Li Feng	...	Sung Ching
Gesang Meiduo	...	Amah
Edward Norton	...	Walter Fane
Yin Qing	...	Student 2
Ian Renwick	...	Geoffrey Denison (as Ian Rennick)

Also Known As:

Mian sha (China: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some mature sexual situations, partial nudity, disturbing images and brief drug content.

Runtime:

USA:125 min | Argentina:125 min

Country:

China | USA

Language:

Mandarin | English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11 | Ireland:12A | Hong Kong:IIA | Denmark:11 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | UK:12A (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #42973) | France:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Beijing Film Studio, Beijing, China

Company:

WIP

Trivia:

The film was originally being developed by Yari's Stratus Film. When Stratus executive, Mark Gill, left for Warner Independent, he brought this project with him.

Goofs:

Plot holes: In the time and part of the world that the film is set in, racial and ethnic bigotry was overt, with an even greater emphasis placed on one's "purity". Those who were ethnically or racially "impure" were doomed to a life of utter misery and poverty at the very bottom of the social order. In short, there is no way that the film's Yu would have been mustered into the army, much less, become an officer.

Quotes:

Colonel Yu: I think China belongs to the Chinese people, but the rest of the world seems to disagree.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-01-06)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Gnossienne No. 1

I saw this movie and LOVED it!

My girlfriend and I went to a free movie screening - you know, the kind they pass out flyers for. In our case, it was an offer from a survey website.

I can't say enough about how much we loved this film. The cinematography was absolutely stunning. The story was compelling and heart-wrenching and masterfully portrayed by both Ed Norton and Naomi Watts.

I was a little leery at first when I realized that Ed Norton was going to have to use an English accent throughout the film. But to my untrained ear, it sounded very authentic and did not detract from the film at all.

My friend and I have been looking out for The Painted Veil ever since we saw it. Meanwhile, it's already almost November and we haven't heard anything about its release.

We both strongly recommend that you see this movie when it comes out. You won't be disappointed. (By the way, there were some men in the audience and they also thought it was excellent, so it's not necessarily a chick flick.")