Parker Lewis
I loved Bu jian bu san, the English title being Be there or be square. Well, I'll be honest. When I first saw it (it was an in-flight movie) I didn't enjoy it. But when I watched it again, I grew to love it. It's a touching romance movie that has its ups and downs and you're never really sure if the couple will get together.Some reviewers object to the offensive and exaggerated portrayals of American (read white American) cruelty and depravity. Maybe. But let's not forget the American portrayals, offensive and exaggerated portrayals of Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, you name it) culture. Oh well.
pacdisciple
This is a nice movie but there are a lot of racial undertones in it. Every scene with an "American" depicts them as stupid or violent. It's true that many American films have given little respect to Asian people. It's true that the roles of Asian actors in American films are usually limited to "Chinese delivery boy" and "nerd".But Bu Jian Bu San seems to serve as a payback for all the injustice done to Asians in American film. It's interesting how the filmmakers pull it off. It's carried out in a way that's culturally Asian; indirect. The subliminal American stereotypes are intricately woven into the story line. One scene, you see the van pull away while the camera fixes its focus on an overweight white woman on a payphone. Another scene, the main characters are talking about how cops in America will shoot you and the girl replies in fear "why?!".Other than all of this crap, the story is nice.
zzmale
One of the reason this film so popular in China and among oversea Chinese was its direct criticism of the corruption in China, such as misuse of public funds: when the delegation came from China, the first thing was not to do something related to their mission, but to go to strip club to see naked women. This film openly criticized the corruption of this type, and although it might not be much to westerners, it was significant in China.
FountainGate
This isn't your typical romance movie - it deals with the ups and downs of a romance between two Chinese expatriates living in the USA. Unlike the typical Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie, the viewer is left guessing as to whether or not the two lovers will get together. A very touching ending.
AD
