The White Countess 2005

      The setting of this film is Shanghai of 1936.  Sofia is a Russian Countess and she has been left destitute by the Revolution.  She is forced by her reduced circumstances to support herself and her family as a bar girl.  She forms a relationship with Jackson.  He is a blind former diplomat who opens an elegant bar with the name The White Countess.  They have a curious relationship and they are caught up in the fall of Shanghai to the Japanese invaders.

     There are strong performances from the cast and a Merchant Ivory production is always a good ride.  A gentleness on the outside and a blow up on the inside with one sided love.  There are complications involved with the family situations and with warring nations added into the mix.  I love the clothing, hairstyles and makeup of this time period.  The bar is calm with a storm raging outside. 5* (I really liked this movie)  

135 min, Drama directed by James Ivory and written by Kazuo Ishiguro with Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Madeleine Potter, Madeleine Daly, John Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Allan Corduner, Timur Engalyschev, Lucy Sutton Amir Marimon, Itay Eltahan, Dan Herzberg, Aislin McGuckin, Dong Fu Lin.

Note:  Imdb 6.6* out of 10* with 6,115 reviews, Roger Ebert 3*, Rotten Tomatoes 49% with 89 critics 50% with 20,233 audience scores, The Guardian 1* out of 5* Peter Bradshaw, Slant Magazine 2* out of 4* Joe McGovern, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 254 reviews.

Special Note:  The Countess, Natasha Richardson and her family also includes her real-life mother Vanessa and aunt Lynn Redgrave.  Ralph Fiennes observed a blind man’s average day with help from the Royal Society for the Blind.  He wore special glasses to simulate blindness before each take.  The racehorse scene uses stock footage taken from Seabiscuit 2003.  The real-life mother of Madeleine Daly in the role of Katya is Madeleine Potter who played the Countess’ sister-in-law Greshenka.  This is the final film directed by James Ivory and produced by his longtime business and romantic partner Ismail Merchant.  Ismail died shortly before the film’s premiere.