Console
best movie i've ever seen.
TrueHello
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
JelenaG890
Thank goodness the standards for Academy Award nominations have been set a bit higher in the years since this movie was made. If this film were made today, no way it would have been anywhere near the Academy Awards, especially not an acting award. The scenery in this film is lovely, and that is the sole reason for my 2 star rating. Many of the lines in the movie are absurd, and in my opinion, the two actors have zero chemistry, but when you read the trivia section of this film on IMDb it makes sense why, since they apparently could not stand each other. I'm not sure why the Jennifer Jones' character feels the need to keep saying she is Eurasian every five minutes. Maybe the writers thought someone would forget if she didn't keep saying the same lines constantly? I like William Holden, but his performance was nothing spectacular in this film, and I didn't care very much for his character either.I love old films from the 1930s to the 1950s, but this is one you should not even bother seeing next time TCM airs it. Other than the lovely scenery, there is really no reason to see it today. I'm not even a huge fan of the song of the same name.
Beth Cole
I'll settle on a "so bad it's good" rating of five stars. Zero as a romantic tear-jerker, but ten for the polar opposite: this film afforded the heartiest belly laughs I've had in a while.Tellingly, indulgent reviews seem to use the word "aspirations" a lot, as in "this film had aspirations of exploring inter-racial relationships".So just dismiss the overblown affectations and have fun roasting the contraction-free English, stilted romance (the leads hated each other and it shows), clunky foreshadowing, and cornball (rice ball?) dialogue. Best enjoyed in the company of a similarly lampoon-minded friend.
Movie Critic
Star enhanced boiler plate love tragedy 1 extra star for location (Hong Kong-1955)The music is too overpowering like in Spanish telenovelas or silent pictures---the theme was still playing in my head a week later.However the music at least took some talent and effort to write, I cannot confer equal compliments on the screen play--Not because it was bad there just wasn't any thing to it. Middle aged news correspondent Holden (38) meets middle aged (Eurasian eeek!!!) woman doctor Jones 37. They take in a few touristic sites together and over the period of ? a week apparently fall deeply in love (there is no development of this). But he is called to Korea (takes place 1949) and is blown up by a bomb!There is a subplot of racism--Jones loses her job because of her hanky panky with Holden--- a PC element it needed for Oscar nomination. Oscars generally require 3 things = good old boy's doing PC gimmicks--in various quantities of each. This one had all 3 Holden aging star---Racism---Filmed in Hong Kong for an added gimmick Jones is a Eurasian with tons of eye makeup.It barely deserves a 5 ... the site shooting is all that kept it clinging and and the song isn't bad just too much with O story.DO NOT RECOMMEND... unless your only alternative is a Jacquiline Suzanne novel.
ebiros2
Some movies just stands up to the changes of time. This is one such movie. Why it never gets old is because it's a quality production, with good settings and story.I really love this movie, although the story is kind of simple, the situation is not. Jennifer Jones plays an Eurasian woman from Chung King, and William Holden a reporter from Singapore. Two people from a very different background meet in one of the most international city in the world - Hong Kong - where old Chinese culture and new capitalism meet. Now that would be confusing to anyone who's trying to sort out their relationship.The movie combines all these elements well, and exotic Hong Kong location adds to the beauty of the story. It's interesting to see Hong Kong in 1955, comparing it to Hong Kong of today. Some places looks similar like the Victoria Peak (although it has no high rise buildings), but Aberdeen was much less crowded.Music score is a real tear jerker.If you like romance, this is one of the best movie you can watch.
