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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 14555
Released: May 16, 2006 |
| Our Price: $6.68 |
| Used Price: $3.02 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
IN 1930'S SHANGHAI, A BLIND AMERICAN DIPLOMAT DEVELOPS AFATEFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH AN EXILED RUSSIAN COUNTESS, WHICH DRAMATICALLY ALTERS BOTH THEIR LIVES.
Description of The White Countess:
A stellar cast and an intricate script enhance this last film from the elegant producing/directing team of Merchant/Ivory (creators of A Room with a View, Howards End, and more). Set in 1930s Shanghai, "The White Countess" is both Sofia (Natasha Richardson, Patty Hearst), a fallen member of the Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat named Jackson (Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient), who asks Sofia to be the centerpiece of the world he wants to create. Sofia accepts to escape a life of prostitution, but Jackson's world proves both fragile and volatile--as does Shanghai itself, on the verge of an invasion from Japan. The script, by novelist Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day), is fundamentally about culture--what it is, how it's formed, how it shapes and is shaped by human desires--but to describe it thus makes the movie sound academic. Instead, it's lush and subtle, fluid in how it weaves together two people deeply wounded by past losses, who gradually come to embrace what the immediate moment has to offer. Fiennes and Richardson are the movie's core, but surrounding them is a stunning supporting cast that includes Vanessa Redgrave (Mrs. Dalloway, Julia), Lynn Redgrave (Shine), Allan Corduner (Topsy-Turvy), and Hiroyuki Sanada (Ringu). --Bret Fetzer
The White Countess Reviews:
Natasha and Ralph make this bearable 
2009-09-25 - The story of "The White Countess" is pretty simple. View the life of a former Russian Countess, Sofia Belinskya (Natasha Richardson), in Shanghai, working as a taxi dancer (which carries the connotation of a "Lady of the Night", if you catch my meaning) just before the onset of World War II. During her humiliating stay in Shanghai, she gets to meet Mr. Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes), a blind former diplomat whose biggest desire is now to create the best bar in Shanghai. The two meet at the place where she works and, as they say, the rest is history.
Firstly, Natasha is gorgeous as the Russian countess. She sells the part hook, line and sinker. She holds herself well, shows her devotion and care for her daughter beautifully, and has a gorgeous relationship with Mr. Jackson. Stunning, and I love listening to her voice.
Ralph Fiennes also does a remarkable job as Mr. Jackson. It is fun to watch him interact with Natasha/Sofia, to see their subtle growing feelings for each other, and to learn of his accident, of his loss. When the two are together on screen...magic.
The scenery is absolutely gorgeous! Everywhere you go, there is so much to look at, you just want to gobble it up! The clubs, the streets, the docks, the shanty homes...all well done and believable.
But overall the story is...well, boring. Time goes by...and nothing happens. People meet in bars...and talk...and nothing happens. Mr. Jackson starts his club halfway through the film...but nothing happens (it is shown a year later fully established). "The White Countess" is so slow and boring, several times I was tempted to abandon it and not finish. But I thought I'd give it a chance.
It picks up at the end. The ending is bittersweet, sad, and yet not. But I felt sadder that it takes so long to get to the meat of the film, to get anything of substance. You have to wade through an hour and a half of random talkings, meetings, and other senseless gibberish that doesn't seem to add to anything to get to the end. And then that's it. No more. Those two hours are gone and are certainly not worth the way the film ended.
People who like Natasha Richardson and Ralph Fiennes might like this, as they both feature prominently in the film. But I wouldn't hold out on it. 3 stars.
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*C.S. Light*
A beautiful love story in a torn world 
2009-04-23 - Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson play an American and a exiled White Russian countess. Fiennes is one of the great actors of our times
after The English Patient (Miramax Collector's Edition).
Here as a blind man he shows more heart than many sighted persons.Love and a second family take him by surprise along with the Japanese invasion.
I really like this film; it has a quality of beauty many films lack.
DVD The White Countess 
2008-12-21 - Wonderful movie and great acting. Very interesting look into life in China in those days.
How Far Would You Go?
2008-08-20 - "The White Countess" was Ismail Merchant's last film. The DVD has a nice tribute that combines various clips from interviews with this Indian producer and shows snippets of films he produced. Director James Ivory who worked as part of Merchant/Ivory revealingly adds, "I don't know what this film is about. Ask me in 10 years if I'm still around."
Ralph Fiennes who has two Oscar nominations for "Schindler's List" in 1993 & "The English Patient" in 1996 plays the blind diplomat Todd Jackson. One of the best performances comes from Japan's master actor Hiroyuki Sanada. Those of us who watched him in The Twilight Samurai and The Last Samurai (Two-Disc Special Edition) can only sit in awe as he deftly plays Matsuda who scouts out the Japanese invasion of Shanghai.
The film was shot on location in Shanghai and is visually stunning. I recently read Pearl S. Buck's book THE PATRIOT which helped give me an appreciation of the era. Natasha Richardson who recently also starred with her mother Vanessa Redgrave in Evening and was a favorite of mine as the wealthy difficult woman in Maid in Manhattan does a deft job of combining the elegance of European aristocracy with the fallen desperation of a refugee. Hers is an astounding performance filled with contradictions and conflicting emotions.
Lynn Redgrave plays Olga who dominates the family and ultimately betrays Sophia. Vanessa Redgrave plays Aunt Sara. While Vanessa has fairly little to do in the film, she does it with grace and style. Alan Corduner who was in De-Lovely plays the tailor who lives downstairs and helps the family. Lee Pace from TV's "Pushing Daisies" has a supporting role as piano player Crane in the film. Overall, I liked the film. It embodies the period with an "impressionistic" stroke, as James Ivory comments, and shows us very real people during difficult times. Sophia answers the question about how far she would go to protect her family. Enjoy!
Remarkable Redgraves
2008-06-09 - Parts of this movie I really loved, but, for the first three quarters of it, I was edgy as it was SO slow. Set in Shanghai, just prior to its occupation by Japan, White Russian emigres are living in near poverty and starvation. A Russian Prince, Princess and several Countesses, all members of the same family, are living in two tiny rooms. Countess Sophia, daughter-in-law of the sister of the Princess, supports the whole family by working nightly as a dance hall hostess for a pittance which they eagerly accept, while despising her for doing such work. Sophia has a young daughter who is being raised to be unaware of her mothers sacrifice. Sophia is then engaged by a blind former diplomat to be the head hostess at his new club which improves their lot financially. The leading roles are played by Natasha Richardson, her mother Vanessa Redgrave, her aunt Lynn Redgrave and Ralph Fiennes as the diplomat. The photography is vey atmospheric and always tinged with yellow to give a feeling of the orient while jazz music of that era plays a background for the drama. For all of its beauty, the movie was VERY slow and only picked up pace towards the end. I feel that it's realy one for the cinema buffs who will appreciate the lighting and pace, but if you tend to get fidgety during a slow movie, this will drive you mad!
