I am not Madame Bovary (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Feng Xiaogang
	Actors: Fan Bingbing
	Country: CN
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 25.04.2017, Teatro Nuovo, FEFF2017, Mandarin with English subtitle
Synopsis: Li Xuelian (Bingbing) and her husband fake a divorce to get an apartment in the city. But once achieved, he abandons her. She starts struggling with the Chinese administration to bring her husband back. On her way in the different instances she meets all the levels of administrative personal and many people to talk about her melodrama.
Review: The story depicts actually quite common daily-life. The originality is that the hero is a woman and that she has to go over Herculean tasks versus different levels of the Chinese local and regional administrations. Thanks to the adventures of Li I got a cultural insight in the mysterious Chinese society. And as in many other countries, the local and regional administrations are a bit corrupt, are a bit conservative, are a bit clientelist, a bit slow.  Apart from this sharp critic, we see also a situation due to national laws. In order to get an apartment, the couple fake a divorce! This is a misunderstanding not only within the couple but also between the couple and the administration. Beyond the drama of her situations, it remains also funny.  The style of story-telling is very slow and without rhythm and many plots are brought into image in a documentary imagery and a cold light. This makes the suspense and esthetic not so interesting. On the other side, I loved the sceneries. The streets in the big city, the kind of hotel in the country side, the administrative buildings. All seemed very artificial because of the very cold light, and also very authentic because of their complexity and their composition. Feng Xiaogang made the poster in many styles. I put here a few of them I like. And you can see this authenticity in the posters.
Rating: 5 /10