Hai yang tian tang

When "Ocean Heaven" was released, it got great critical acclaim and positive word of mouth. I finally got to watch it, and it surpassed my expectations. There are a few films depicting autistic characters that I have watched, and this film has the most accurate and consistently convincing portrayal. Either the guy playing Dafu is really autistic, or he is a really good actor. The story tells how the father prepares his autistic soon to live independently. The father's unconditional love for his child, his unlimited patience and unrelenting care is very respectable. Anyone will be touched by him. The film also depicts the lives of ordinary citizens, with real problems, adding realism to the touching plot. I hope this great film will find a wider audience, because it deserves to be seen and appreciated.

I always been a great fan of jet Li and the martial arts cinema and this film just prove something that I knew for long time, how great actors some martial artists can be. but beyond the amazing performance of jet Li, this movie is a beautiful story about a terminally ill father and his autistic son, and how the real love is beyond everything even death...the performance of the rest of the cast is perfect,specially wen zhang, who plays jet Li's son, his performance is brilliant, this guy is going to be a star.All the cast shines on this beautiful tale.this is the kind of stories that make cinema so great and in my opinion this film is much better movie than any of the nominees to best picture movie of this year...

This has been touted as Jet Li's first starring non-action drama. While that is interesting it is probably the wrong approach to think of Li's past roles before watching this movie. This is a simple bittersweet realist drama that is a moving cinematic experience because of the earnest performances. Jet Li's minimalist characterization is the right approach for his character Wang Xuechang and quite different than his action persona. The director describes Li's character as "like a man who has become a mother." He is described by others in the film as a good man, which he is. He is doing the best he can with this situation with dogged determination, not with brilliance or luck, but perseverance. Wang is a maintenance work for an aquarium and had lost his wife fourteen years ago. He also has complete responsibility of his son Dafu (Wen Zhang: also acts with Jet Li in the later The Sorcerer and the White Snake) who suffers from severe autism. Wang is also dying from liver cancer and is given around three months to live.

The film stars off inauspiciously. Wang takes his son out to the ocean to drown him and himself. This does not work because the son had secretly untied the rope and the son has one special gift in his mostly closed world -- he is an excellent swimmer. So Wang goes back to his home and work determined to leave his son prepared for his passing while his pains get worse by the day. At first he tries to find a place where he can leave his son. But either the institutions are for kids or seniors which the 22-year old does not qualify. While this proves difficult he also spends time going over simple behaviors like riding the bus, cooking eggs, and spending money so he can have some semblance of a normal life.

While Dafu spends his days swimming in the aquarium tanks he befriends a traveling circus clown and juggler Ling Ling (Kwai Lun-mei: also acts with Jet Li in the later Flying Swords of Dragon Gate; she also sings a song for the film) who also gives Dafu someone else to trust. But given that her life is nomadic and that Wang's life is slowly ebbing away you are left to wonder what is going to happen to Dafu.

This is Xue Xiao-lu's first directed film. Her only other screen credit is for the writing on Chen Kaige's Together. Xue has stated she has worked on this project fourteen years, referring to her volunteer work with autistic children, and by the time the screenplay got to be read by Jet Li it was in its seventh draft. What is impressive is the crew that was put together for this film. For the cinematography you have Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Hero), for the music you have Joe Hisaishi (Kikujiro, Spirited Away) and production design by Yee Chung-man (Tokyo Raiders, Shaolin). Having this triumvirate is quite unbelievable considering the modest budget. Their collaboration helps the film immensely in sound and image.

This is a beautiful looking film. The cinematography and production design is dominated by blue hues throughout as a constant allegory to the water in their lives. The acting from Li and especially Wen is quite good. There relationship is quite touching as is the relationship between Dafu and Ling Ling. That one is underplayed, but I think that is the right decision for this film. So much of the success of this film depends on how Wen portrays his character's interactions with these two. There are no magical solutions to the familial issues, just a lot of hard work from caring people. There are no real antagonists in this story. Some might consider this a negative, but the movie does not need it. I am glad, because Dafu's life is difficult enough and the movie is emotional enough. I had to watch it in two sittings because the first half depressed me quite a bit. I do recommend this movie and hope those who are on the fence about watching this to give it a watch. I think it is quite a good film.

There are certainly some parallels between this film and Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung's Heart of Dragon. Both films were dramatic roles dealing with a caretaker having no choice in dealing with a mentally challenged relative and both were popular action stars getting a chance to expand their acting repertoire. This film also reminds me of Zhang Yang's underrated Shower in which the relationship between Er Ming and Liu parallels that of the two main characters here. There is also a water motif present in both films though I think the allegory is stronger in Shower and more matter-of-fact here. I mention these films because both are interesting and different approaches to similar matter. Shower is also one of my favorite films.

I saw this on the R1 Well Go DVD release. But there is also a R1 BD/DVD combo available from Well Go which should have the same extras. For the extras there is an 11 minute "Making of" extra which has interviews from Jet Li, Kwai Lun-mei, Wen Zhang and Xue Xiao-lu and inserted footage from the movie. It has some good information, but is ultimately too short. There is a trailer and a teaser for the movie as well. The start-up trailers (not accessible by menu) are 1911, The Stool Pigeon and The Man From Nowhere. I found a mistake in the description on the back cover which uses names for the two characters (Sam and David) that appear nowhere in the film and there is no English dub so I am not sure where they came from. The two dubs for this are a Mandarin 5.1 Dolby and a Mandarin Dolby Stereo. There is also an R3 Edko release of this film that came out in 2010.

Ocean Heaven is an intriguing movie for several reasons: 1. It portrays a young man with autism, who also shows emotion; 2. We see a sanitized view of modern day China and how disability is supposedly supported by average citizens and the state; and, 3. A terminally ill father struggles with finding support for his son.

Each theme is a separate review I'm sure. I really did not want to like this film, and as a previous reviewer suggested, I was also prepared to turn my nose up after the opening dramatic scene. But I kept going with it. I'm glad I did.

The actor who portrays the young man with autism is actually quite believable. He gets the gestures just right, the mannerisms, the vocalizations,and the expressions. Having known people with autism--all across the spectrum--for thirty years now, I was amazed at how nuanced this performance was, and it did not fall into the mistakes of stereotypical portrayals, such as Rain Man. It worked. His emotional side, based on fear of the unknown, was handled well, as was his father's reactions to him.

The setting for the movie was another aspect of the film that captivated my interest. It is no secret that having a disability in Chinese society is complicated; there is stigma attached to the family, not much support in terms of formal schooling, and even less for social services in the community. It is not discussed, and rarely revealed. Most newborns with obvious disabilities (such as Down syndrome) are routinely abandoned in the hospital and left to die. So why this sudden sympathetic portrayal? Did China undergo a transformation after hosting the Special Olympics in 2008? They did, after all, implement a national policy of "be nice to people with disabilities" in preparation for those games.

The natural supports for Dafu (son) were all around him, if his father would only look. The character of "auntie Chai" totally got Dafu. She could have enlisted his work ethic in her store. He already had a "job" swimming with the fish and sea mammals at the aquarium. We saw scenes of him being one with the water and marine life. And so on. But the film takes us on a trip to see Chinese institutional care, segregated schools, and missed opportunities for true inclusion in his community.

There are side stories that don't advance the film, such as the circus troupe and the film star clown who juggles. The metaphor of the circus outsiders (some would also equate them to freak shows) accepting Dafu is an old cliché that wasn't necessary. Another side story that is not developed deals with his deceased Mother, who apparently could not handle the truth of her son's autism. There are veiled references to her untimely death as a suicide.

Now the story has legs. The real issue that is presented is that it is understandable, and even acceptable for a parent to intentionally kill their child with a disability. Pity the poor parents, who have to endure the shame and burden of a child with a disability. This is how most people really feel. In fact, there is societal support for parents who murder their child out of pity. In Canada there is a famous case of Robert Latimer, a father from Saskatchewan, who murdered his daughter Tracy because she had cerebral palsy. Most Canadians thought Mr. Latimer a sympathetic figure, not deserving jail time for his crime. There are numerous instances of children and adults with autism who end up dead at the hands of a caregiver or family member. Check out the website notdeadyet for further reporting on this subject.

So the opening scene, where Dafu chooses life for himself and his father is quite dramatic, and likely the best evidence of Dafu's intellect, emotion, and will to live. It is also a tribute to all those other people with disabilities who do not get to choose how their life unfolds, whether in China, or anywhere else.

It is hard to go from primarily western films to this, especially when so much of my context for asian cinema is in the action and kung fu or shootouts. Add to this learning that a woman director's first film, made it surprising because the film is so masterful. Of course she was bringing the most powerhouse collaborators from some of the best films of all time, the pedigree comes off like a wishlist of a film student, if asked, what would your dream movie would be like... Joe Hisaishi... Christopher Doyle... and a world renowned star subverting their whole persona. The thing is, nine times out of ten this is going to be a recipe for a disaster, and the film will fail. It will be too obvious, or too boring.

Why it works is because the tone is just right, it is both understated but stylized, the performances hits the exact right notes start to finish. I found Ocean Heaven refreshing in a timeless way, that even when I view acclaimed arthouse films of today from international directors, you know those ones that win all the awards, I do not really connect to them. They're too self-important, political, or cliche. Point is, it is difficult to achieve the right mix of elements in the voodoo process of filmmaking, something this film achieves.

That brings me to the reason everyone would talk about this, that is Jet Li's performance. If you have seen the dozens of films with him doing Kung Fu, you would not realize what a tremendous actor he is. It is unbelievable his most impressive feat is not the karate, but playing a father. He displays so much sensitivity and resilience at once. He is able to evoke a cinematic father that is impossible not to think about your own. Every gesture is elevating this movie into something far more meaningful than its modest tone. You could not imagine the movie with any other actor than Li and his son, played by Zhang When. The performance is like a masterpiece painting, from a source you didn't realize was there all along, you go of course, he is a man obsessed with excellence. I could not view his other films the same way after this, so I give props to the director for seeing what no one else saw.