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Submitted by: Peas and Carrots Starring: Ge You, Gong Li Directed by: Zhang Yimou Genre: Drama, Foreign (Hong Kong) Being the shallow person that he is, Pea went to the theater (ALONE!) for the "sole" purpose of watching Gong Li. Gong Li was great, as expected, but it was Ge You�s performace that made Pea watch this film over and over again (ranked third on Pea�s most viewed movies, behind Forrest Gump and the various Bruce Lee movies). Its interesting to note that To Live and Forrest Gump does resemble each other in taking the audience through the important periods and events of China and US, respectively; they differ, however, in the fact that Forrest experiences good fortune while this family faces heartbreaking disasters. In To Live, the live of a family was chronicled as China went from young republic to corrupt warlords, and then finally to communism. At the same time, we are able to understand the impact of each "period" on the Chinese people through the family�s involvement in the civil war, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the post-Mao era. Ge You�s character began as a wealthy landlord with a serious gambling problem. His wife (Gong Li) couldn�t convince him to stop his addiction, then decided to leave, taking their two children with her. Soon after, Ge You lost his family mansion, and he went out on the streets with his mom. Ge did wake up, however, and after he started to work like a man, his wife returned, and they were a family again. As the family went through one misfortune after another, what they never gave up, was their will "To Live." Best quote: "Young chicks grow up to be geese, geese then grow up to be goats, and goats then grow up to be cows. After that, our lives will get better and better." Warning to those with strong sentimental tendencies, yes you will shed tears, many, many times. The two girls in front of me in the theater were hysterical; they totally lost control of their tear ducts. One final note, we feel the movie should have been more appropriately titled "Living," but, since we have no real power, we will just let that slide. 5 Go�s, obviously. 
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