Restless (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
Restless is a 1998 film directed by Jule Gilfillan and starring Catherine Kellner
and David Wu
. An American–Chinese co-production, it was screened at multiple film festivals in 1998 and 1999 before receiving a limited theatrical release in the United States in 2000 and a DVD release on December 4, 2001. The film focuses on the romance between Leah, a traveling translator estranged from her boyfriend, and Richard, a shiftless Chinese-American returning his grandfather's ashes to Beijing. It was generally panned by critics as clichéd and undelivered storylines, but did praise it for its scenery.
, China
, where she meets and develops a fixation on Master Sun Zhan (Geng Le), who teaches here a Chinese game called weiqi. When her relationship with Master Sun Zhan takes a turn for the worse, Leah decides to focus on getting revenge on Jeff. Richard (Wu) is a shiftless Chinese-American whose family sends him to Beijing with his grandfather's ashes. Eventually Leah and Richard's paths cross and a romance develops.
and Beijing Youth Film Studios, Restless was filmed in Beijing
at a cost of $
3 million. The dialog was shot primarily in English, with approximately 20% spoken in Chinese. Through the film's title and story, producer and co-writer Peter Shiao wanted to "capture something that's unique to [the college] generation ... the need to go on the road and explore yourself, in the process of exploring the world." While the film highlights the cultural differences between America and China, Shiao notes that he was careful not to overly politicize the dialog, wanting to avoid both being seen as too critical of the Chinese government, and of being too politically correct.
He wanted the film to "test the viability of the Chinese market". Being co-produced with an Chinese company and under a profit-sharing film, Shiao felt the work could be distributed in China without the restrictions placed on other American films. He also felt it would aid diplomacy between the two countries after changes in China's handling of intellectual properties. He notes, however, that Chinese authorities would first have to approve the film, which "push[es] the envelope". It took a year of negotiations over "script approvals, actor selections and crew" for the co-production to be approved, but Shiao felt it was important that the film be viewable to both Chinese and American audiences.
in November 1998. Additional screenings followed at Shown at Cinema Seattle/Women in Cinema Film Festival, held from January 29–February 4, 1999, the Cleveland International Film Festival
in March 1999, and at the New York Women's Film Festival on April 22, 1999.
The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States, premiering in Los Angeles on November 3, 2000. It was later aired in San Francisco starting on January 19, 2001, and in New York City on January 26, 2001. It was released on Region 1 DVD by Arrow Releasing on December 4, 2001.
It received generally negative reviews from American film critics. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average
score of 39 based on 10 reviews. Ken Eisner of Variety
thought the performances and script were good, and that the film would appeal to Mandarin-speaking areas of the world. Laura Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel drew comparisons to Sex and the City
, but called Restless "less smart and less overtly sexual". She also called the film clichéd and noted that its parallel storylines expressed redundant themes. Dennis Lim of The Village Voice
noted that Gilfillan relies on "rote culture-clash pratfalls" and fails to deliver on any of its promised storylines. Several critics noted the good use of Beijing scenery, and that Restless exposes some settings in Beijing that viewers might not otherwise see.
Catherine Kellner
Catherine Kellner is an American character actress.Kellner was born in Manhattan, New York to a psychologist/photographer mother and a squash player/Greek classics scholar father who was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant...
and David Wu
David Wu (entertainer)
David Wu , also known by the nickname Wu-Man, is a well-known Chinese American film actor, TV personality and formerly MTV Asia and Channel V video jockey. He attended the University of Washington...
. An American–Chinese co-production, it was screened at multiple film festivals in 1998 and 1999 before receiving a limited theatrical release in the United States in 2000 and a DVD release on December 4, 2001. The film focuses on the romance between Leah, a traveling translator estranged from her boyfriend, and Richard, a shiftless Chinese-American returning his grandfather's ashes to Beijing. It was generally panned by critics as clichéd and undelivered storylines, but did praise it for its scenery.
Plot
Leah (Kellner) is a translator who is traveling international cities in search of romance and closure with her estranged boyfriend Jeff. She eventually settles in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where she meets and develops a fixation on Master Sun Zhan (Geng Le), who teaches here a Chinese game called weiqi. When her relationship with Master Sun Zhan takes a turn for the worse, Leah decides to focus on getting revenge on Jeff. Richard (Wu) is a shiftless Chinese-American whose family sends him to Beijing with his grandfather's ashes. Eventually Leah and Richard's paths cross and a romance develops.
Cast
- Catherine KellnerCatherine KellnerCatherine Kellner is an American character actress.Kellner was born in Manhattan, New York to a psychologist/photographer mother and a squash player/Greek classics scholar father who was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant...
- Leah Quinn - Elizabeth SungElizabeth SungElizabeth Fong Sung is an Asian American actress and film director.From 1994-96, she appeared on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless as Luan Volien....
- Richard's mother - David WuDavid Wu (entertainer)David Wu , also known by the nickname Wu-Man, is a well-known Chinese American film actor, TV personality and formerly MTV Asia and Channel V video jockey. He attended the University of Washington...
- Richard Kao - Sarita ChoudhurySarita ChoudhurySarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an English actress.-Biography:Choudhury was born in Blackheath, London, England, of half Bengali-Indian and half English descent. Her parents, Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist, and Julia Patricia Spring, married in 1964 in Lucea, Jamaica...
- Jane Talwani - Hu XinHu XinHu Xin is a Chinese Australian actress.- Career :There is not known so much about her personal life. She gave her debut in the German TV-Epic Hotel Shanghai, together with Agnieszka Wagner. Shortly after that, she acted in a minor role in the Russian movie Volshebnyy portret...
- Xiaoming - Geng Le - Master Sun Zhan
- Josh LucasJosh LucasJosh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
- Jeff Hollingsworth - Shiang-chyi Chen - Lin Qing Qing
- Matthew Faber - Ben Gold
- Rachel DeWoskin - Monica
Production
Co-produced by Celestial PicturesCelestial Pictures
Celestial Pictures is a diversified entertainment company focusing on Asian-language film and television content including production, aggregation, distribution and the operation of TV channels....
and Beijing Youth Film Studios, Restless was filmed in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
at a cost of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3 million. The dialog was shot primarily in English, with approximately 20% spoken in Chinese. Through the film's title and story, producer and co-writer Peter Shiao wanted to "capture something that's unique to [the college] generation ... the need to go on the road and explore yourself, in the process of exploring the world." While the film highlights the cultural differences between America and China, Shiao notes that he was careful not to overly politicize the dialog, wanting to avoid both being seen as too critical of the Chinese government, and of being too politically correct.
He wanted the film to "test the viability of the Chinese market". Being co-produced with an Chinese company and under a profit-sharing film, Shiao felt the work could be distributed in China without the restrictions placed on other American films. He also felt it would aid diplomacy between the two countries after changes in China's handling of intellectual properties. He notes, however, that Chinese authorities would first have to approve the film, which "push[es] the envelope". It took a year of negotiations over "script approvals, actor selections and crew" for the co-production to be approved, but Shiao felt it was important that the film be viewable to both Chinese and American audiences.
Distribution
Restless was first screened at the Hawaii International Film FestivalHawaii International Film Festival
The Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...
in November 1998. Additional screenings followed at Shown at Cinema Seattle/Women in Cinema Film Festival, held from January 29–February 4, 1999, the Cleveland International Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
The Cleveland International Film Festival, first held in 1977, is the largest film festival in Ohio. The 2010 festival featured over 300 films. Since 1991 the festival has been held at Tower City Cinemas in downtown Cleveland.-Roxanne T...
in March 1999, and at the New York Women's Film Festival on April 22, 1999.
The film received a limited theatrical release in the United States, premiering in Los Angeles on November 3, 2000. It was later aired in San Francisco starting on January 19, 2001, and in New York City on January 26, 2001. It was released on Region 1 DVD by Arrow Releasing on December 4, 2001.
Reception
By the end of its theatrical run on February 8, 2001, Restless had a gross earnings of $18,154 in the United States.It received generally negative reviews from American film critics. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 39 based on 10 reviews. Ken Eisner of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
thought the performances and script were good, and that the film would appeal to Mandarin-speaking areas of the world. Laura Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel drew comparisons to Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, but called Restless "less smart and less overtly sexual". She also called the film clichéd and noted that its parallel storylines expressed redundant themes. Dennis Lim of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
noted that Gilfillan relies on "rote culture-clash pratfalls" and fails to deliver on any of its promised storylines. Several critics noted the good use of Beijing scenery, and that Restless exposes some settings in Beijing that viewers might not otherwise see.