Big Shot's Funeral : Movie Review


"Big Shot's Funeral" is of mild interest as a curiosity, but not as entertainment. It's a mainland Chinese film starring Donald Sutherland, Hong Kong actress Rosamund Kwan and mainland actor Ge You, in what seems to be a satire of the advertising world. By American standards, the satire is about 50 years behind the times, but even accounting for cultural differences, the comedy is limp and the storytelling so inept as to provoke amazement.

Sutherland plays an American director in Beijing filming a remake of "The Last Emperor" when he suddenly finds himself in a state of creative paralysis. Soon he suffers a life-threatening physical breakdown. Before collapsing, he tells a Chinese cameraman that he wants "a comedy funeral," and the rest of the movie involves said cameraman (Ge You) arranging for the funeral, while the director clings to life in a hospital.

See sfgate.com for full review.

Author : Mick LaSalle