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The White Countess, 2005

The White Countess

English, French, Mandarin

UK, USA, Germany, China

Rating:6.5
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Profile of The White Countess

The White Countess can be described as touching, gloomy, and atmospheric. The plot revolves around , an unlikely couple, and falling in love. The main genres are drama, romance, and period. In terms of style, The White Countess is a melodrama. In approach, it is serious and realistic. It is located in China. The White Countess takes place in the 1930s.

Summary of The White Countess

The final entry in the canon of quietly rich tales from producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, THE WHITE COUNTESS enlists Kazuo Ishiguro (REMAINS OF THE DAY) and master cinematographer Christopher Doyle (CHUNGKING EXPRESS) to weave its sumptuous magic. The incomparable Natasha Richardson stars as Sofia, a former Russian countess who has fled with her dead husband's family to 1930s Shanghai, where she works in a seedy dance hall to earn the household's only income. But Sofia's dependents are less than grateful, turning up their noses at her fallen stature while remorselessly accepting her money. The blue blood runs thick in Sofia's house, with two other Redgraves, Vanessa and Lynn, flawlessly portraying deposed nobility; Sofia's daughter Katya (Madeleine Potter) is her only source of joy. Meanwhile, blind former diplomat Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) patronizes Shanghai's colorful drinking establishments, and dreams of opening one of his own. This he gains the courage to do when he meets Sofia; she saves him from being robbed one night, intercepting some thuggish types and seeing him to safety while also capturing his imagination. She becomes his muse, her history injecting Jackson's bar, the White Countess, with just the right note of tragedy and romance. Their relationship, however, is kept strictly on the level of a professional friendship. But as the tension between the Chinese and Japanese mounts towards war--catalyzed in part by Jackson's friend, the mysterious but powerful Mr. Matsuda (Hiroyuki Sanada)--Mr. Jackson is forced to accept that he cannot keep the world at bay inside the White Countess, and must instead deal directly with his feelings for Sofia.

Details

Language: English, French, Mandarin
Country: UK, USA, Germany, China
Release date: 30 October 2005
Runtime: 135 min

Cast and Crew

Ralph Fiennes as Todd Jackson in The White Countess
Ralph Fiennes

as Todd Jackson

Natasha Richardson as Countess Sofia Belinskya in The White Countess
Natasha Richardson

as Countess Sofia Belinskya

Photos

The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)
The White Countess (2005)

Clips

The White Countess
The White Countess: Home Video
The White Countess
The White Countess: Theatrical
The White Countess
The White Countess: Theatrical
The White Countess
The White Countess: Official Trailer

Critics Reviews

Rolling Stone
Richardson -- acting with her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, who plays her aunt, and her aunt Lynn Redgrave, who plays her mother -- finds the story's grieving heart. Fiennes is her match in soulful artistry.
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  • by: Peter Travers
Chicago Tribune
It's a very classy, finely made film, and, as one watches it -- particularly those last sweeping scenes of political turbulence and escape -- one feels both pain at their (Merchant-Ivory) parting and grateful for what, together, they achieved.
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  • by: Michael Wilmington
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