RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Zhou Yu's Train
Zhou Yu's Train

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Zhou Yu's Train (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
41 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:56

Fresh:23

Rotten:33

Average Rating:5.3/10

Consensus: Despite some beautifully framed images, this mood piece, told in a fractured fashion, is confounding and, ultimately, unsatisfying.

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Gong Li, star of such epics as RAISE THE RED LANTERN and JU DOU, is unforgettable as the title character in ZHOU YU'S TRAIN, the poignant story of an unusual love triangle set in the Chinese... Gong Li, star of such epics as RAISE THE RED LANTERN and JU DOU, is unforgettable as the title character in ZHOU YU'S TRAIN, the poignant story of an unusual love triangle set in the Chinese countryside. Zhou Yu is an impulsive woman who makes porcelain pottery for a living, painting each one exquisitely. After meeting shy poet Cheng Ching (Tony Leung Ka Fai), she starts visiting him, taking a two-hour train ride twice a week from Sanming to Chongyang. On that train she is pursued by Dr. Zhang (Honglei Sun), a country vet who is intrigued by both her and a porcelain vase she has made. While Cheng Ching remains tentative, unable to completely commit to her and his poetry, Zhou Yu's burgeoning friendship with Zhang threatens to turn into something more. Cowriter/coproducer/director Sun Zhou has crafted a beautifully alluring film in ZHOU YU'S TRAIN, set among the lush green countryside of China. One particularly gorgeous scene involves Zhang and Zhou Yu searching for a lake that Cheng Ching has compared to his lover. The complex story is told in nonlinear fashion, with scenes from the past converging onto the present in repeated ways that shed new light on the characters and their relationships. Gong Li is outstanding in a dual role, her eyes dancing across every scene. In only his second film, Honglei Sun shows remarkable depth. Wang Yu's stunning cinematography and Shigeru Umebayashi's haunting score add yet more wonder to this softly bittersweet film. [More]

Starring: Gong Li, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Sun Honglei, Chen Quing

Starring: Gong Li, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Sun Honglei, Chen Quing

Director: Sun Zhou

Director: Sun Zhou
Screenwriter: Sun Zhou, Cun Bei, Zhang Mei
Producer: Huang Jianxin, Sun Zhou, Bill Kong
Composer: Shigeru Umebayashi
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Zhou Yu's Train Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Zhou Yu's Train

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle

...lovely and slight

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/29/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

See Zhou Yu’s Train for the interesting Chinese scenery, or see it to feast your eyes on the always beautiful Gong Li, but don’t see it for the drama

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/27/04
Don Willmott
Don Willmott
Filmcritic.com

A film that has considerably less on its mind than it thinks.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Mercury | comment Comment
10/30/04
Anthony Del Valle
Anthony Del Valle
Las Vegas Mercury

Li fails to stoke much heat in Sun Zhou's pretentious and symbolic love triangle.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
10/19/04
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

It just may be a movie that has difficulty transcending national borders.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/19/04
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

[Zhou Yu]'s contradictory impulses, as well as a convoluted narrative structure, make Zhou Yu's Train a rough ride.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
10/15/04
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

The whole thing would be pretty painful if not for the presence of Gong, who makes some of it watchable.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/15/04
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Most, I suspect, will walk out of the theater wondering why they had to work so hard for so little reward.

Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | comment Comment
10/14/04
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Beautiful to look at but aimless as a broken compass.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
09/24/04
Marta Barber
Marta Barber
Miami Herald
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/24/04
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

When the sum of this film's parts are measured, it is nothing more than a celebration of the exquisitely beautiful Gong Li.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
09/23/04
Laura Kelly
Laura Kelly
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Zhou Yu's Train has its strengths, but it's clearly no bullet train.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
09/17/04
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

A knotty, dreamy paean to romantic longing, Zhou Yu's Train is at once ravishing and precise.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/17/04
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Zhou Yu's Train looks good, but there's no denying that there's very little lurking underneath its pretty surface.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
09/16/04
Richard C. Walls
Richard C. Walls
Orlando Weekly

Has a tiny little point -- living solely by one's emotions can be a painful time-waster -- but it makes that point within a needlessly tricky structure and with too much time spent on images that amount to pretty, poetic filler.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/16/04
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Dramatically, this train never leaves the station.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
09/11/04
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

[An] over-conceived, over-edited, under-written perfume ad.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/10/04
M.E. Russell
M.E. Russell
Oregonian
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
08/28/04
Boston Phoenix
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

70% 70% Where the Wild Things Are 03/12
83% 83% Paranormal Activity 03/12
89% 89% Zombieland 03/12
76% 76% The Informant! 03/12
— The Strength of Water 03/12

What’s Hot On RT

Shock! Horror?

Shock! Horror?

Lars von Trier talks Antichrist

Zombieland

Zombieland

Director Ruben Fleischer's favourites

New Avatar action

New Avatar action

Watch an exclusive chase clip from the film

Kids' Book Films

Kids' Book Films

We fly through 10 of the best

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
15
  • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
40
  • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
24
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
118
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
177
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
130
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
76
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
59
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
37
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
18
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
13
  • Total Recall: Children's Book Adaptations
3
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
13
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
9
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
2
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Zhou Yu's Train at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Zhou Yu's Train at IGN
  • Zhou Yu's Train at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Dressing Wonderland
Dressing Wonderland External Link

Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.

Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

Win Glee DVDs
Win Glee DVDs External Link

We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.

Win tickets to Cold Souls
Win tickets to Cold Souls External Link

Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Win Star Wars prizes External Link

Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser

Win the entire 007 collection
Win the entire 007 collection External Link

Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.

Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more External Link

We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.