Luo Yan Movies
A journey that starts as a die-hard mission to net Christian converts soon evolves into the adventure of a lifetime, in the sweeping historical epic Marco Polo. It is the 13th century. Polo (Ian Somerhalder), a Venetian trader, sets out to both prove the existence of China to European priests, and to bring its residents salvation. En route, he and his traveling companions must battle every extreme form of the elements, from the scorching abuse of the sun to paralyzing blizzards, plus violent maurading thieves and a host of other dangers. Little can Marco Polo predict, however, the dazzling world that awaits him on the opposite end - with such dazzling inventions as paper money, timepieces and a postal system, and such culinary concoctions as ice cream and pasta. And presiding over all of it is the benevolent Kubla Khan (Brian Dennehy) a ruler so impressed with Polo (and vice versa) that the brave adventurer soon becomes part and parcel of his court - and spends the better part of two decades in Asia. Kevin Connor directs, from a script by Ron Hutchinson. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Somerhalder, Brian Dennehy, (more)
A woman defies convention to find happiness, only to discover the costs are greater than she imagined in this drama based on the novel by Pearl S. Buck. In 1938, with Communist rebels on the rise in China and Imperial Japan intent upon expanding its rule into Manchuria and China, Lord Wu (Shek Sau) is a feudal leader who rules both his community and his family with an iron fist. But his wife, Madame Wu (Luo Yan), has just turned 40 and has grown weary of her husband's dominance. With her son Fengmo (John Cho) now 18 and engaged to be married, Madame Wu sees her responsibilities to her family all but complete, so in violation of traditional custom, she arranges for Chiuming (Yi Ding), a peasant girl just turned 18, to be brought into the household as Lord Wu's concubine, freeing her from sexual servitude to her husband. However, Chiuming's lack of sexual experience proves problematic for herself as well as Lord Wu, whose erotic tastes run to the unconventional. Meanwhile, Madame Wu makes the acquaintance of Andre (Willem Dafoe), an American missionary and doctor who is helping Fengmo with his studies; Andre is kind, compassionate, and intelligent, and he makes a tremendous impression on Madame Wu, who soon finds herself falling for the mysterious American as circumstances cause both her household and China to explode into chaos. Pavilion of Women was the first co-production between an American studio, Universal Pictures, and Beijing Film Studio of China; the film was shot on location in China, but with a primarily English-speaking cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Willem Dafoe, Luo Yan, (more)
