Movie Review by Wuxi, China's Greatest Movie Expert

WUXI CHINA EXPATDOM     May 26, 2014

Saint Archduke Sir Harry Moore Emeritus, attended a special screening of the Invisible Woman, and has generously shared his comments for us here -

" I've followed the career of Ralph Fiennes for several years of course. He shows great promise as an actor, and now, as a director.     On Saturday I was passing through Xue Gian Dong Lu (on my way to a photoshoot at Taihu), so, spent 90 minutes viewing Mr Fienne's latest offering.

"In the lobby, I recognized many of my dear, dear friends, such as Marty, Steven, Bobby De Niro, Meryl the sweetie, Al Baby, and too many other cineastes to name here. After some idle chit-chat I headed inside to watch the curtain go up on this film.

"Admit that I felt tentative-anxiety over this narrative. I am pretty sure that Sir Charles Dickens never really did engage in such dirty-old-man behaviours at all. Frankly, I believe it may be a load of codswallop.   Still, I managed to stay engaged, whilst enjoying a few ice-creams, the ones with the chocolate coating on top. You know, the ones they sell at cinemas. When you take a bite, the chocolate fragments, and spills all down the front of your immaculate, clean white pants. So, in the intermission, you have to go into the bathroom, grab about a dozen paper towels, soak them in water, then furiously scrub the spilled chocolate off your pants, simultaneously worrying that some other guys don't walk in there just at that exact moment and see what you're doing.

"The film's lens-work is fine. With my pair of opera glasses, I had a great view of the ladies ample bosoms. Loved Fagin's stained teeth.   Casting is good. I forgave the trivial technical goof when Dickens' (i.e. Fienne's) fake beard fell-off, just at the dramatic moment when he and Oscar Wilde were out walking with the dandies, in Soho Square.

 But half-way through, after I returned from the Men's room with the front of my pants soaked in water, it suddenly struck me. This movie's subtext is a metamophoric allusion to a person who isn't really 'there'. That is, a person who is 'invisible' in the sense that they simply defy all definitions of 'modesty'.

"Andis Kaulins is the Invisible Man of Wuxi. He self-effaces himself. He air-brushes, erases, himself out of social interactions. Time and time again, Expats find that they've received some generous dollop of friendly help, and when they turn to thank Andis Kaulins, he waves their 'thank-you's' away with a sweeping gesture. He remains real and present, yet invisible.

"After the closing-credits rolled, I hailed Ralph Fiennes in the lobby and told him of this. Ralph was taken-aback, holding his head in his hands. 'Ohhh, noooo!! I've made the wrong movie!", he wailed.   Ralph grabbed his Blackberry, got hold of the studio, and instantly began drafting a new shooting script. His next movie will focus on Andis Kaulins' 'invisibility'. His role will not be played by anyone. Instead, Ralph and I are going to produce a series of subtitles.