Michelle SweeneyReview - Dark Matter
March 6th 2009 10:45
Outside of the academic world, Liu Xing is also having trouble adjusting to life in America even with the help and support of his fellow students and university patron Joanna Silver (Meryl Streep). In constant contact with his family back home in China, his letters are optimistic at best but when things take a turn for the worse, he starts to lie to his family about his success in America.
As someone who has lived in China for a number of years, I can only imagine how much burden this could place on someone in this situation. Parents in China look to their children (often only one due to the one child policy) to help take care of them when they no longer can work. Children are expected to study long and hard from a young age in the hope that they will be successful in their (or their parent's) chosen career. Conditions in China are substandard for the most part and an opportunity to live outside of the country is a dream for many. Even in today's society, many students (and adults) I encounter, dream of living outside of China thinking that the opportunities they will come across will be better than what they face in China. They know very little about the poor migrant areas in the west and often the conditions can mirror that back home in their own country.
The Dark Matter in the title is a metaphor for both the scientific reference in cosmology as well as a glimpse into the Liu Xing's heart of darkness. Stylistically speaking, the film was flawed in it's final moments but despite this, I still managed to feel the impact of the actions of both sides. The acting was superb by all three leads and whilst many viewers may not get it, the film will find an audience on the art house shelf.
Voyage Review: 3/5
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