“Green Tea” is a stylish and off-beat drama about male-female relationships in modern China whose strong acting performances can’t overcome a lackluster narrative.
Wu Fang, a shy and conservative graduate student who is looking for a suitable marriage partner, meets Ming Liang, an outgoing and roguish older man, on a blind date in a cafe. Although they don’t click at first, a relationship forms over numerous cups of tea as Wu Fang confides to Ming Liang a shocking story about an emotionally damaged childhood “friend”. Complications ensue when Ming Liang encounters Lang Lang, a sexy piano player who happens to look just like Wu Fang, and becomes attracted to her.
Most of the film focuses on storytelling conversations between Ming Liang and Wu Fang in pristine cafes and Ming Liang and Lang Lang in sultry lounges. The relatively dry and ponderous dialogue is offset by the beautiful cinematography of Christopher Doyle and the compelling performances of the lead actors who manage to convey a range of emotions with small gestures and subtle eye movements.
Doyle’s camera work is interesting and drives a visual energy that is lacking in the narrative. He uses lots of close-ups of the actors’ faces and interesting angles to showcase modern Beijing. And never have tea leaves been so lovingly photographed as they swirl seductively in a glass.
For moviegoers interested in understanding Chinese culture and the evolution of modern relationships, “Green Tea” is worth viewing as it explores the difficulties that urban Chinese women face in looking for a committed relationship in an increasingly Westernized society that seems to value surface more than depth. In that world, the shy, spectacle-wearing Wu Fang, who has trouble attracting men, is on the same plane as the flashy and provocative Lang Lang, who can’t get men to see beyond her physical attributes.
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