Film
Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more
- Home
- Box Office
- Listings
- Trailers
- Features
Bookmark this page- Edition:
Life Is Cheap… But Toilet Paper Is Expensive (1989)
Director: Wayne Wang
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
As different from Dim Sum as one could possibly imagine, Wang's bizarre look at contemporary Hong Kong is one of the most foul-mouthed, scatological, gorily shocking and relentlessly energetic movies in years. Strung very loosely around an almost non-existent thriller plot, it continually provokes its audience into a reaction, whether it be horror, bewilderment, admiration, or simply hilarity. It is often very, very funny, and its vision of a city on the brink (of change, of an ocean, of complete social and moral breakdown) is wholly plausible. But be warned: this is not easy viewing, and whether it's a seven-minute hand-held camera chase that virtually turns into a kinetic abstract painting, ducks being killed with no pretence at humaneness, or a guy taking a shit while talking to camera, there is no question but that you'll be, shall we say, affected.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Wayne Wang
Producer: Winnie Fredriksz
Cast: Chan Kim Wan, Spencer Nakasako, Victor Wong, Cheng Kwan Min, Cora Miao, Lam Chung, Allen Fong full cast
Duration: 88 mins
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.
What do you think?
Post your review now