Rose War of Nana

娜娜的玫瑰战争

China, 2010, colour, 16:9, 85 mins.

Director: Dai Xiaozhe 戴小哲.

Rating: 6/10.

Local but likeable rom-com is a good vehicle for TV host-actress Xie Na.

STORY

Beijing, the present day. When Ding Na (Xie Na) is told by her oil-painter boyfriend of six years, Li Chen (Sun Boyang), that he’s fallen for gallery owner Lin Xiaoyu (Jin Yitong), her parents (Ren Zhengbin, Ma Ling) are delighted but Ding Na vows to find a rich boyfriend instead. Her dream is answered when Luo Yang (Lee Seung-hyeon), Lin Xiaoyu’s wealthy young ex, turns up at her door, though he actually wants her and Li Chen to get together again so that he can be reunited with Lin Xiaoyu, who was his first and only girlfriend. Ding Na and Luo Yang get along swimmingly, and he gets involved in a kindergarten school for illegal migrant workers’ children that she helps out at. Annoyed at their happiness, Lin Xiaoyu fakes serious clinical depression to get Luo Yang to her side again, but Ding Na finally decides to fight back.

REVIEW

Smoothly shot without being super-glossy, decked out with some okay animation, and with a host of TV character actors, Rose War of Nana 娜娜的玫瑰战争 is strictly for China’s local market but is a good showcase for actress Xie Na 谢娜, best known as the MC for Hunan Satellite TV’s hugely popular entertainment show Happy Camp 快乐大本营. Sichuan-born Xie, who was in no less than four movies in 2010 – including Super Player 大玩家 and the Hong Kong Beauty on Duty 美丽密令 – has yet to break out as a film actress, but Nana, produced by herself, is a good vehicle for the 29-year-old actress-singer, who has the makings of a younger Mainland equivalent of Hong Kong’s Wu Junru 吴君如 [Sandra Ng] in her self-deprecating, robust humour.

The rom-com plot is just so-so but doesn’t take itself at all seriously and is basically there to provide a platform for Xie, who may not be to all tastes with her forthright, physical style but shows she can at least carry a modest movie. The only one who looks out-of-place in the very Beijing-style comedy is 20-year-old South Korean boybander Yi Seung-hyeon 이승현 | 李承铉 who, as Xie’s romantic partner, mostly just stands there and looks pretty. (His mouthing of the Mandarin dialogue has, however, been convincingly re-voiced.) For the record, there’s also a cameo by fellow South Korean singer Gan Mi-yeon 간미연 | 简美妍, 18, who even learned Mandarin to help her forge a career in China these past few years.

CREDITS

Presented by Changchun Film Studio (CN). Produced by Changchun Film Studio (CN), Beijing Huatai Tianbo Entertainment (CN).

Script: Ma Yaoquan, Jiang Yawei. Photography: Shen Yang. Editing: Zhang Junfeng. Music: Wang Jia. Art direction: Liu Dong. Sound: Wang Jia.

Cast: Xie Na (Ding Na), Yi Seung-hyeon (Luo Yang), Jin Yitong (Lin Xiaoyu), Sun Boyang (Li Chen), Ma Ling (Xiaocui, Ding Na’s mother), Ma Shuliang (Luo Shan), Yu Entai (traffic policeman), Ren Zhengbin (Ding Yue, Ding Na’s father), Xiang Bin (Luo Le), Zhang Lixin (Xiaoxue), Li Manyi (Mrs. Gong), Qin Yueru (Lanran, Luo Yang’s stepmother), Yao Guozhi (school head), Gao Feng (Chuan), Gao Yidan (cousin), Junjun (Xiaokai), Gan Mi-yeon (Pingguo, Lin Xiaoyu’s assistant), Chen Wanglin (boss), Sun Ruiyang (boss’ wife).

Release: China, 26 Aug 2010.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 2 Feb 2011.)