Mom's the word

Cherrie a tear-jerker that explores mother-daughter love, opens this weekend. Set in the village of Aicun, Yunnan province, the film follows a mentally handicapped woman who adopts an abandoned baby girl, only to discover just how demanding motherhood can be in this simple yet rich drama from director Zhang Jiabei.

Cherry is a mentally handicapped woman who is happily married to the hard working Ge Wang - a dedicated laborer with a pronounced limp. Despite the fact that Cherry's handicap limits normal life, her maternal instincts are much the same as any healthy woman her age. When Cherry happens across a helpless infant girl, she instinctively adopts the infant in hopes of starting a family. But Ge Wang sends the child to a kind-looking couple from the city. Upon realizing just how devastating the loss is for the heartbroken Cherry, Ge Wang gets the child back. When the young girl Scarlet grows up into a talented student, she devotes herself to appreciating her mother's love.

The script is from Bao Shi, the writer of Zhang Yimou's The Road Home. Beautifully photographed and emotionally engaging, this film, reportedly based on a true story, was shown at the Tokyo festival after floating around since being screened in the Cannes market.

Juliusz Machulski brings us a modern-day crime comedy/drama with Vinci (2004). Similar to his earlier work Vabank, the storyline of Vinci has more twists to it than a simple crime drama. The film blends a combination of action and suspense around the story of a grand crime, with moments of humor throughout. The crime involves the theft of the world-famous painting done by Leonardo Da Vinci on display in Krakow, Poland. The story begins with a man, Cuma, being released from prison. Thinking big, Cuma schemes to steal the Vinci painting with the assistance of his former partner in crime who hesitantly agrees to help him.

Other films showing in cinemas including:

Iron Man, Marvel's best-selling comic book hits the big screen. Tony Stark is a genius in making weapons for the US government. After he is kidnapped and forced to make arms for criminals, he makes himself a life support suit and becomes a superhero, vowing to protect the earth.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, adapted from books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, represents the latest such effort. It conjures a world of fanciful creatures - some benign, others hostile - and introduces into it a group of squabbling human siblings (played by Sarah Bolger and Freddie Highmore) who have moved into a spooky old house in the middle of nowhere, along with their newly divorced mother, Helen (Mary-Louise Parker).

Chen Nan

(China Daily 05/10/2008 page6)