I find the criticisms of chinese born readers interesting but not unusual.
Very proud people and those that have immigrated and usually unaware of how them have been indoctrinated. Most are unaware of the truths of much of post-war china both internally and with its neighbors. Of course, their are many dramas criticizing all countries in the western world , US and European. and any dramas containing non-english speakers always have questionable use and pronunciation of the foreign language involved. The use of french, polish, swedish, russian in english dramas are simply laughable. so this odd use of chinese in this drama is just normal. Try listening to the use of english in chinese movies by actors playing the role of westerners. we all should not take offense so easily. nothing critical is intended here in my opinion of the chinse
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jlpicinglife25 April 2019There is no REAL Chinese in this film because this kind of political issue is prohibited by the Chinese government in the first place. There is no discussion nor critique because this film is completely shut down from the search engine in China, and there is no fansub group in China dare translate or make the subtitle in Chinese, period.
Overall, it's an OK-ish film in terms of the intensity of the plot. However, I think this film meta-critically makes a bold statement by juxtaposing a certain political-historical milieu of China and the current President of the United States, which is very intriguing to ponder over. I give this film an 8 for its boldness (probably a 7 for its plot), and I expect more to come for the upcoming episodes.
By the way, this film reminds me of (allegedly) Leica's "The Hunt." -
Felixishim25 April 2019I think just because the Chinese in the show doesn't conform to your view of standard Chinese doesn't mean they're foreigner or born overseas either. First you should look at how many dialect does Chinese have and without the most basic understanding of how different they're it's silly to say what you have said. What if they were speaking haika or hokin? What if it's Manchu? It's disappointing review given really
I think the show is a great intro for Chinese who do not even have access to the basic fact of the event and start understanding what ideas are those people fighting for. Ideas that aren't even allowed to mention without being deleted on their social media -
hedley-finger23 May 2019I think the world, particularly residents of China, need periodic reminding of the Tiananmen square massacre, to counter the Chinese regime's continuing efforts to erase this dreadful event from history.
Whatever the artistic merits of this series, it is serving a valuable reminder of the true face of the Chinese government. -
yueliang27 April 2019As a Chinese lives in the UK, I clearly remember what exactly happened during the time. I had a close family member being shot at Tian An Men Square on the day and did not dare to go to hospital for treatment. The streets were blocked with military tanks, some of the tanks were burning. It was like a war zone. People were living in great fears, and were never been told of the truth of how many civilians and students were killed.
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tamor-1379114 May 2019As a person who had no idea of the protests in china, this was enlightening. I think that the purpose of the story was to inform viewers such as myself of the event.
As a viewer who did not know what I was in for, this was really good. I enjoyed the Narration of the story. It could have been more impactful from the perspective of the Chinese character Zhang Lin. It really felt like the beginning of an american story instead of the conclusion of a Chinese story.
As for the comments on the lingual inaccuracies, I think it must be challenging for the directors to find the exact dialects... so I'm not really bothered by that.
When it comes to the acting I really enjoyed the acting. I think it was not overdone. I think american shows overact sometimes and there was just enough tension for me to stay interested throughout the series.
I do think that as a viewer I was a bit taken by Tessa. I really enjoyed Sophie Okonedo's performance. I know it was not a main character, but I think is worth mentioning.
Overall, Bravo!! would love for the story to get a second Season or a Part 2 Thank you to the entire team for telling this story. -
Shomk21 April 2019If you're trying to tell a story happened in China, the first and most importtant thing to let us believe is that people in the film are actually speaking PROPER Chinese. I've only saw the 1st episode and many of the "Chinese people" in it are speaking some what really weired "Chinese". I won't say they are not Chinese, but at least I know they are not born or grew up in China, since they are speaking Chinese as if they were speaking some language I usually seen when people from USA or UK or whereever that don't speak Chinese. If this show is only intended for you westerners, I'd say it's just what you think and you are trying to let others believe what you think. It's not necesaily the truth and real things happened in history. However, If you clainm you're you are revealing something or telling the truth to the world, including people in China, save it. At least first find someone who speaks REAL Chinese, not some ABC(American born Chinses) or whereever-not-China born Chinese who are speaking I-donnot-know-why-their-accent-is-so-strange Chinese. Even a 5yr old Chinese won't believe these actors in the films are Chinese if they hear them speak the language YOu think is Chinese.
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bojanaborojevic23 May 2019Bad acting, pro- Hilary propaganda is just too much, and the picture of the killed woman in Syria BY THE RUSSIANS is just stop please- too much propaganda! But, I gave it 9 cuz of the story. It Is important to be heard. And the scenario and the story plot is really good, it keeps your attention.
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baoboa4 May 2019Meh. Beyond the B-quality acting, the entire show and plot are so unrealistic and unbelievable. Full of the usual corny cliche stereotypes and holier than thou "USA" chant type nonsense.. its just dumb.
And whats with these comments?! People in China can absolutely find, watch and discuss this show if they want and do it all without using a vpn or hiding in some net cafe deep web disguise. These comments about bashing all things China are just as bad as this series. No basis whatsoever in reality. Go visit China sometime and see for yourself just how free and capitalistic China has become. We in the west, not could, but rather at this point in time, NEED to learn a lot from their examples.
So typically hypocritical of us Americans to point fingers at everyone else while patting ourselves on the back and high-fiving each other. We're the best at blaming others while ignoring our own past/present and praising ourselves. This show is merely an extension of that. And a bad one at that. -
yutko200428 May 2019Bad journalist I have read all reviews for this mini-series. Some I agree with and some are just odd. The first thing you read on the screen is that it is a fiction story about a true event. What bothered me the most is the stupidity of the journalist who selfishly put everyone in danger, and not learning from his mistakes. Call it naïve, or just being American, this journalist is so reckless that I really don't know how he managed to get into Syria or china at that time and survive. Overall, I liked the story. I believe the oppression in china is worse than what we have seen in the series. And about the Chinese speaking the Chinese, well, for me it was perfect because I don't speak the language.
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wifeofbath21 June 2019Pretty solid adaptation. The most chilling character so far is the creepy Koch brothers employed Chinese nephew... but all up, it's the scariness of the internet and the increasingly shifting sand under what we thought of as 'truth'. The local Chinese kids who don't know about what happened at Tiananmen Square, the reporter who falsifies an image, the internet of instant forgetting.. Communists crushing truth or Trump trampling it, the future looks grim. In answer to eamonn7: since the story includes dialogue regarding and footage from the time of the 'impending' 2016 election... i'd Suggest that, rather than 2009, it's set in, well... 2016.
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eamonn79 May 2019While not a review, was wondering if the and when this is supposed to be set in, 2009 based on the review saying 20 years later or is that just a mess up by the person writing the so called review
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Correspondent movies can be really terrific. Who could forget Harrison's Flowers (2000), The Bang Bang Club (2010) or Walter Mitty (2013)? Chimerica joins such brave company with a four part drama. The pace is certainly not the frenetic Harrison's, nor does it share the explosions, and though there are moments of danger, the suspense is more about staying ahead of it, and it is good suspense. It has some of the thematic race of Mitty whilst sharing the realism of Bang Bang. You'll see some good shots of China, and possibly wonder, as I did, at how similar to New York it looks. There's an ensemble of really good actors here, with professional bonhomie that you'll love, and many support actors that seem to have been cast with equal care. This is a competent real life drama and political portrait that is both entertaining and brilliantly surprising, a unique and sensitive story. Chimerica is a beautiful song of hope, and unusual enough that many will be pleasantly surprised at how good it is.
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This series was very well reviewed by the "quality" British press. I have no idea why.
Essentially this is the story of an indulged white American who gets to lie and treat others terribly yet still get treated as a hero.
The plot has at best one good idea that it only reveals at the last moment (this idea is all that raises it up to 2/10 for me). Logic is ignored on multiple occasions which makes it impossible to engage with the characters.
Casting is poor with characters that do not look like their supposed ethnicities and who are completely the wrong ages, with some pretty weak acting to boot.
The photo of a lone man challenging the tanks heading for Tiananmen square is iconic. Surely it can inspire better television than this? -
Although it is fiction and based on a play, I'm sure that it would not make great viewing for people with strong political views.
Personally I watched it as a neutral and I liked how they have adapted it to be set around the time of the 2016 US election. -
sleepaaaa4 September 2019This show was blocked in my country. It makes me impressive by the thinking of image instead of political event. What's real, and what's unreal? Um, to be honest, the performance of these Chinese characters didn't show the real face of people in China.Too dramatic.Still some fantasy stuff perhaps.
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a_mobbs1 May 2019I found the acting all too wooden and unconvincing. Don't think I will bother with the last episode.
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Yes, there are political aspects to this show and I'm sure the Chinese government doesn't like it. But it's not a statement, it's just a fictional mystery/thriller set against the backdrop of real events. If you keep that in mind, I'm sure you'll find it as entertaining as I did.
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karinesbox-amazon24 October 2021The protagonist is a cheat, he endangers repeatedly his Chinese contacts without any thinking (he is supposed to be an experienced war reporter!). How are we supposed to get interested in his quest and "redemption"? Tienanmen victims are just a prop to make him look good again. Disgusting.