Rainbow

The second film made by former singer-songwriter Gao Xiao-Song, Rainbow is a visually vibrant but structurally opaque period piece, a romantic triangle set against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s that is told in a defiantly poetic style. The title character is a mute folk cellist in a remote rural region, who enters an arranged marriage with a painter wounded in the fighting. In addition to working slowly on a portrait of her lounging in a bath, Rainbow's new husband opens a kite shop featuring his colorfully decorated wares (obvious symbols of freedom), but their largely formalistic union is upset by the arrival of an outsider, a handsome violinist who makes beautiful music with Rainbow and with whom she falls in love. But the young man's departure to join the army, coupled with the steady advance of the invaders, strains their relationship. In outline, the film sounds straightforward enough, but the oblique, almost surrealistic narrative style will make it a real challenge for most viewers, particularly a subplot featuring the local schoolmaster, a very odd fellow called Twinkle who enjoys prancing about wearing the painter's old military uniform and brandishing his gun, and later reads to Rainbow letters from her lover. Rainbow is lovely to look at, but it's ultimately more of an intriguing stylistic exercise than an emotionally satisfying drama. Optional. (F. Swietek)