njmarui I was really shocked when I heard the Lu Gang incident which happened when I wasn't born yet. If Lu Gang is still alive he would be in my Father's age. And I searched the photo of Lu.Those glasses and hair style looks just like those in my father's old black-and-white photos. He entered the top one university-Beijing university and then get the chance of studying abroad which is invested by the government and is extremely rare. You can't imagine how lucky he was to earn the opportunity. And of course, this need plenty of effort to beat others in the competition. Similarly, my Father had a "American dream". He took the abroad-study program test,too. He failed it. Believe me, I know how hard-working my dad is. In those days, entering the university means a bright future. Studying abroad means a even brighter future. Lu was the elite among the elite but ended up like a monster. "It is also based on my own experience" as the director said. 1980s was just the time China had went through the darkest era and the dream of communist became totally a joke. Young people found that there are everything they ever wanted in the country across the sea. Liu Xing brought his obsession with math and his dream of wining Nobel prize to a foreign land. When he was just one step to his success, the professor ended his dream. This movie is not only about American academia but also about the burst of "American dream" of my father's generation.

Bene Cumb The main issue beyond the plot - dark matter, cosmology etc - are not interesting to me, but the scenes have smoothly combined and related human issues have been pleasantly highlighted (perhaps the ending comes too suddenly). When East meets West, then differences in thinking and linguistic difficulties are present and coping with them is not always easy for those involved and their circles. And like in many other areas, science is also full of intrigues and I am sure that many important inventions or explorations have been covered up or postponed. All the cast is good at least, but Liu Ye and Meryl Streep are both outperforming the others. Mrs Streep is definitely the greatest, the most versatile contemporary actress. Mr Ye was unknown to me, but I think he is worth remembering (hopefully Hollywood will not exploit him in B-range action movies).Recommendable to those fond of dramas based on real events, although I consider Hawking (2004) better.

charles.k.munroe The reviews I've read about this movie on IMDb, I believe, miss the point of the film. What this movie says is the following:The world is not a perfect place -- many spoilers abound. The young student in this film was blocked and humiliated by an arrogant and defensive college professor. That was very wrong. What I think the film is attempting to convey in a stark manner follows:1. The world and its people are not always fair. Fairness is in the eyes of the beholder. It's a philosophical abstract -- not a fact.2. When wronged, damage can often not be reversed. Anger and frustration follow.3. Retribution may be justified, but if it is self-destructive, nothing is gained, and the person who was victimized, victimizes himself.4. Rather than letting one's frustration and anger generate self-destructive behavior,it's sometimes best to just lick one's wounds and go forward with life. One may not be able to rectify a bad situation or inflict deserved retribution, without further damaging one's self. In this case. The Bad Guy won, even though he, also, died.That's the lesson I perceived from this movie, and that's what makes it's abrupt and surprising ending so powerful. The young student was wronged. As a result he proceeded to hurt others, but he also destroyed himself. That was a foolish choice.

rlange-3 Better at being thought provoking than entertaining in the strict sense of the word, the core of this movie is the conflict between two brilliant men in a high stakes, high power academic setting. One is the Chinese student of modest means, Liu Xing, who comes to the US to study under Reiser, the brilliant American professor, who expects Xing to support his theory as a graduate student. When he doesn't, things go very badly.The acting is superb across the board. The scenic shots are good, and while the characters tend to exude excessive sentimentality at times, especially Streep, the often vicious nature of competition in academia is captured superbly.The simplistic viewpoint is that Liu Xing publishes an article attacking Reiser's theory through naiveté. More likely, he was less naive than conceited, and when he lost the game his ego fractured and he raised the stakes.There is good timing throughout, although at times it drags a bit it never really gets boring. One of the better movies to see.BTW: There is no math and no theory in the movie. This is about the people, not the theories involved.