Underplayed Gems

If I Were for Real (1981)

If I Were for Real poster
Original title
假如我是真的
Directed by
Wang Toon
Cast
Alex Fong, Wan Qian, Wu Da Wei, Yang Zi Tong, Wang Yu, Gai Ke, Wang Qian You
Genre
drama film
Country
Taiwan
Runtime
1h 42m
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 15 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A man impersonates an official's relative to get ahead in mainland China. His scheme exposes corruption and hypocrisy among the powerful.

satiricaltensepoliticalgrimcynicalprovocativedarkly comic

What happens

If I Were for Real (Chinese: 假如我是真的) is a 1981 Taiwanese drama film directed by Wang Toon. It is an adaptation of the 1979 play of the same name by Sha Yexin, Li Shoucheng and Yao Mingde, set in mainland China. The film made some changes to the story to turn "the satirical comedy into political propaganda which condemns Chinese communism". The film was banned not only in mainland China (like the play), but also in British Hong Kong until 1989. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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