SummaryIn a small seaside town, two schoolgirls are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a motel. Mia, a teenager who was working on reception that night, is the only witness. For fear of losing her job, she says nothing. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Wen, one of the victims, finds that her troubles have only just begun. Trapped in a world that offers them no saf... Read More
Angels Wear White
Metascore
Generally Favorable
78
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.2
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
92% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
8% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 3, 2018
90
The moral rot and callous corruption depicted in Angels Wear White has a particularly bracing effect in part because, cultural specifics aside, the inhumanity on display is hardly alien.
May 4, 2018
88
The film has an engrossing and powerful drama that is all the more effective for writer/director Vivian Qu’s refusal to keep the story from spinning off into lurid melodrama — all of the story points on display have the harsh bitterness of truth to them.
83
Angels Wear White becomes a bottomless pit of despair consuming complex characters with nowhere to go.
May 17, 2018
80
In its perceptions and mood, Angels Wear White plays like acutely serious female noir.
May 3, 2018
80
Qu unpacks much that matters in Angels Wear White, including the abuse of power and importance of status and wealth in Chinese society, but her most thoughtful, nuanced observations involve female sexuality.
75
Qu’s symbolism, including a giant statue of Marilyn Monroe in her provocative Seven-Year-Itch pose presiding over an empty beachfront playground, is big, bold and impressively cinematic, thanks also to cinematographer Benoît Dervaux.
60
Perhaps Qu’s near-passive tone is meant to suggest that women don’t have much of a voice in society. But the story's almost complete lack of emotion also negatively impacts the viewers’ interest in the women’s plight. What does come through loud and clear is that Angels Wear White paints an unflattering portrait of not only how women are treated but also of how men try to protect their turf at all costs.
User score
Universal Acclaim
83% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
17% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Dec 22, 2020
7
This is a bleak film, and I'm surprised that it was produced in China considering that its plot involves government corruption.
I would hate to think that child sexual abuse is not among their ''nuisances'' The best decision the director makes is that she never allows the film to become a melodrama, even though she could easily have fallen for it.
Because even in the face of its own narrative restrictions, and beyond pointing the finger at those who commit the crimes, which are the corrupt and the relatives themselves, the focus remains on violence against women and the total disinterest in fixing that problem. Not a easy watch, but absolutely relevant.
Production Company:
- 22 Hours Films
- Hangzhou Puhua Chuansheng Cultural Investment Partner
- J.Q. Pictures
- L'Avventura Film
- Mandrake Films
- Perfect World Pictures
- Shanghai Moyi Cultural Communications
Release Date:May 4, 2018
Duration:1 h 47 m
Rating:TV-14
Awards
Golden Carp Film Award
• 2 Wins & 8 Nominations
Asian Film Critics Association Awards
• 4 Wins & 6 Nominations
Malaysia Golden Global Awards
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
