When "Ocean Heaven" was released, it got great critical acclaim and positive word of mouth. I finally got to watch it, and it surpassed my expectations. There are a few films depicting autistic characters that I have watched, and this film has the most accurate and consistently convincing portrayal. Either the guy playing Dafu is really autistic, or he is a really good actor. The story tells how the father prepares his autistic soon to live independently. The father's unconditional love for his child, his unlimited patience and unrelenting care is very respectable. Anyone will be touched by him. The film also depicts the lives of ordinary citizens, with real problems, adding realism to the touching plot. I hope this great film will find a wider audience, because it deserves to be seen and appreciated.

CONTAINS MINOR PLOT OUTLINEIn recent years, Chinese cinema has fallen somewhat behind Japanese and korean cinema in showcasing the best Asian movies. While it won't be challenging for international awards, everyone involved leaves with their reputations raised. So can a Chinese film without a hint of violence, crime or political overtones can be any good? i'd like to think so, if jet li is a stereotype for all those genres, he can safely say he is capable of much more. Many eyes will be focused on Jet Li who is an out and out action star and any foray into western cinema only reifys his action star status. Like Chan before him, he's no longer 20 or even 30, and will be looking for dramatic roles before eventually being put behind a desk in some cop drama. Li excels as the caring father who's autistic son is soon to be left alone in the world as he discovers he has terminal cancer. However the real star is his son, i'm not sure who plays him since the IMDb page is painfully sparse on information. Either way Da Fu is played clinically and with all the mannerisms you'd expect but it all seems natural, he brings life into the character and there's never so much a hint of over acting or artificiality. The supporting cast do what they can in their limited roles and often breathe sympathy towards Da Fu, if only to bring peace of mind to those who wonder if he will actually make it himself. The journey itself moves along at it's own pace with segments of Da Fu being taught to survive on his own, while some areas do seem episodic as his progress is lumped into one section, accompanied by aspirational montage music which is really familiar to spirited away with haunting piano keys and melodic violins. As well as the Ling Ling love interest which removes Li from the equation somewhat. I'd like to think the love interest was in Da Fu's imagination or that of his father's to show people can really past his autism. One scene does seem out of place, and spoilers if you don't wan't to know, so skip the next paragraph.The scene in question is the scene where Li explodes at Da Fu for not being able to mop but even worse is when he calls him stupid. Up until that point he was caring and tolerant and him snapping seems out of place and against character, while he has good reason to, you would not expect this father to snap. His death was also handled quite off screen and you never really see how Da Fu really reacts, if he ever does.That said, the film brings out great acting and a film which may love itself in metaphor towards the end. However, the ending does bring justice to the character we've seen develop and even if he is essentially the same person the world around has changed.

I must admit, I am a huge Jet Li fan. I have seen most of his movies and am on the mission to get hold of those I haven't seen. So I was eager to watch the movie that had no kickass Jet Li in it.Though I have seen he Warlords, which already gives you a sense of what he is capable of as an actor (he won a Hong Kong Movie Award with that performance), it cannot rehearse you for Ocean Heaven.Amidst the excellent cinematographic work, the story is told in a very slow pace, and sometimes it all feels repetitive. However, it is needed for the audience to understand the depth of love Wang has for his son and the hardships he has to go through. Jet Li emerges as a good actor, and you forget he is the best Chinese martial artist ever filmed. He is credible in the role of the dying, shy, introverted yet strong man, who is willing to sacrifice everything for his only son. He is even willing to make fun of himself when he dresses up as a giant turtle to make Dafu, his son see he will always stay with him, in the form of Dafu's beloved sea creatures.I do admit, I did cry in the end of the movie, and I'm not ashamed of it. This is a moving story, and tells how misunderstood people with autism are and what such families in China have to go through because the government does not provide help with such children.A surprising Jet Li in a moving drama - anyone who only considers Jet Li as a typecast action hero, should watch this movie.

The marketing for this film went into overdrive with its touting of this being action star Jet Li's first dramatic role. Unless you count his appearance in a non combative role in Founding of a Republic and the various attempts to balance his action status with more dramatic acting chops such as Danny the Dog, then Ocean Heaven will be that maiden effort. Written and directed by Xue Xiao Lu, this modest effort is by no means small in ambition, having the likes of Jay Chou and Kwai Lun Mei lend their vocals to separate title tracks (with Kwai also starring in the film), as well as being lensed by the renowned Christopher Doyle.Jet Li stars as Wang, a middle aged technician at Qingdao's Ocean World who discovers that his liver cancer is at its 4th stage, and a medical death sentence has been passed, giving him 3 to 4 months to live. His prime concern will be that of his autistic son Da Fu (Wen Zhang) because this means as the main caregiver, he has to find an able, trusted replacement, most likely an institution, but as any single parent can attest to, this effort is none too easy in the absence of direct family support, with places like mental institutions being totally out of place, and Da Fu being too old for an orphanage, and too young for a senior citizens' home. The film opens with a father-son suicide, only for the latter to inexplicably save the both of them, and bringing them back to the drawing board.It's interesting to note (at least for me) that the Chinese language term for Autism is "Gu Du Zheng" which directly translates to a condition of loneliness. Through the film, Wang cannot shake off the fact that this figuratively applies to him, being alone in his care of his teenage son for many years since the passing of his wife, and not wanting to impose his troubles and issues on others, such as his neighbour and provision shop owner (Zhu Yuanyuan) who undoubtedly has affections for Wang himself. Wang is the classical stoic Chinese man who bottles up his troubles, seeking instead to source for solutions himself than to rely on the graces of others, although help does come from an understanding boss, as well as Da Fu's school principal.Xue spends considerable screen time in outlining the father-son relationship, albeit that it's not quite the norm because communication almost always seem like a one way street. Wang, with his limited, time, wants to train Da Fu in performing simple tasks in looking after himself, from cooking to taking the public bus, and through many of these scenes, Xue has allowed for an awareness of autism to ring through without resorting to over-reliance on melodrama to do so. Tasks are to be explained with extreme patience, and knowledge imparted through constant rote learning and praising. It's not easy, but as any parent, this unconditional love is something that's quite innate.Both Jet Li and Wen Zhang share great chemistry, which helps make their individual performance credible. You'll for once feel as exasperated as Li since this time he cannot kung-fu kick his way out of challenges and troubles, and have to rely on perseverance and love to educate his son. You'll feel his pain, and share his pessimism and slim hopes that he'll be able to impart, delegate and leave behind enough for his son not only material wealth, but emotional stability as well, which comes in the form of a sea turtle motif, known for its longevity, Wen Zhang too has this child like quality in his portrayal of autism which endears, and is able to bring out the confusion, fear and anger when he is not understood by others.The only peculiar performance here will be that of Kwai Lun Mei's Ling Ling, whose role is that of a clown who juggles. I can't place her role anywhere other than to solely beef up the star attraction to this film, because her role and the subplots involving her character all seem a little out of place and useless, and can be done without. Perhaps it is just there to balance that sense of bleak from Wang's point of view, since scenes between Ling Ling and Da Fu mostly hinges on play and friendship, providing that lift to the audience, unbeknownst to Wang, that his son is capable of making new, genuine friends, and that he need not worry that Da Fu will eventually be alone in this world after Wang's own passing.I won't say this is a tearjerker, but there will be those who will inevitably be touched by Father's love, going by the amount of sniffles in the cinema hall. I suppose Jet Li's foray into a purely dramatic role is quite successful, although personally I can't wait to see him kick serious ass in The Expendables with an ensemble cast of action heroes where he belongs. But of course one can't go on forever in such a role. Maybe he too can adopt the Jackie Chan direction (I'm pretty sure they would have exchanged notes during their pairing in The Forbidden Kingdom) where a film role balancing drama and action is possible ala Chan's Little Big Soldier, or even following what Clint Eastwood is doing in going behind the camera to tell heartfelt stories.