There is a lot to admire about this pointed modern-day political satire, but you’ll have to get over a few hurdles. One of them is the unnecessary length, another is the distracting use of a circular frame – a device that references Chinese art and hints at its heroine’s constrained plight, but often makes the viewer feel as if they’re peering through a keyhole. The heroine is a comically stubborn villager (a spirited, uglified Fan Bingbing) who embarks on a perverse mission to get her sham divorce overturned so that she can redivorce her cheating husband properly. He’s added insult to injury by likening her to Pan Jinlian, a literary character associated with promiscuity (misleadingly translated to Madame Bovary in the English title). These grievances are clumsily handled by a succession of self-serving, buck-passing officials, in a similar fashion to Zhang Yimou’s The Story of Qui Ju. The satirical bite dissipates a little as the story drags on, though a powerful, emotional coda makes it worth the wait.
I Am Not Madame Bovary review – smart satire cuts through China's bureaucracy
Steve Rose
Fan Bingbing is on fine form as an obstinate divorcee-to-be in a singular film that is ultimately worth the effort it requires
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Steve Rose
The GuardianTramp