The one thing that can be said about “Caught in the Web” is that it’s an undeniably Chinese film. Imagining a Hollywood adaptation would be unimaginable because its idiosyncrasies would be completely lost in translation, which is what it makes such an alienating, sometimes frustrating experience. Ye Lanqiu (Gao Yuanyuan) has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer and while still processing the news she refuses to give up her seat in the bus to an old man (Chang Baohua) which provokes passengers and the conductor to insult her and her uncivilized ways. A novice reporter Yang Jiaqi (Wang Ludan) trying to make her way up the professional ladder at her sensationalist TV channel - aptly called Dragon TV - captures the event on her cell phone.
The episode goes viral and suddenly Ye Lanqiu becomes an infamous celebrity in need of her own personal bodyguard. Directed by Chen Kaige (“Farewell My Concubine”), “Caught in the Web” is a labyrinthine satire in which the director explores the notion of losing oneself in a world where privacy barely exists. With a cast comprised of TV actors and actresses, the film sets up an interesting, if not always efficient, network of performers that don’t fully click together but make stellar impressions when the scenes concentrate on them individually.
Watching Gao as Lanqiu for example, invites us to analyze the conflicting gender politics of China, where women are still treated in a subtly subservient way. The way in which she fails to let others know of what her real problem is and instead chooses to endure constant humiliation is infuriating but makes sense in the context. Wang Xueqi as her mogul boss Shen Liushu, is a delight to watch even if his character seems poised on indulging in misogyny. Chen Hong plays his wife with the same diabolical connivery we’ve come to expect from Chen’s historical epics.
