Loosely based on the 1991 University of Iowa shooting incident, Dark Matter tells a heart-wrenching story of a brilliant mind lost in translation.
Liu Xing (also means Falling Star in Chinese), a young student with humble background, became the elite a few selected to pursue his dreams in America. Shouldering high hopes of folks back home, the naive dreamer works diligently towards 2 goals in life: a Nobel Prize and a blond wife. When his bright future is blocked by the jealous professor, his rosy dreams crushed by cultural clash, and most damaging of all - his pride and dignity eradicated under harsh reality, our protagonist turned into a cruel monster.
The film is skillfully shot, well acted, and thoroughly entertaining with many bitter-sweet humors depicting the tough living conditions of poor Chinese studying in America during late 80's. Meryl Streep is excellent as usual. Liu Ye, one of the best young actors in China today, played the protagonist with powerful emotions that will bring the gentle hearted viewers to tears.
If you are looking for authoritative explanations to the Lu Gang incident or any of the recent school shootings, you will likely be disappointed. According to the director, this is a story based on his own personal experience, aimed to bring awareness to the dark side of the academics circle as well as the overlooked lives of foreign students in America. I feel the script could to be strengthened by more psychological exploration into the protagonist character, so the ending would not appear so abrupt. Yet overall this is a beautiful and touching movie. Not to be missed by people with similar experiences or those who are curious about the subject matter.
