The Painted Veil

"Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people."

2006 2h 5m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🍅

74%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 1,314🍅74%Rotten Tomatoes●69Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 100,682

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A British medical doctor fights a cholera outbreak in a small Chinese village, while also being trapped at home in a loveless marriage to an unfaithful wife.

“Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Edward Norton
Dr. Walter Fane
Naomi Watts
Kitty Fane
Liev Schreiber
Charlie Townsend
Toby Jones
Mr. Waddington
Diana Rigg
Mother Superior
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang
Colonel Yu
Xia Yu
Wu Lien
Juliet Howland
Dorothy Townsend

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Curran
Writers: Ron Nyswaner
Languages: French, Mandarin, English
Countries: Canada, United States of America, China, Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Mandarin, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Canada, United States of America, China, Hong Kong.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Curran, shot by Stuart Dryburgh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alexandre de Franceschi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward Norton and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Curran directs. Stuart Dryburgh behind the camera. Alexandre Desplat scores. Alexandre de Franceschi cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in Canada, United States of America, China, Hong Kong. Dialogue in French, Mandarin, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 20 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Mandarin, English.
3International production across 4 countries: Canada, United States of America, China, Hong Kong.
4Directed by John Curran, shot by Stuart Dryburgh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Alexandre de Franceschi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Edward Norton and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people.".
9IMDB entry: tt0446755 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "infidelity", "china", "based on novel or book", "shanghai, china".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh
Original score: Alexandre Desplat
Editing: Alexandre de Franceschi
Production design: Juhua Tu
Costume design: Ruth Myers
Makeup / hair: Michal Bigger
Sound: Skip Lievsay
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $19,400,000
Box office: $26,910,847
Return: 139% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Painted Veil (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 74% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 69/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 100,682 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

11 wins & 13 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Curran

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter McGinn2021-01-09
★ 8/10
This movie seemed vaguely familiar to my wife like we had seen it before, but it all seemed new to me when we recently watched it. We both enjoyed it. I wasn’t concerned when a few reviews remarked that it moved slowly, as we have always appreciated movies that build a quiet story carefully, and mostly this one did that. My only criticism is that at the outset of the movie, I didn’t quite believe that Walter was in love with Kitty. He said he was, but I wonder if a scene or two showing him falling for her ended up on the cutting room floor. He merely seemed to stalk her around the party and want to marry her before he left for China. Similarly, Kitty falling for Charlie didn’t seem well constructed. It felt like one scene they stared at each other, flirted a bit, and the next scene they are in bed. But once I suspended that bit of disbelief, the film was great. Gradually Kitty develops as a character, and her marriage begins to be rebuilt from the rubble of her earlier actions. The final scene, a few years after the action in the bulk of the movie, brings the story full circle in a satisfying manner. All around a fine movie well worth watching patiently.
badelf2022-09-21
★ 7/10
I enjoyed this film a good more than I expected I would, based on the poor critical response and so-so viewer scores. Fortunately, Norton and Watts saved the film by turning in phenomenal performances. The real problem is that we never get totally invested in the characters. Nevertheless, The Painted Veil is a real love story.