Mia & Ziyi

Happy Birthday to Mia Farrow (of Woody Allen filmography fame) and Ziyi Zhang (of Memoirs of a Geisha infamy) who turn 61 and 27 respectively today.

Mia Farrow may have long since lost her marbles [not any one thing ~just a cumulative impression] but she is a talented actor who ought to get more respect. She doesn't even seem to be recognized as VERY famous anymore which she has been for decades. Mia is one of, I would say, the top ten of most famous and relatively admired actors who were never nominated for an Oscar. She first gained fame on the Peyton Place TV series, than shot to the celebrity stratosphere by way of becoming Frank Sinatra's third wife at age 21 (he was 51 at the time). She divorced him two years later, the year she also broke through cinematically as the star of Roman Polanski's sensational horror classic Rosemary's Baby. It was the film that brought along with it the first (of many) Oscar snubs. [If you haven't seen this film, do so instantly. Really great stuff.]

My three favorite Farrow performances give or take Rosemary's unfortunate pregnancy? Broadway Danny Rose (1984), Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and Alice (1990). That's all Woody Allen but you'll truly marvel at her range within his very specific school of films if you watch all three.

Ziyi Zhang is more familiar to the world at large these days. Currently one could argue that she's the biggest non-English international film sensation. Maggie Cheung & Aishwarya Rai are beloved in specific pockets of moviefandom but don't seem to have fully caught on with the public at large. France, usually second only to Hollywood as an international movie-star factory, hasn't produced a major crossover sensation since Juliette Binoche in the 90s (though not for lack of trying: There are plenty of worthy candidates). I'm still hesistant to fully embrace Ziyi. I thought she was weak in Geisha and highly enjoyable but not necessarily great in her most acclaimed/noticed roles to date on these shores which are within Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon(2000) and The House of Flying Daggers(2004). But there's absolutely no competition when it comes to her best performance. Hands down that's her bewitching star turn in Wong Kar-Wai's gorgeous and haunting 2046 for which, in an ideal world, she would've received the awards attention that greeted her other far inferior 2005 performance.

If Hollywood were to make a biopic on Woody Allen or Mia Farrow right about now, you know they'd be all about snagging Ziyi to play Soon-Yi Previn.