{{short description|2012 film}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = Caught in the Web | image = Caught in the Web poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Chen Kaige | producer = Song Wei<br>Wang Ziwen<br>Chen Hong | writer = Chen Kaige<br>Tang Danian | starring = Gao Yuanyuan<br>Yao Chen<br>Mark Chao<br>Chen Hong<br>Wang Xueqi<br>Wang Luodan<br>Zhang Yi | music = Meng Ke<br>Ma Shangwen | cinematography = Yang Shu | editing = Li Dianshi | distributor = China Film Co., Ltd.<br>Huaxia Film Distribution | released = {{Film date|2012|7|6|df=yes}} | runtime = 121 minutes | country = China | language = Mandarin }}

'''''Caught in the Web''''' ({{lang-zh|c=搜索|p=Sōusuǒ}}) is a 2012 Chinese drama film directed by Chen Kaige. In September 2012 it screened as a special presentation at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2012/caughtintheweb | title = Caught In The Web | date = 12 September 2012 | publisher = Toronto International Film Festival | access-date = 1 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120928110112/http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2012/caughtintheweb# | archive-date = 28 September 2012 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref> The film was selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.<ref name="Oscar">{{cite news |url=http://chinesefilms.cn/141/2012/09/29/122s12132.htm |title=''Caught in the Web'' Competes for Academy Awards |date=29 September 2012 |access-date=29 September 2012 |work=Chinese Films |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009050715/http://www.chinesefilms.cn/141/2012/09/29/122s12132.htm |archive-date=9 October 2012 }}</ref>

==Plot== Set in Hangzhou, in modern-day China, a young woman becomes embroiled in controversy after a cell phone video of her being disrespectful on a public bus to an elderly person goes viral. The aftermath affects her personal and professional life and brings her face to face with the video's poster, an ambitious journalist.

==Cast== * Gao Yuanyuan as Ye Lanqiu * Yao Chen as Chen Ruoxi * Mark Chao as Yang Shoucheng * Wang Xueqi as Shen Liushu * Chen Hong as Mo Xiaoyu * Wang Luodan as Yang Jiaqi * Chen Ran as Tang Xiaohua * Zhang Yi as Zhang Mu * Tan Songyun

==Reception== Derek Elley of ''Film Business Asia'' gave the film a score of 9/10, and states "Chen has come late in the game to dealing with the social and ethical contradictions of life in modern-day China, but ''Web'' more than makes up for lost time. Densely plotted across its two hours' running-time, the film starts as a black comedy on the destructive power of modern media (especially China's internet discussion boards) but from its midway point gradually morphs into a complex web of love and ambition, both gained and lost."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.filmbiz.asia/reviews/caught-in-the-web|title=Caught in the Web|author=Elley, Derek|magazine=Film Business Asia|date=15 July 2012|access-date=21 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120080834/http://www.filmbiz.asia/reviews/caught-in-the-web#|archive-date=20 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Maggie Lee of ''Variety'' describes it as "An engrossing, if lengthy social drama in which a woman's minor public misconduct plunges her into a dragnet of cyber witch-hunting that unseats relationships, careers and a business empire, the punningly titled "Caught in the Web" reps a thought-provoking, character-driven morality tale by Chinese helmer Chen Kaige."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117948312/|title=Caught in the Web|author=Lee, Maggie|magazine=Variety|date=12 September 2012}}</ref>

Deborah Young of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' states "Chen Kaige's fast-paced contemporary dramedy is a masterful take on Internet character assassination."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/caught-web-toronto-review-371066|title=Caught in the Web: Toronto Review|author=Young, Deborah|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=17 September 2012}}</ref>

Dan Fainaru of ''Screen Daily'' describes the film as "A cinematic tour de force in every respect, Che Kaige’s complex, multi-layered story looks for a while like a satirical take on the misuse of new fancy gadgetry to deprive individuals of their last shred of privacy and ends on an introspective tone, suggesting there is no use blaming the gadgets, but the people behind them."<ref name=Fainaru>{{cite news|url=http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/caught-in-the-web/5046707.article|title=Caught In The Web|author=Fainaru, Dan|work=Screen Daily|date=14 September 2012}}</ref> Fainaru further describes the film as "A surprisingly refreshing departure for one of China's leading Fifth Generation filmmakers, better identified with period pieces."<ref name=Fainaru/>

==See also== * List of submissions to the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film * List of Chinese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film * Human flesh search engine

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|2259360|Caught in the Web}}

{{Chen Kaige |state=collapsed}} {{Chinese submission for Academy Awards}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caught In The Web}} Category:2012 films Category:2012 drama films Category:Chinese drama films Category:2012 Mandarin-language films Category:Films directed by Chen Kaige Category:2012 Chinese films