Scenes of gun shootouts have been an essential fixture in cinema since “The Great Train Robbery” (1903). Serving as a staple of cinematic spectacles, filmmakers have continuously competed to present their unique interpretations, whether through virtuosic camera work or unconventional set-up. Just think back to the final assault in Branded to Kill, John Woo ‘s personal rendition of the Mexican standoff in the iconic restaurant scene from A Better Tomorrow (1986) or more recently the climax shootout of Drug War. The list could go on forever.
Diao Yinan introduced a very peculiar variation of it in his noir film “Black Coal” set in far northern China. Fragments of a recently identified body have been discovered scattered across various coal mining sites, leaving Inspector Zhang with just one lead: a coal truck driver who has just resigned, and whose brother happens to be the proprietor of a hair salon. The scene unfolds as Zhang,...
Diao Yinan introduced a very peculiar variation of it in his noir film “Black Coal” set in far northern China. Fragments of a recently identified body have been discovered scattered across various coal mining sites, leaving Inspector Zhang with just one lead: a coal truck driver who has just resigned, and whose brother happens to be the proprietor of a hair salon. The scene unfolds as Zhang,...
- 3/17/2024
- by Jean Claude
- AsianMoviePulse
Having already directed plenty of action-thrillers, a few sci-fis and — last year — a whole load of mutts (the Venice-bowing “Dogman”), Luc Besson is now set to venture into epic fantasy territories with one of the most famous big screen characters of all.
The French director is to direct an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s’ “Dracula,” telling the story of 15th century Prince Vladimir who cursed God following the death of his beloved wife and is turned into a vampire. Later, in 19th century London, he discovers his wife’s doppelgänger and dooms himself by pursuing her.
Variety understands that Christoph Waltz is in talks to star, as is Caleb Landry-Jones, which would reunite Besson with his lead in “Dogman,” which bowed in Venice last year. Like “Dogman,” Besson’s EuropaCorp is producing.
Kinology is talking to buyers about the project at the European Film Market.
Billed as Besson’s big...
The French director is to direct an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s’ “Dracula,” telling the story of 15th century Prince Vladimir who cursed God following the death of his beloved wife and is turned into a vampire. Later, in 19th century London, he discovers his wife’s doppelgänger and dooms himself by pursuing her.
Variety understands that Christoph Waltz is in talks to star, as is Caleb Landry-Jones, which would reunite Besson with his lead in “Dogman,” which bowed in Venice last year. Like “Dogman,” Besson’s EuropaCorp is producing.
Kinology is talking to buyers about the project at the European Film Market.
Billed as Besson’s big...
- 2/17/2024
- by Alex Ritman and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
EuropaCorp, the production company founded by Luc Besson and taken over by New York fund Vine Alternative Investments in 2020, has appointed Jean-Marc Lacarrère as its new CEO.
Lacarrère will begin his new role on March 3, succeeding Axel Duroux, the French-Swiss executive who helmed the company for nearly four years and stepped down in December.
A French media expert, Lacarrère previously worked at the Canal+ Group, and managed the music publishing and production company La Bande Son, which was later acquired by Studiocanal. He also headed the digital news channel now known as CNews, went on to join Bolloré Média Group to spearhead Direct Cinéma and headed Canal+’s free-to-air division. He has also worked with “The Bureau” producer Alex Berger and Benjamin de Rothschild, and was appointed president of CanalPlay and head of international SVOD for the Canal+ Group. He joined Vivendi Content in 2017, before setting up Harvest Mood Films,...
Lacarrère will begin his new role on March 3, succeeding Axel Duroux, the French-Swiss executive who helmed the company for nearly four years and stepped down in December.
A French media expert, Lacarrère previously worked at the Canal+ Group, and managed the music publishing and production company La Bande Son, which was later acquired by Studiocanal. He also headed the digital news channel now known as CNews, went on to join Bolloré Média Group to spearhead Direct Cinéma and headed Canal+’s free-to-air division. He has also worked with “The Bureau” producer Alex Berger and Benjamin de Rothschild, and was appointed president of CanalPlay and head of international SVOD for the Canal+ Group. He joined Vivendi Content in 2017, before setting up Harvest Mood Films,...
- 2/14/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy and Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
As we have mentioned in the past, Chinese cinema has a knack of producing crime films that unfold in a distinct art house style, with titles like “Black Coal, Thin Ice”, “Mr Six”, and “Long Day's Journey into the Night” being among the first that come to mind. Cannes-favorite (all four of his movies have screened there) Wei Shujun returned in 2023 in the festival with, “Only the River Flows”, a movie that follows a similar approach.
“Only the River Flows” screened at Cannes Official poster – 76th edition © Photo © Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Scoop – Création graphique © Hartland Villa
Adapted from the novella “Mistakes by the River” by the famous Chinese novelist Yu Hua, the almost entirely shot on 16mm film takes place in the small city of Banpo in China during the 90s. It is there that police detective Ma Zhe is tasked with finding the culprit of the murder of Granny Four,...
“Only the River Flows” screened at Cannes Official poster – 76th edition © Photo © Jack Garofalo/Paris Match/Scoop – Création graphique © Hartland Villa
Adapted from the novella “Mistakes by the River” by the famous Chinese novelist Yu Hua, the almost entirely shot on 16mm film takes place in the small city of Banpo in China during the 90s. It is there that police detective Ma Zhe is tasked with finding the culprit of the murder of Granny Four,...
- 7/4/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
‘Only The River Flows’ Review: A Witty, Convoluted China-Noir That is Less Whodunnit Than Whodidntit
Imagine the gleaming surfaces of Park Chan-wook’s terrific “Decision to Leave” stripped of romance, all scuzzed-up and grimy. Imagine drilling down through Diao Yinan’s Berlin-winning “Black Coal, Thin Ice” and finding unexpected seams of absurdist dark comedy. You are now somewhere in the seamy offbeat world of “Only the River Flows,” director Wei Shujun’s inventive riff on Asian-noir that gives the expanding subgenre something its Chinese contributions often lack: a pitch-black sense of humor.
Wei has been laying claim to the title of laid-back joker in China’s new-gen pack since debuting with affable slacker comedy “Striding into the Wind” in 2020 (a selection in 2020’s canceled Cannes festival) and following it up with autoreflexive filmmaking satire “Ripples of Life.” Now he brings his wry sensibilities to bear on this murdery mindbender, which he adapts, with a healthy disdain for boring stuff like “linear plotting” and “resolution,” alongside Kang Chunlei,...
Wei has been laying claim to the title of laid-back joker in China’s new-gen pack since debuting with affable slacker comedy “Striding into the Wind” in 2020 (a selection in 2020’s canceled Cannes festival) and following it up with autoreflexive filmmaking satire “Ripples of Life.” Now he brings his wry sensibilities to bear on this murdery mindbender, which he adapts, with a healthy disdain for boring stuff like “linear plotting” and “resolution,” alongside Kang Chunlei,...
- 5/25/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Tseng Ying-ting’s thriller opens with pyrotechnics lightning up the New Year Eve’s sky to Yazoo’s 1982 smash hit “Only You”, an uncharacteristically romantic environment for a suicide attempt. This sequence is the introduction into the movie’s key character, police officer Wu Jie (Janine Chun-Ning Chang) whose plans of ending it all are derailed when a teenager appears out of nowhere and starts banging on her window pleading for help. Her car is actually parked close to the popular gathering spot at the river bank, and Wu decides to get out and see what made the teenagers leave the place in panic. It is there she discovers a bloated corpse washed up on shore. Hit by the paradox of a dead person saving her life, Wu chooses to solve the case despite the anguish she is experiencing at work.
The Abandoned is screening at...
The Abandoned is screening at...
- 1/28/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
The (sub)genre that has been carrying Japanese cinema to the international stage for years, was one of the main components of the explosion of Korean cinema during the last decades, and has given some of the most iconic Hong Kong titles, is not other than the serial killer movie. In this list, we tried to include some of the most memorable titles that include the particular type of murderers in their scripts, in a list, that as you can see, is filled with masterpieces, not only from the aforementioned countries, but also from India, China, Iran, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Without further ado, here are 35 Great Asian Serial Killer Moviers, in alphabetical order.
1. Baishe Srabon
For those who associate Bengali cinema just with Satyajit Ray, it should be a must-watch. A captivating neo-noir crime thriller that combines formulaic genre elements with subtleties for nerdy bookworms. We have two cops,...
Without further ado, here are 35 Great Asian Serial Killer Moviers, in alphabetical order.
1. Baishe Srabon
For those who associate Bengali cinema just with Satyajit Ray, it should be a must-watch. A captivating neo-noir crime thriller that combines formulaic genre elements with subtleties for nerdy bookworms. We have two cops,...
- 9/11/2022
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
The crime film is not exactly one known for its art-house aesthetics, as the frantic pace, the intense use of music, and the occasionally extreme violence are almost always, the traits that characterize the category. However, occasionally, and even more frequently during the latest years, we have seen a number of films that despite focusing on criminals and the whole concept of crime, implement mostly artistic aesthetics, with the focus being on them as much as on the story and characters, while the pace is most certainly slow. The quality, however, is by no means lower, as the titles we have winnowed here eloquently highlight.
Without further ado, here are 10 (and one more) great samples, in chronological order:
10. Breathless
The circle of violence started by domestic violence is the prominent focus of the film with nearly all of the characters going through such experiences. Sang-hoon’s abuse during his childhood...
Without further ado, here are 10 (and one more) great samples, in chronological order:
10. Breathless
The circle of violence started by domestic violence is the prominent focus of the film with nearly all of the characters going through such experiences. Sang-hoon’s abuse during his childhood...
- 4/3/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Festival’s 26 th edition runs October 6-15.
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) is launching its On Screen section which will carry premieres of high-profile drama series that will later be streamed on Ott video platforms.
Biff, whose 26th edition will be held October 6-15, said the section “aims to precisely reflect the current state of the market, which is expanding multi-directionally, while embracing the extended flow and value of cinema” and should be “able to present more diverse and higher-quality works to the audience, whose range of fandom is expanding”.
The inaugural On Screen Section will launch...
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) is launching its On Screen section which will carry premieres of high-profile drama series that will later be streamed on Ott video platforms.
Biff, whose 26th edition will be held October 6-15, said the section “aims to precisely reflect the current state of the market, which is expanding multi-directionally, while embracing the extended flow and value of cinema” and should be “able to present more diverse and higher-quality works to the audience, whose range of fandom is expanding”.
The inaugural On Screen Section will launch...
- 8/26/2021
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
Winner of the Golden Bear for direction and Silver Bear for Best Actor in Berlin, “Black Coal, Thin Ice” skyrocketed Diao Yinan‘s fame in the festival circuit, despite the fact that it would take five years until his next work, “The Wild Goose Lake“
The part labyrinthal, part noir story begins in 1999, in Heilongjiang Province, when the dismembered parts of a human body appear in shipments of coal in different cities. Detective Zhang Zili is assigned to investigate, and with the help of a worker who discovers the clothes and the ID of the deceased, identify the body as coal worker Liang Zhijun. Further investigations lead Zhang, his partner Wang, and two more policemen to a parlor run by two brothers. The potential interview goes horribly wrong, with one of the suspects killing the two policemen and injuring Zhang, before he kills them both. After getting out of the hospital,...
The part labyrinthal, part noir story begins in 1999, in Heilongjiang Province, when the dismembered parts of a human body appear in shipments of coal in different cities. Detective Zhang Zili is assigned to investigate, and with the help of a worker who discovers the clothes and the ID of the deceased, identify the body as coal worker Liang Zhijun. Further investigations lead Zhang, his partner Wang, and two more policemen to a parlor run by two brothers. The potential interview goes horribly wrong, with one of the suspects killing the two policemen and injuring Zhang, before he kills them both. After getting out of the hospital,...
- 11/5/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Korean series “Kingdom,” and “The World of the Married” and China’s “The Bad Kids” were the most rewarded shows on Sunday at Busan’s Asian Contents Awards.
The event in its second year was live-streamed from the Busan International Film Festival where hosts and performers were the only ones physically present. Presenters and prize-winners joined remotely via video conference.
Singapore’s “Last Madame” was named as best Asian drama, jointly with Taiwan’s “When The Camelia Blooms.”
A Netflix original series, made with AStory, “Kingdom” earned three awards. Actor Ju Ji-hoon won the Korean actor award, while Kim Eunhee won the best writer award, one of the prize categories that was not divided by nationality. The show also won the technical achievement award for its special effects provided by Madman Post.
Romantic espionage drama, “The World of the Married,” produced and broadcast by Korea’s Jtbc, and also shown outside Korea by Netflix,...
The event in its second year was live-streamed from the Busan International Film Festival where hosts and performers were the only ones physically present. Presenters and prize-winners joined remotely via video conference.
Singapore’s “Last Madame” was named as best Asian drama, jointly with Taiwan’s “When The Camelia Blooms.”
A Netflix original series, made with AStory, “Kingdom” earned three awards. Actor Ju Ji-hoon won the Korean actor award, while Kim Eunhee won the best writer award, one of the prize categories that was not divided by nationality. The show also won the technical achievement award for its special effects provided by Madman Post.
Romantic espionage drama, “The World of the Married,” produced and broadcast by Korea’s Jtbc, and also shown outside Korea by Netflix,...
- 10/26/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Iqiyi’s drama series “The Bad Kids” has landed a slot on Japanese pay-tv platform Wowow, a first for a contemporary, mainland Chinese show. It is expected to play out from early 2021.
Where many Chinese dramas run for between 40 and 80 episodes, “The Bad Kids” comprises 12 50-minute episodes, structred as a suspense series that tells the story of three youngsters in a small coastal town. They accidentally witness a murder and then become involved in blackmail plot. Its starry cast includes Qin Hao and Wang Jingchun.
The series is presented by iQIYI and co-produced by Eternity Pictures, with Han Sanping, former head of China Film Group, as the lead producer. It was directed by Xin Shuang.
“The Bad Kids” played on iQIYI from June under its Mist Theater label and has earned a strong critical reception. On Chinese entertainment review site Douban, it attracted some 800,000 reviews, with an average score of 9.2 out of ten.
Where many Chinese dramas run for between 40 and 80 episodes, “The Bad Kids” comprises 12 50-minute episodes, structred as a suspense series that tells the story of three youngsters in a small coastal town. They accidentally witness a murder and then become involved in blackmail plot. Its starry cast includes Qin Hao and Wang Jingchun.
The series is presented by iQIYI and co-produced by Eternity Pictures, with Han Sanping, former head of China Film Group, as the lead producer. It was directed by Xin Shuang.
“The Bad Kids” played on iQIYI from June under its Mist Theater label and has earned a strong critical reception. On Chinese entertainment review site Douban, it attracted some 800,000 reviews, with an average score of 9.2 out of ten.
- 10/12/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The fourth annual Pingyao International Film Festival will run as an in-person event from Oct. 10 to 19 in the central Chinese province of Shanxi.
Chinese director Diao Yinan, who won the 2014 Golden Bear for his gritty thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice” and premiered his latest neo-noir “Wild Goose Lake” at Cannes last year, will act as “festival mentor,” hosting special screenings of his own works and a masterclass.
In a video message, Diao complimented Pingyao on being “unique and professional,” a place that “gathers people like a bonfire, with everyone chatting around.” He praised the festival for its support of young talent, saying that it has “provided a platform for [young people] to join each other, to discuss openly and explore freely.”
Founded by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke (“A Touch of Sin”) and Marco Muller, the former director of the Venice Film Festival who serves as Pingyao’s artistic director, the festival unfolds...
Chinese director Diao Yinan, who won the 2014 Golden Bear for his gritty thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice” and premiered his latest neo-noir “Wild Goose Lake” at Cannes last year, will act as “festival mentor,” hosting special screenings of his own works and a masterclass.
In a video message, Diao complimented Pingyao on being “unique and professional,” a place that “gathers people like a bonfire, with everyone chatting around.” He praised the festival for its support of young talent, saying that it has “provided a platform for [young people] to join each other, to discuss openly and explore freely.”
Founded by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke (“A Touch of Sin”) and Marco Muller, the former director of the Venice Film Festival who serves as Pingyao’s artistic director, the festival unfolds...
- 9/29/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
“Moses on the Plain,” a film executive produced by art house director Diao Yinan, is among the first notable Chinese titles to have completed shooting since the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
It stars A-listers Zhou Dongyu, who has enjoyed a further rise on the back of last year’s breakout teen drama “Better Days,” and Liu Haoran, the young star of the “Detective Chinatown” franchise. The third installment of “Chinatown” was postponed from its Chinese New Year debut in January because of coronavirus and is one of the most hotly anticipated blockbusters awaiting a future release.
Diao’s crime thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice” won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin Intl. Film Festival in 2014. His “Wild Goose Lake” debuted in competition at Cannes last year.
On the social media platform Weibo, producer Dun He (“Send Me To The Clouds”) explained that filming was stopped early on...
It stars A-listers Zhou Dongyu, who has enjoyed a further rise on the back of last year’s breakout teen drama “Better Days,” and Liu Haoran, the young star of the “Detective Chinatown” franchise. The third installment of “Chinatown” was postponed from its Chinese New Year debut in January because of coronavirus and is one of the most hotly anticipated blockbusters awaiting a future release.
Diao’s crime thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice” won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin Intl. Film Festival in 2014. His “Wild Goose Lake” debuted in competition at Cannes last year.
On the social media platform Weibo, producer Dun He (“Send Me To The Clouds”) explained that filming was stopped early on...
- 6/10/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
As coronavirus restrictions begin to ease up in China, film and TV production is reportedly starting up again, albeit under strict health guidelines. According to China Global Television Network, some crews have started to resume work following weeks on hiatus due to the outbreak.
Back in February, Xiangshan Film and Television Town in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang Province of eastern China, was among the first to reopen, with four crews going back to work and at least 50 readying to go back. The administrator of Xiangshan, however, mandated epidemic emergency precautions to be taken on set, limiting the number of gatherings of crew members to 50. Crew members were also asked to take an exam on epidemic prevention consisting of 25 questions, and all with a perfect score.
The news comes as China starts to recover its economy and ease up quarantine protocols, though movie theaters — which briefly reopened this month before shuttering again — remain closed due to concerns over a possible second wave of infection.
On March 28, Hengdian World Studios, which is one of China’s biggest production hub, reopened five shooting bases and brought more than 20 crews back to work. Films have also resumed shooting, including “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers,” and “Red Sorghum” director Zhang Yimou’s upcoming film “Impasse,” starring Zhang Yi and Zhu Yawen. Production was taking place in Datong, northern China’s Shanxi Province, after shutting down operations for more than 50 days.
Also resuming filming, in the Hada Bay Old Industrial Zone in northeastern China’s Jilin Province, is director Zhang Ji’s “Moses in the Plain,” produced by “Black Coal, Thin Ice” Berlinale Golden Bear winner Diao Yinan, whose most recently film was sleek Chinese noir and 2019 Cannes selection “The Wild Goose Lake.”
Local governments in China have offered subsidies to the struggling film industry. The government of Dongyang City, in Zhejiang Province, offered 10 million yuan (equivalent to about $1.4 million) to cover overhead costs at Hengdian World Studios and provide for the crews. Hengdian also exempted its rental fees, discounted its hotel accommodation, and gave those quarantine in Hengdian 500 yuan per person. Xiangshan also took similar measures to provide for crew members by cutting accommodation and rental fees, and for equipment.
These developments come as production remains halted indefinitely in the United States, with studios anticipating going back to work in the summer, while continuing to shift release dates for their finished tentpoles.
Back in February, Xiangshan Film and Television Town in Ningbo, in the Zhejiang Province of eastern China, was among the first to reopen, with four crews going back to work and at least 50 readying to go back. The administrator of Xiangshan, however, mandated epidemic emergency precautions to be taken on set, limiting the number of gatherings of crew members to 50. Crew members were also asked to take an exam on epidemic prevention consisting of 25 questions, and all with a perfect score.
The news comes as China starts to recover its economy and ease up quarantine protocols, though movie theaters — which briefly reopened this month before shuttering again — remain closed due to concerns over a possible second wave of infection.
On March 28, Hengdian World Studios, which is one of China’s biggest production hub, reopened five shooting bases and brought more than 20 crews back to work. Films have also resumed shooting, including “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers,” and “Red Sorghum” director Zhang Yimou’s upcoming film “Impasse,” starring Zhang Yi and Zhu Yawen. Production was taking place in Datong, northern China’s Shanxi Province, after shutting down operations for more than 50 days.
Also resuming filming, in the Hada Bay Old Industrial Zone in northeastern China’s Jilin Province, is director Zhang Ji’s “Moses in the Plain,” produced by “Black Coal, Thin Ice” Berlinale Golden Bear winner Diao Yinan, whose most recently film was sleek Chinese noir and 2019 Cannes selection “The Wild Goose Lake.”
Local governments in China have offered subsidies to the struggling film industry. The government of Dongyang City, in Zhejiang Province, offered 10 million yuan (equivalent to about $1.4 million) to cover overhead costs at Hengdian World Studios and provide for the crews. Hengdian also exempted its rental fees, discounted its hotel accommodation, and gave those quarantine in Hengdian 500 yuan per person. Xiangshan also took similar measures to provide for crew members by cutting accommodation and rental fees, and for equipment.
These developments come as production remains halted indefinitely in the United States, with studios anticipating going back to work in the summer, while continuing to shift release dates for their finished tentpoles.
- 4/5/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Filming of movie and TV series is underway in China following a months-long shutdown forced by the coronavirus outbreak. But not the whole country is back at work, or working at the same speed.
“We’ve been shooting our TV series ‘Game Changer’ since the beginning of March. We’ve completed all the interiors and now have only one week outside to do,” Wang Haiyi, of film and TV company Hishow Entertainment, told Variety.
“We spent six weeks of lockdown in three hotels, with all the cast and crew, including star Huang Xiaoming. Nobody moved. But we were lucky to be near Chengdu which was not the worst part of the country affected by the virus, so we have been able to restart.”
Chinese state media reports that five stages at Hengdian, the mega studios near Hangzhou, have been back in action since March 28. Lensing of TV series “Legend of Fei,...
“We’ve been shooting our TV series ‘Game Changer’ since the beginning of March. We’ve completed all the interiors and now have only one week outside to do,” Wang Haiyi, of film and TV company Hishow Entertainment, told Variety.
“We spent six weeks of lockdown in three hotels, with all the cast and crew, including star Huang Xiaoming. Nobody moved. But we were lucky to be near Chengdu which was not the worst part of the country affected by the virus, so we have been able to restart.”
Chinese state media reports that five stages at Hengdian, the mega studios near Hangzhou, have been back in action since March 28. Lensing of TV series “Legend of Fei,...
- 4/3/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
After touching on financial precarity with “Sorry We Missed You,” social unrest with “Les Miserables” and refugee plight with “Atlantics,” the Cannes Film Festival put current issues on hold and rolled into a weekend full of girls, gangsters and guns.
As soon as the brute force punch of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Too Old to Die Young” had time to bruise over, the bloody festivities picked right back up for Saturday’s premiere of “The Wild Goose Lake” — a stylish Chinese crime thriller that feels an awful lot like a Refn movie funneled through Middle Kingdom sensibilities.
Or maybe that’s the other way around, because the rap on director Diao Yinan back home is that he’s the most American-minded contemporary Chinese filmmaker… but that could just mean that he likes to play around in genre.
Diao struck gold with “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” his offbeat neo-noir about a...
As soon as the brute force punch of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Too Old to Die Young” had time to bruise over, the bloody festivities picked right back up for Saturday’s premiere of “The Wild Goose Lake” — a stylish Chinese crime thriller that feels an awful lot like a Refn movie funneled through Middle Kingdom sensibilities.
Or maybe that’s the other way around, because the rap on director Diao Yinan back home is that he’s the most American-minded contemporary Chinese filmmaker… but that could just mean that he likes to play around in genre.
Diao struck gold with “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” his offbeat neo-noir about a...
- 3/5/2020
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
The followup to Black Coal, Thin Ice, Diao Yinan's blistering noir that put him on the international cinema map, The Wild Goose Lake is another stylish noir/policier. If Black Coal Thin Ice was a cold noir with its wintry setting, The Wild Goose Lake is the opposite- its subtropical setting and constant rain provide the film soaked with atmosphere and vivid colors under flickering fluorescent lights. And it's a beauty, thanks to Diao's regular cinematographer Dong Jingsong. Along with recent Long Day's Journey into Night, The Wild Goose Lake continues the tradition of 'Tropical Noir' of Wong Kar-Wai's work. It starts out with a large gathering of motorbike stealing street gangs in the basement of a hotel. While divvying up the territories, a scuffle breaks...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/5/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Writer and director Diao Yinan’s follow-up to the award-winning Black Coal, Thin Ice is The Wild Goose Lake, a film noir set in a southern China of humid tenements and steamy resorts. Yinan based his script on memories, such as the train station that opens the movie, and photographs, like a black-and-white “swim companion” lounging on a boat — imaged he uses to explore genre characters and situations. Double-crossed on a job, crook Zhou Zenong (Hu […]...
- 3/5/2020
- by Daniel Eagan
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Writer and director Diao Yinan’s follow-up to the award-winning Black Coal, Thin Ice is The Wild Goose Lake, a film noir set in a southern China of humid tenements and steamy resorts. Yinan based his script on memories, such as the train station that opens the movie, and photographs, like a black-and-white “swim companion” lounging on a boat — imaged he uses to explore genre characters and situations. Double-crossed on a job, crook Zhou Zenong (Hu […]...
- 3/5/2020
- by Daniel Eagan
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Diao Yi'nan's The Wild Goose Lake is being shown exclusively on Mubi from February 28 - March 28, 2020 in the United Kingdom in the series The New Auteurs.Illustration by Alix Pentecost FarrenEarly into Diao Yi’nan’s The Wild Goose Lake, Fan Liao’s Captain Liu stands before a group of plainclothes cops and a half-charted map. Liu and fellow officers are hunting down a gangster by the name of Zhou (Ge Hu), and the map shows his last known whereabouts: a town in southern China nestled along the Wild Goose Lake. Many of the cops aren’t locals, so the briefing doubles as a warning against the thug and one against the place itself. “Be well aware of the complexity of the lake area,” Liu says of the alien turf: “it’s a lawless place that no-one really controls.” In the sinisterly seductive world of Diao’s fourth feature, the...
- 2/29/2020
- MUBI
If one is in the mood for some highly-stylized neo-noir, the best option this spring is Diao Yinan’s impressive follow-up to his awarding-winning Black Coal, Thin Ice, titled The Wild Goose Lake. An official selection at Cannes, Tiff, and Nyff, Film Movement will release the film on March 6 beginning at Film Forum in NYC and we’re pleased to share an exclusive clip. As previewed in this scene, which places us in the middle of a chase, the director expertly plays with color and unexpected turns of violence to rethink the crime drama.
The film follows the trajectory of a Chinese small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) who accidentally kills a cop, forcing him to avoid the bounty placed on his head from cops and other gangsters hoping to procure the award for themselves. Along the way he entwines himself with an enigmatic call girl Liu Aiai (Kawi...
The film follows the trajectory of a Chinese small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) who accidentally kills a cop, forcing him to avoid the bounty placed on his head from cops and other gangsters hoping to procure the award for themselves. Along the way he entwines himself with an enigmatic call girl Liu Aiai (Kawi...
- 2/20/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A follow-up to his awarding-winning Black Coal, Thin Ice, acclaimed Chinese genre filmmaker Diao Yinan is back with The Wild Goose Lake, a sumptuously stylized crime noir scheduled for a U.S. theatrical release this March. An official selection at Cannes, Tiff, and Nyff, Film Movement has now unveiled the new trailer.
The film follows the trajectory of a Chinese small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) who accidentally kills a cop, forcing him to avoid the bounty placed on his head from cops and other gangsters hoping to procure the award for themselves. Along the way he entwines himself with an enigmatic call girl Liu Aiai (Kawi Lun-Mei) who may have hidden ulterior motives of her own.
Our contributor Nick Newman placed it as one of his top ten films of 2019, and our review by Josh Lewis lauded the film, praising it as “ a strange combination of filmic tools...
The film follows the trajectory of a Chinese small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Hu Ge) who accidentally kills a cop, forcing him to avoid the bounty placed on his head from cops and other gangsters hoping to procure the award for themselves. Along the way he entwines himself with an enigmatic call girl Liu Aiai (Kawi Lun-Mei) who may have hidden ulterior motives of her own.
Our contributor Nick Newman placed it as one of his top ten films of 2019, and our review by Josh Lewis lauded the film, praising it as “ a strange combination of filmic tools...
- 1/30/2020
- by Margaret Rasberry
- The Film Stage
Mubi is delighted to announce that Diao Yinan’s The Wild Goose Lake will be available to stream exclusively from 28 February 2020.
The fourth feature from writer-director Diao, whose 2014’s investigative drama Black Coal, Thin Ice won the Golden Bear at the 2014 Berlinale, The Wild Goose Lake is a hyper-stylish, sumptuously shot crime-drama starring Hu Ge (as Zhou Zenong), Gwei Lun Mei (as Liu Aiai), Wan Qian (as Yang Shujun), Qi Dao (as Hua Hua) and Liao Fan (as Captain Liu).
In the sprawling central Chinese city of Wuhan, a network of lakes offers dead space amidst the urban chaos. The lakes are ideal places to hide, and when crime gang leader Zhou (Hu Ge) needs to lay low, he looks for anonymity amidst this hinterland’s neon-lit hangouts. There he meets a mysterious girl (Gwei Lun Mei) who works for Zhou’s boss and who may or may not be there to save him.
The fourth feature from writer-director Diao, whose 2014’s investigative drama Black Coal, Thin Ice won the Golden Bear at the 2014 Berlinale, The Wild Goose Lake is a hyper-stylish, sumptuously shot crime-drama starring Hu Ge (as Zhou Zenong), Gwei Lun Mei (as Liu Aiai), Wan Qian (as Yang Shujun), Qi Dao (as Hua Hua) and Liao Fan (as Captain Liu).
In the sprawling central Chinese city of Wuhan, a network of lakes offers dead space amidst the urban chaos. The lakes are ideal places to hide, and when crime gang leader Zhou (Hu Ge) needs to lay low, he looks for anonymity amidst this hinterland’s neon-lit hangouts. There he meets a mysterious girl (Gwei Lun Mei) who works for Zhou’s boss and who may or may not be there to save him.
- 1/24/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Diao Yinan-directed film grosses $23m, while Giuseppe Tornatore classic The Legend Of 1900 is now on $20m.
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
- 12/11/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Diao Yinan-directed film grosses $23m, while Giuseppe Tornatore classic The Legend Of 1900 is now on $20m.
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
- 12/11/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Having won the Golden Bear of the 64th Berlinale with “Black Coal, Thin Ice” in 2014, Chinese film has gained the attention of an international audience once more. “The Wild Goose Lake” continues the social realism that Diao Yinan laid out in his big festival hit. His first features “Uniform” (2003) and “Night Train” (2007) already showed the daily life of China’s citizens, focusing on relevant topics of power and identity in the context of the working class. “Black Coal, Thin Ice” dealt with the conflict between communism and capitalism. A symbolic crime story that touches the conflict between China’s past and present. “The Wild Goose Lake” can be seen clearly in the tradition of its predecessors, as Diao picks up all of the previous topics, but also brings his noted visual presentation to perfection.
“The Wild Goose Lake” is screening in Viennale
A group of undercover cops dancing with Led...
“The Wild Goose Lake” is screening in Viennale
A group of undercover cops dancing with Led...
- 10/30/2019
- by Alexander Knoth
- AsianMoviePulse
Ever since “Black Coal, Thin Ice” won the Golden Bear at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival back in 2014, one of the most anticipated Chinese films for fans has been director Diao Yinan’s follow-up to it. Five years later, we have “The Wild Goose Lake”, which premiered In Competiton at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
Synopsis
The story of a gangster on the run who eventually sacrifices himself to save his family and the woman he encounters along the way.
The film stars Hu Ge (“1911”) and both Liao Fan and Gwei Lun-mei from “Black Coal, Thin Ice”. While a a wide release date is not presently known, it has been doing the festival circuit rounds since its French premiere and is expected to release widely some point before the end of this year.
Synopsis
The story of a gangster on the run who eventually sacrifices himself to save his family and the woman he encounters along the way.
The film stars Hu Ge (“1911”) and both Liao Fan and Gwei Lun-mei from “Black Coal, Thin Ice”. While a a wide release date is not presently known, it has been doing the festival circuit rounds since its French premiere and is expected to release widely some point before the end of this year.
- 9/11/2019
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Diao Yinan is the only Chinese director with a film in the main competition this year at Cannes. He’s already a known entity on the arthouse circuit, having won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2014 for his hardscrabble, coal-blackened detective thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice.” Now he’s made the leap to the Croisette with a bigger-budget, more choreographed gangster film.
Diao had the idea for the film even before “Black Coal,” but it wasn’t until afterwards that he saw a news item so similar to his original concept that he knew he had to go ahead with the project. “My first idea — about a character wanted by the police who hopes to give the prize money for his capture to the woman he loves — was overly romantic. It was a bit too sweet and I don’t like sweet,” he told Variety, with a laugh, in Cannes.
Diao had the idea for the film even before “Black Coal,” but it wasn’t until afterwards that he saw a news item so similar to his original concept that he knew he had to go ahead with the project. “My first idea — about a character wanted by the police who hopes to give the prize money for his capture to the woman he loves — was overly romantic. It was a bit too sweet and I don’t like sweet,” he told Variety, with a laugh, in Cannes.
- 5/21/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
In competition in Cannes with “Wild Goose Lake,” director Diao Yinan explained Sunday why he’s fascinated by dark crime thrillers – and why his new film features dialogue in China’s Wuhan dialect.
“Such thrillers are not only an exercise in style; they’re also full of dramatic tension, and when you combine style with dramatic tension, you can easily make a film that’s both good-looking and is an expression of the auteur,” Diao said at the “Wild Goose Lake” news conference. “The social issues that are facing Chinese society at the moment make a fertile soil out of which this kind of film noir grows.”
He added: “In my films and in this film in particular, I try to portray the opposite of a utopia – a space that exists in our inner hearts as a space of mystery and danger but also in the restaurants, bars and gray spaces outside the big cities.
“Such thrillers are not only an exercise in style; they’re also full of dramatic tension, and when you combine style with dramatic tension, you can easily make a film that’s both good-looking and is an expression of the auteur,” Diao said at the “Wild Goose Lake” news conference. “The social issues that are facing Chinese society at the moment make a fertile soil out of which this kind of film noir grows.”
He added: “In my films and in this film in particular, I try to portray the opposite of a utopia – a space that exists in our inner hearts as a space of mystery and danger but also in the restaurants, bars and gray spaces outside the big cities.
- 5/19/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
In any film noir, there is The Moment It All Goes Wrong. But it is unlikely you will soon see that moment, or any of the genre’s other staple plot points, staged and executed with quite the slick, dark dazzle of Diao Yinan’s “The Wild Goose Lake.” At an underworld gathering, held in the dingy amphitheater of a hotel basement, a few dozen grimy gangsters are learning the latest techniques in motorcycle theft. Then comes the parceling out of territories in the unnamed nearby city, and a squabble erupts over a lucrative zone. A shot rings out, a brawl ensues, lit by one swinging light bulb and imagined in a serious of punchy closeups: a grimacing face in a half-nelson; a bloodied, tattooed knuckle; a prosthetic being ripped from its limb. It’s a scene we’ve watched a hundred times before, but here it feels electrifyingly new.
- 5/18/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
An invigorating, poetic, and discretely brilliant Chinese noir that adds up to less than the sum of its parts, Diao Yinan’s “The Wild Goose Lake” can’t help but feel like a mild comedown from the director’s Berlinale-winning 2014, “Black Coal, Thin Ice.” To some degree, that disappointment may have been inevitable, as Yinan’s five-year-old masterpiece tapped into the kind of dark magic that’s difficult to conjure twice. Alas, it doesn’t necessarily help that Diao’s first feature in five years treads similar territory as his previous work, as he once again steers his bleak genius towards the bitter indignities of China’s “second-tier” cities, weaving a sibylline crime story of life and death through a world that’s moving too fast to keep tabs on such things.
Both “The Wild Goose Lake” and “Black Coal, Thin Ice” are splattered with utterly indelible moments of violence and thwarted grace,...
Both “The Wild Goose Lake” and “Black Coal, Thin Ice” are splattered with utterly indelible moments of violence and thwarted grace,...
- 5/18/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
An above-average action thriller set in the snow-covered environs of Baekdu Mountain on the China-North Korea border, “Savage” marks a confident directing debut for Chinese screenwriter Cui Siwei (“The Island”). This no-nonsense affair about a dogged detective squaring off with a trio of vicious crooks packs plenty of excitement and visual splendor into a familiar scenario, and is well performed by a top-notch cast including Chang Chen (“The Assassin”) and Liao Fan. Another example of China’s increasing ability to produce slick commercial fare with broad international appeal, “Savage” opened strongly in local cinemas on April 30 and ought to perform credibly in North America when released by Well Go USA on May 3.
Produced by veteran hitmaker and frequent John Woo collaborator Terence Chang, “Savage” shared the New Currents Award (given to best first or second film) at Busan with the South Korean psychodrama “Clean Up” — a notable feat considering Cui...
Produced by veteran hitmaker and frequent John Woo collaborator Terence Chang, “Savage” shared the New Currents Award (given to best first or second film) at Busan with the South Korean psychodrama “Clean Up” — a notable feat considering Cui...
- 5/3/2019
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
The official selection of films for the 72nd Cannes Film Festival was announced earlier today, along with all the Asian films that will be participating at the Festival this year. While there are not many Asian films that feature this year, there are some big names and some interesting titles that have been selected.
Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite”
Going head to head are the latest films by Bong Joon-ho and Chinese director Diao Yinan. Bong Joon-ho’s latest family drama “Parasite”, starring Song Kang-ho and Lee Sun-kyun in leading roles, will screen In Competiton, where his last film “Okja” also participated. Five years after his Berlin Film Festival conquering thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice”, director Diao Yinan will also be competing with his latest film “The Wild Goose Lake”, which sees him reteam with his Silver Bear winning actor Liao Fan. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s travelogue film “It Must...
Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite”
Going head to head are the latest films by Bong Joon-ho and Chinese director Diao Yinan. Bong Joon-ho’s latest family drama “Parasite”, starring Song Kang-ho and Lee Sun-kyun in leading roles, will screen In Competiton, where his last film “Okja” also participated. Five years after his Berlin Film Festival conquering thriller “Black Coal, Thin Ice”, director Diao Yinan will also be competing with his latest film “The Wild Goose Lake”, which sees him reteam with his Silver Bear winning actor Liao Fan. Palestinian director Elia Suleiman’s travelogue film “It Must...
- 4/19/2019
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Chinese films have won a shelf-full of top prizes at major festivals in the past few years. And the country is now making major movies that increasingly top global box office charts – Chinese sci-fi title “The Wandering Earth” is by far the highest- grossing movie in the world so far in 2019, grossing more than $676 million in China alone – but none of that is helping shore up the business of independent Chinese sales agents.
“It is a tough business, we may not be doing it after Cannes,” says Yang Ying, head of sales at Movie View Intl. The company, which represented the stunning 2017 experimental film “Dragonfly Eyes” and star-studded drama “Forever Young,” may instead fall back to its magazine publishing and local marketing strengths.
The problems are multifold: Chinese films have little recent record of scoring with international audiences; China’s sales companies are mostly small and fragile; and recent turmoil...
“It is a tough business, we may not be doing it after Cannes,” says Yang Ying, head of sales at Movie View Intl. The company, which represented the stunning 2017 experimental film “Dragonfly Eyes” and star-studded drama “Forever Young,” may instead fall back to its magazine publishing and local marketing strengths.
The problems are multifold: Chinese films have little recent record of scoring with international audiences; China’s sales companies are mostly small and fragile; and recent turmoil...
- 3/17/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Diao Yinan’s “The Wild Goose Lake,” the Chinese director’s follow-up to Berlin Golden Bear-winner “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” has been pre-sold by Memento Films International in some major territories.
“Wild Goose Lake,” which is now in post production and is expected to world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, has been picked up for Italy (Movies Inspired), Japan (Broadmedia), Benelux (Imagine), former Yugoslavia (Megacom) and Greece (Seven).
The cast includes Liao Fan, who won Berlin’s Silver Bear for best actor his performance in “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” as well as Hu Ge (“1911”), Kwai Lun Mei (“Flying Swords of Dragon Gate”) and Wan Qian.
“The Wild Goose Lake” centers on the leader of a dangerous biker gang on the run who meets a woman willing to give everything to get her freedom back. Both in a dead end, they decide to play one last time and gamble their...
“Wild Goose Lake,” which is now in post production and is expected to world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, has been picked up for Italy (Movies Inspired), Japan (Broadmedia), Benelux (Imagine), former Yugoslavia (Megacom) and Greece (Seven).
The cast includes Liao Fan, who won Berlin’s Silver Bear for best actor his performance in “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” as well as Hu Ge (“1911”), Kwai Lun Mei (“Flying Swords of Dragon Gate”) and Wan Qian.
“The Wild Goose Lake” centers on the leader of a dangerous biker gang on the run who meets a woman willing to give everything to get her freedom back. Both in a dead end, they decide to play one last time and gamble their...
- 2/9/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Director Bi Gan’s dreamy pseudo-noir “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” defied the odds stacked against arthouse fare at the Chinese box office to take in a whopping $37.9 million on its opening day Monday. That total beat even superhero blockbuster “Venom” in both pre-sales and first-day mainland box-office tallies.
But the film is unlikely to maintain much momentum amid a backlash from viewers who felt they were tricked by misleading promotion into watching an incomprehensible highbrow flick, with one disenchanted audience member telling tongue-clucking elitists “to go eat s—.”
The movie’s first-day haul – achieved via cleverly marketed special screenings scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight and the dawn of the new year – marks the strongest-ever China opening for a local arthouse film. The $37.9 million score includes more than $15 million in pre-sales. But the film earned just $1.5 million on its second day (Tuesday), according to data and ticketing platform Maoyan.
But the film is unlikely to maintain much momentum amid a backlash from viewers who felt they were tricked by misleading promotion into watching an incomprehensible highbrow flick, with one disenchanted audience member telling tongue-clucking elitists “to go eat s—.”
The movie’s first-day haul – achieved via cleverly marketed special screenings scheduled to end at the stroke of midnight and the dawn of the new year – marks the strongest-ever China opening for a local arthouse film. The $37.9 million score includes more than $15 million in pre-sales. But the film earned just $1.5 million on its second day (Tuesday), according to data and ticketing platform Maoyan.
- 1/2/2019
- by Becky Davis
- Variety Film + TV
After an interlude producing the successful noir “Black Coal, Thin Ice”, awarded in Berlin, Vivian Qu is back on the director chair with her sophomore film “Angels Wear White”. The movie premiered at the last edition of Venice International Film Festival, where it was also nominated for the Best Film Award and went on collecting several nominations and awards, one for all the prestigious Taiwanese Golden Horse Award. Nevertheless, the film has encountered some problems with Chinese censorship because of its controversial topic and social commentary.
In a provincial seaside town on the Hainan Island, Mia (Wen Qi) works as a cleaner for an upmarket motel. She hasn’t got documents and tries to maintain a low profile, taking any job she finds without questioning too much, as – like many migrants – her goal is to save enough money to buy her way through bureaucracy. A hard-working, cheeky and friendly 15-year-old,...
In a provincial seaside town on the Hainan Island, Mia (Wen Qi) works as a cleaner for an upmarket motel. She hasn’t got documents and tries to maintain a low profile, taking any job she finds without questioning too much, as – like many migrants – her goal is to save enough money to buy her way through bureaucracy. A hard-working, cheeky and friendly 15-year-old,...
- 10/20/2018
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Love him or hate him, Jiang Wen is a director you cannot ignore. In 2018, he completes his Republican Era gangster trilogy, which started in 2010 with “Let the Bullets Fly” and also includes 2014’s “Gone with the Bullets”, with the Eddie Peng starring “Hidden Man”
Synopsis
On the cusp of the Second Sino-Japanese War, a spy returns to China set on revenge, but finds himself plunged into a high-stakes game of intrigue, love, and scheming. Young Li Tianren escapes to America after his master is killed by the power-hungry Zhu Qianlong and his Japanese sidekick Nemoto. 15 years later, the boy, now called Bruce, returns to Beijing as a spy for the Americans but has bloody revenge on his mind.
Loosely based on Zhang Beihei’s wuxia novel “Xia Yin”, “Hidden Man” stars Taiwanese heartthrob Eddie Peng as Bruce, Liao Fan as Zhu Qianlong as well as Jiang Wen himself. The film...
Synopsis
On the cusp of the Second Sino-Japanese War, a spy returns to China set on revenge, but finds himself plunged into a high-stakes game of intrigue, love, and scheming. Young Li Tianren escapes to America after his master is killed by the power-hungry Zhu Qianlong and his Japanese sidekick Nemoto. 15 years later, the boy, now called Bruce, returns to Beijing as a spy for the Americans but has bloody revenge on his mind.
Loosely based on Zhang Beihei’s wuxia novel “Xia Yin”, “Hidden Man” stars Taiwanese heartthrob Eddie Peng as Bruce, Liao Fan as Zhu Qianlong as well as Jiang Wen himself. The film...
- 10/20/2018
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
New Additions in September
To Stream, Start Your Free 7-day Trial At Shudder ($4.99/Month Or $3.99/Month With Annual Plan)
Check Out What’S New On Shudder In September, Including 18 Films And The 2nd Installment Of Channel Zero.
September 1
Bait 3D A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks that are hungry for meat.
The Eye 2 A pregnant woman discovers the ability to see ghosts after she unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
September 3
Gattaca A genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke) assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Nurse 3D A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.
Dan Curtis’ Dracula In this British television movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula,...
To Stream, Start Your Free 7-day Trial At Shudder ($4.99/Month Or $3.99/Month With Annual Plan)
Check Out What’S New On Shudder In September, Including 18 Films And The 2nd Installment Of Channel Zero.
September 1
Bait 3D A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks that are hungry for meat.
The Eye 2 A pregnant woman discovers the ability to see ghosts after she unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
September 3
Gattaca A genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke) assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Nurse 3D A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.
Dan Curtis’ Dracula In this British television movie adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula,...
- 8/28/2018
- by Stephen Nepa
- Age of the Nerd
From sharks in a supermarket to the limitless horrors of the No-End House, Shudder has a wide variety of scares to experience in September, as the streaming service is adding 18 films and the second season of Channel Zero to their eerie viewing arsenal in the Us:
"September 1
Bait 3D A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks that are hungry for meat.
The Eye 2 A pregnant woman discovers the ability to see ghosts after she unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
September 3
Gattaca A genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke) assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Nurse 3D A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.
Dan...
"September 1
Bait 3D A freak tsunami traps a group of people in a submerged grocery store. As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks that are hungry for meat.
The Eye 2 A pregnant woman discovers the ability to see ghosts after she unsuccessfully attempts suicide.
September 3
Gattaca A genetically inferior man (Ethan Hawke) assumes the identity of a superior one (Jude Law) in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Nurse 3D A young nurse (Katrina Bowden) begins to suspect that a sexy colleague (Paz de la Huerta) is responsible for murdering a string of unfaithful men.
Dan...
- 8/22/2018
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Singapore is 22% larger than it was in 1965, and home to twice as many people. That sort of thing doesn’t happen naturally — but, thanks to the industrial sorcery of land reclamation (a process that involves importing rock and sand from other places and using them to build out the seas), there’s almost no limit to the boundaries of urban development. Who needs oceans when you could have a globally interconnected network of strip malls, office parks, and power plants? Now that human civilization’s disastrous effect on the environment is already past the point of no return, what’s the harm in just terraforming the rest of the Earth?
The newly crowned winner of this year’s Locarno International Film Festival, Yeo Siew Hua’s “A Land Imagined” attempts to answer those questions by distilling them into an elusive dream noir that borrows from a dozen bigger movies in...
The newly crowned winner of this year’s Locarno International Film Festival, Yeo Siew Hua’s “A Land Imagined” attempts to answer those questions by distilling them into an elusive dream noir that borrows from a dozen bigger movies in...
- 8/13/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
As the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements press for gender equity in the U.S., women in China’s film industry also suffer from a lack of opportunity and sexist treatment, director Vivian Qu said in Cannes on Sunday.
“The differences in remuneration between men and women in China are less obvious [than in the West], but they are well understood,” said Qu, whose child abuse and conspiracy drama “Angels Wear White” was the biggest breakout indie film from China last year.
“Any women-centric film proposal cannot get beyond a certain budget level. But if you take a male assistant to a meeting, then you can get more money. There is an assumption that women filmmakers cannot handle a big budget.”
Qu spoke at a seminar organized by global fashion giant Kering on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival. Other speakers at the event included singer-actress Chris Lee and actor Z. Tao.
“The differences in remuneration between men and women in China are less obvious [than in the West], but they are well understood,” said Qu, whose child abuse and conspiracy drama “Angels Wear White” was the biggest breakout indie film from China last year.
“Any women-centric film proposal cannot get beyond a certain budget level. But if you take a male assistant to a meeting, then you can get more money. There is an assumption that women filmmakers cannot handle a big budget.”
Qu spoke at a seminar organized by global fashion giant Kering on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival. Other speakers at the event included singer-actress Chris Lee and actor Z. Tao.
- 5/13/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Ash Is Purest White,” Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke’s most serious foray into the gangster genre since “A Touch of Sin,” is a winding tale of love, disillusionment and survival that again represents his vision of his country’s spiritual trajectory. More expository and down-to-earth than usual, Jia delves deep into the protagonists’ most vulnerable feelings as they pay dearly for both sin and honor. At 141 minutes, the work has its intellectually ponderous moments but is ultimately saved by Jia’s muse and wife, Zhao Tao, who surpasses herself in a role of mesmerizing complexity.
Cinephile anticipation for anything helmed by the onetime Godfather of Chinese independent cinema will give this Chinese-French co-production a forceful push into Euro-art-house territories. Domestic response may depend on whether the work nabs any awards at Cannes, as in the case of the Berlin Golden Bear winner “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” which starred “Ash” leading man Liao Fan.
Cinephile anticipation for anything helmed by the onetime Godfather of Chinese independent cinema will give this Chinese-French co-production a forceful push into Euro-art-house territories. Domestic response may depend on whether the work nabs any awards at Cannes, as in the case of the Berlin Golden Bear winner “Black Coal, Thin Ice,” which starred “Ash” leading man Liao Fan.
- 5/12/2018
- by Maggie Lee
- Variety Film + TV
A long and melancholy summation of better movies the brilliant Jia Zhangke has made before, “Ash Is Purest White” finds China’s most prominent filmmaker wistfully replaying the hits in order to further romanticize some of the fixations that have always dominated his work. The passage of time, the sweep of modernity, and the outlaw violence that can be traced back to the Cultural Revolution unsurprisingly come to define this fractured saga of a small-time gangster and the girl who was always by his side, as the writer-director spins an epic tale that never quite captures the poetry of its English title. It’s a loveless love story, told across three parts, five different camera types, and 17 years of change — it’s a movie that often feels like a mega-mix of Jia’s greatest hits, but one that rehashes them with precious little of the ineffable grace that make each...
- 5/11/2018
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The clutch of Asian films in this year’s Cannes Official Selection isn’t the biggest ever but may be one of the most anticipated in recent years.
Three of the four Asian titles in the main competition are by directors with a high-profile Cannes track record. The fourth is a competition first-timer.
The main competition lineup includes a long-awaited return for former Cannes juror Lee Chang-dong (“Secret Sunshine”) with “Burning.” The film is an adaptation of the short story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami (“Norwegian Wood”), which was first published in the New Yorker. With Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yuen and Jeon Jong-seo in the three lead roles, the film’s trailer is currently scorching the Internet.
A record number of Chinese films were submitted to Cannes this year. Three were chosen, with one making it into the competition. Auteur Jia Zhangke is returning to the Croisette with his biggest-budget...
Three of the four Asian titles in the main competition are by directors with a high-profile Cannes track record. The fourth is a competition first-timer.
The main competition lineup includes a long-awaited return for former Cannes juror Lee Chang-dong (“Secret Sunshine”) with “Burning.” The film is an adaptation of the short story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami (“Norwegian Wood”), which was first published in the New Yorker. With Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yuen and Jeon Jong-seo in the three lead roles, the film’s trailer is currently scorching the Internet.
A record number of Chinese films were submitted to Cannes this year. Three were chosen, with one making it into the competition. Auteur Jia Zhangke is returning to the Croisette with his biggest-budget...
- 4/12/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Angels may wear white, but Xioawen and Mia aren’t angels. The two girls, played with vigor by Zhou Meijun and Wen Qu, respectively, don’t enjoy the kind of hashtag-blessed reality they might dream about. Mia, the older of the two, cleans up at a low-rent love motel that Wen and a friend are brought to by a man who turns out to be the local police commissioner; he’s there for exactly the reason you’d queasily suspect and, we soon learn, does exactly that.
If you weren’t aware that “Angels Wear White” premiered a month before the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, you’d be forgiven for thinking Vivian Qu’s nuanced drama was made to show the #MeToo movement from a Chinese perspective. The actual assault is never shown, with Qu focusing entirely on the aftermath — a long, drawn-out process that’s no less traumatic than...
If you weren’t aware that “Angels Wear White” premiered a month before the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, you’d be forgiven for thinking Vivian Qu’s nuanced drama was made to show the #MeToo movement from a Chinese perspective. The actual assault is never shown, with Qu focusing entirely on the aftermath — a long, drawn-out process that’s no less traumatic than...
- 2/9/2018
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Other winners included Winter Sleep, The Dark Horse and Red Amnesia.
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan has won Best Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa).
Taking place at Brisbane’s City Hall, this year’s ceremony saw Nuri Bilge Ceylan scooping his third Apsa for Achievement in Directing for Winter Sleep, while Cliff Curtis (The Dark Horse) and Lü Zhong (Red Amnesia) won Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress, respectively.
Other winners included Dong Kinsong for Achievement in Cinematography for Black Coal, Thin Ice, Nima Javidi taking home Best Screenplay for Melbourne and Isao Takahata’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya winning Best Animated Feature Film.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk commented: “This evening’s winners have displayed cinematic excellence through their films and they should be congratulated on their achievements. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards are a unique testament to the vibrancy, diversity and divergence...
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan has won Best Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa).
Taking place at Brisbane’s City Hall, this year’s ceremony saw Nuri Bilge Ceylan scooping his third Apsa for Achievement in Directing for Winter Sleep, while Cliff Curtis (The Dark Horse) and Lü Zhong (Red Amnesia) won Best Performance by an Actor and Best Performance by an Actress, respectively.
Other winners included Dong Kinsong for Achievement in Cinematography for Black Coal, Thin Ice, Nima Javidi taking home Best Screenplay for Melbourne and Isao Takahata’s The Tale of Princess Kaguya winning Best Animated Feature Film.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk commented: “This evening’s winners have displayed cinematic excellence through their films and they should be congratulated on their achievements. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards are a unique testament to the vibrancy, diversity and divergence...
- 12/11/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Leviathan leads contenders; 36 films from 21 countries in the running.
Films in the running for the 2014 Apsa for Best Feature Film include Winter Sleep (Turkey, France, Germany), Leviathan (Russia), I’m Not Angry (Iran), The Owners (Kazakhstan), and Memories on Stone (Iraqi Kurdistan, Germany).
Leviathan, also nominated for Achievement in Cinematography for Mikhail Krichman, has received three nominations in total, the most for any film.
In total, 36 films from 21 countries are in the running for awards.
Nominees vying for the award in the Achievement in Directing category are: Rolf de Heer (Charlie’s Country, Australia), Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Russia), Im Kwon-taek (Revivre, South Korea), Rakhshan Banietemad (Tales, Iran) and Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Winter Sleep, Turkey, France, Germany).
For the first time, a film from Syria has received a nomination, with Silvered Water, Syria Self-portrait (Syria, France) nominated for the Apsa for Best Feature Documentary.
Films from the China and Russia lead the nominations with six each, closely followed...
Films in the running for the 2014 Apsa for Best Feature Film include Winter Sleep (Turkey, France, Germany), Leviathan (Russia), I’m Not Angry (Iran), The Owners (Kazakhstan), and Memories on Stone (Iraqi Kurdistan, Germany).
Leviathan, also nominated for Achievement in Cinematography for Mikhail Krichman, has received three nominations in total, the most for any film.
In total, 36 films from 21 countries are in the running for awards.
Nominees vying for the award in the Achievement in Directing category are: Rolf de Heer (Charlie’s Country, Australia), Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Russia), Im Kwon-taek (Revivre, South Korea), Rakhshan Banietemad (Tales, Iran) and Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Winter Sleep, Turkey, France, Germany).
For the first time, a film from Syria has received a nomination, with Silvered Water, Syria Self-portrait (Syria, France) nominated for the Apsa for Best Feature Documentary.
Films from the China and Russia lead the nominations with six each, closely followed...
- 10/28/2014
- ScreenDaily
Adff to present 197 films from 61 countries.
The 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff), backed by twofour54, will present nine feature world premieres, eight of them from the Arab world. The short film sections will host 48 world premieres.
The festival will open with Ali Mostafa’s From A to B [pictured], and festival director Ali Al-Jabri said: “It is the first time in the festival’s history that we opening with an Emirati film and we ares very proud about this landmark event.”
The festival runs October 23 to November 1 and presents 197 films from 61 countries.
For the second year, the festival host the Child Protection Award organised with the Child Protection Centre of the Ministry of Interior, to spotlight films that raise awareness about abused or neglected children. Films competing for that prize include Zerensenay Mehari’s Difret, Albert Shin’s In Her Place, and Cyprien Vial’s Young Tiger.
The Showcase section includes films such as ‘71, A Pigeon Sat on...
The 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival (Adff), backed by twofour54, will present nine feature world premieres, eight of them from the Arab world. The short film sections will host 48 world premieres.
The festival will open with Ali Mostafa’s From A to B [pictured], and festival director Ali Al-Jabri said: “It is the first time in the festival’s history that we opening with an Emirati film and we ares very proud about this landmark event.”
The festival runs October 23 to November 1 and presents 197 films from 61 countries.
For the second year, the festival host the Child Protection Award organised with the Child Protection Centre of the Ministry of Interior, to spotlight films that raise awareness about abused or neglected children. Films competing for that prize include Zerensenay Mehari’s Difret, Albert Shin’s In Her Place, and Cyprien Vial’s Young Tiger.
The Showcase section includes films such as ‘71, A Pigeon Sat on...
- 9/29/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
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