Miss Mom [寻汉计] (2021)

Wang Zhao [Ren Suxi] works in an office in Beijing. She has been divorced from her husband for 2 years but, living with her elderly grandfather [Li Baotian], the husband still comes to stay with her every few months (he works outside Beijing) to hide the truth from the old man. Apparently arising from these visits,…

Destinies [灰猴] (2019)

Destinies (aka Destines) is another convoluted crime comedy though it actually works better than most. The film opens as Du Ziteng [an excellent Wang Dazhi] is publicising his restaurant. He is separated from his wife and we soon learn that this is not amicable. She is seeking a divorce to which he refuses to agree.…

Piercing 1 [刺痛我] (2010)

Piercing is very much in the same mode as the subsequent and probably better-known Have a Nice Day from writer-director Liu Jian (in fact Mr. Liu seems to be involved in most aspects of the production). Set in a Chinese city (Nanjing), after the economic crisis laid-off rural migrant Zhang Xiaojun is planning to return…

The Dead End [烈日灼心] (2015)

There is a good film in here trying to come out, and failing. The film opens, in an isolated house near Xilong (Fujian province), with a gory bloodbath as a young woman is raped and her entire family is murdered. Those responsible are three young(ish) men: Xin Xiaofeng [Deng Chao], Yang Zidao [Guo Tao] and…

Gone with the Light [被光抓走的人] (2019)

Gone with the Light is a compelling movie from debut writer-director Dong Runnian. Set in fictional Yijiang city on the Yangtze river (shot in Yichang second largest city in Hebei), one day in 2019 a mysterious burst of light strikes the city. It is found that numerous people have disappeared at the time the light…

Xiao Mei [小美] (2018)

An intriguing if perhaps not fully successful debut from Taiwanese writer-director Hwang Maren. The film focuses on late 20s Xiao Mei [Jao Cincin] who has recently disappeared. Her life is shown through the eyes of nine people who had some contact with her, some in-depth such as family members, an employer, landlord and boyfriends, others…

Today and Tomorrow [今天明天] (2013)

This film is set in 2010 in Tangjialing n a suburb in northern Beijing (outside the Fifth Ring Road). At the time, Tangjialing is is a state of demolition as part of a major redevelopment. Due to the low cost of housing, the area is inhabited by young migrants, known as the Ant Tribe [蚁族].…

Knitting [牛郎织女] (2008)

An excellent drama about people struggling to get by in twenty first century China. It's the second film by director Yin Lichuan. This is a rare film about ordinary people in ordinary places and features strong female characters. Timid Li Daping [Zhang Yi] is living with her boyfriend the handsome but feckless Chen Jin [Lü…

Nezha [少女哪吒] (2014)

This is the first film, by director Li Xiaofeng (Ash, Back to the Wharf). The film opens with a mysterious (and never explained) shot of a dead female body being washed. After the credits, 30 ish Li Xiaolu [Zhang Zheng] returns to her home town. We then cut back to the events of the 1990s.…

To Kill a Watermelon [杀瓜] (2017)

This film is a subtle comedy by writer-director Gao Zehao which does not take itself very seriously but is clearly intended as a parable on a broader authoritarianism. Chen Cao [Dong Yong] is a watermelon farmer who, during the hot harvesting season, lives in a shack beside his field of watermelons to tend them and…