Upcoming Summer [盛夏未来] (2021)

Upcoming Summer - the latest film from Leste Chen of Home Sweet Home - gets off to a rather dubious start. Seventeen year old Chen Chen [Zhang Zifeng of Sister but also in HSH) is studying for the gaokao. But when she finds out that her mother [Hao Lei] is having an affair, she jumps…

Chinese shorts on Viddsee

A range of short films available on Viddsee, a video entertainment platform headquartered in Singapore. Swim in the Cold [冬泳] (2017) is a family drama. Miao [Li Yanxi] works in a small factory. Her father [Wang Lei], to whom she is very close runs a small shop. He has lung cancer but tries to avoid telling…

Leaping Over the Dragon Gate [龙门相] (2021)

An excellent Coenesque thriller set in small-town Dongbei (north-east China) during the frozen winter. Originally shown at the FIRST film festival in 2020 but only just (September 2021) released commercially in China. Undertaker Zhang Yinghao  [He Xiwei] is married to Li Wenhong [Li Tao] who he 'bought' from her parents in Sichuan (the local women…

Home Sweet Home [秘密访客](2021)

Speaking of implausible plots (see previous review), Home Sweet Home provides The Soul with some serious competition on the implausibility front. This film also has a 15 minute exposition to explain what is going on. Directed by Taiwan-born Leste Chen. The film opens at the scene of a school bus crash. The driver, Yu Kunqiao…

The Soul [缉魂] (2021)

The Soul starts as a classic murder mystery with wealthy businessman Wang Shi-Cong [Samuel Ku] being found beaten to death in his home with his wife Li Yan [Sun Anke] lying unconscious but alive beside him. His son was seen leaving the house and is the obvious suspect. Prosecutor Liang Wen-Chao [Chang Chen] has been…