LGBT shorts by Chen Pinru

This post looks at two short movies by Taiwanese director Chen Pinru (Swimming in the Dark (2022)). Both films are currently available on CathayPlay. Director Chen has directed half a dozen shorts so far with sufficient promise to be encouraged to make a full-length feature. Echo Each Other [呼叫冥王星] ( 2016) Echo each other (Calling Pluto…

Mammoth [会考试的猛犸象] (2023)

This film has had a rather delayed release though perhaps not that unusual by the standards of Chinese cinema. It was shot pre-COVID (2017-19) and first shown at a mainland festival in 2020 (hence a 2020 dragon seal) but has only this year been released commercially in China. One can see how its approach to…

Where Nothing Grows [荒原] (2023)

The follow-up film (see last review) by director Peter Zuo credited here as Zuo Zhiguo. Cong Linlin [Ren Suxi A Cool Fish] and her older brother Cong Lai [Li Chen] go on a motorbike trip into the Gobi desert (Gansu province) where their father used to bring them as children. Apparently, the father disappeared in…

Out of Crimes [云雾笼罩的山峰] (2019)

This is one of those small Chinese films which slips through the cracks but deserves to be more widely seen. As the film opens, injured miner Junpo [Wang Haito] is in serious difficulty. His daughter is gravely ill and he needs a large amount of money to pay for her treatment. His brother won't help…

Wave Makers [人選之人－造浪者] (2023)

A recent short (8 episode) Taiwanese political drama on Netflix. The series focuses on a team of election workers who are supporting the challenger in the forthcoming Taiwanese presidential election where the incumbent Democracy and Peace Party will fight it out with the Justice Party candidate (both are women). The series focuses on a number…