Film Forum

China, 2012
Directed by Lou Ye
Starring Hao Lei, Qin Hao, Qi Xi
Music by Jóhann Jóhannsson
In Mandarin with English subtitles
Approx. 98 min. DCP. 

“A distinctive and confident film …A sexually intense thriller set in the colossal city of Wuhan in eastern China, which the director portrays as an unimaginably gigantic forest of featureless skyscrapers, their summits lost in the smog. The film has touches of [Claude] Chabrol — and even a weird hint of FATAL ATTRACTION — and also offers a sly satirical perspective on modern China's new rush to capitalist riches and bourgeois prosperity... The title is apt: it is very mysterious. The director baffles us with what appear to be two separate plot strands: a woman is hit by a car on a rainy freeway, driven by crazily irresponsible youths whose first, horribly callous thought is that she was trying an insurance scam. Then we shift to the comfortable, placid domestic world of Yongzhao (Qin Hao), a businessman, married with a daughter, who is well on the way to wealth... The director gets you off balance from the outset, keeping you guessing not merely as to the connection between the two strands but as to who the drama is centrally about.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)

Reviews

“A twisted and dark portrait of the amoral rich, corrupt police and sexually promiscuous in the country today, it is based on a selection of stories culled from the Internet that reflect contemporary society...Lou’s confident blend of realism and poetry keeps it on track. It’s rare to see an official Chinese movie that takes such a stark look at life today.”
– Mike Goodridge, Screen

“[The] use of flashbacks and redacted information slowly showing itself as the film goes on keeps us on our toes.”
– Jared Mobarak, The Film Stage