Blog Archives

South of the Clouds (2004)

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The “road movie” is not a literal genre like, say, detective fiction, but more of a metaphysical concept of a journey and its destination. In fact, it almost always begins being defined by its illusory or even mythological destination and ends being defined only by the journey – transcending its physical state into something more emotional and spiritual. This concept has held the fascination of many filmmakers, particularly recently with Korean director Song Il-gon with such films as Flower Island(read more)

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Seafood (2001)

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First filmic effort from novelist Zhu Wen was certainly, as the BIFF program states, “pushing the boundaries of film form and challenging the conventional norms of cinema”, however I found it a little too boundary-pushing and unconventional for my tastes as I struggled to find things to like. Beijing prostitute Zhang Xiaomei arrives in sleepy, off-season holiday destination Beidaihe and books into a hotel room with the intention of killing herself. As it turns out, she’s not the first, and … (read more)

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