Venice and Toronto 2024: Mistress Dispeller (2024)
★★★☆☆
Mistress Dispeller, an intimate documentary by Elizabeth Lo, shows a unique Chinese practice.
China
Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Di Qiu Zui Hou De Ye Wan) (2018)
★★★★☆
Long Day’s Journey Into Night is memorable, mesmeric virtuoso filmmaking by Gan Bi, creating a universe where time moves sinuously.
So Long, My Son (2019)
★★★★☆
So Long, My Son (Di jiu tian chang) by Wang Xiaoshuai is a deeply moving, generations-spanning drama exploring the long-term effect of China’s one-child policy on a small circle of friends.
BFI LFF 2019: 8-13 October
★★★★☆
BFI LFF 2019: 8-13 October. The Whistlers, Deerskin, Algo-Rhythm and So Long, My Son.
The Farewell (2019)
★★★★☆
The Farewell is a family comedy drama by Lulu Wang, starring Awkwafina as a young woman caught between the cultures of East and West through her love for her grandmother.
Ash is Purest White (2018)
★★★★★
The exquisite Ash Is Purest White by Jia Zhang Ke, starring Tao Zhao in an extraordinary performance, follows the lives of its characters against the background of a rapidly transforming China.
The Final Year (2018)
The Final Year is a fascinating documentary by Greg Barker that’s almost Shakespearean in the rise and fall of its central characters, Barack Obama…
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BFI LFF: Wrath of Silence (Bao Lie Wu Sheng) (2017)
★★★★☆
Doling out as many bare-knuckle blows to its characters as it does to China’s corrupt political system, Wrath of Silence is A Touch of Sin that’s not afraid to be dramatic.
Have A Nice Day (2017)
★★★☆☆
Sleek in its industrial animation, Jian Liu’s Have A Nice Day makes up for a lack of substance with style.
Festival Review: Inside The Chinese Closet (2015)
★★★☆☆
With fake marriage markets and illegal babies, Sophia Luvara’s intimate documentary Inside The Chinese Closet reveals gay men and women shouldering their parents’ burden.
Festival Review: Crosscurrent (2015)
★★☆☆☆
An ambitious portrait of modern China, Yang Chao’s Crosscurrent is a poetic knot of yearning, mourning and the shifting sands of time.
The Assassin (2015)
★★★☆☆
A quiet, elliptic take on 8th century China combining arthouse and wuxia, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin screams style and accomplishment.
Festival Review: A Guy From Fenyang (2014)
★★★☆☆
Uncovering the life and works of Jia Zhangke in his home city, Walter Salles’ A Guy From Fenyang reveals the metropolis behind the man.
Festival Review: Mountains May Depart (2015)
★★☆☆☆
A triptych of melancholy Chinese stories, Jia Zhangke’sMountains May Depart builds an awkward narrative of nostalgia – past, present and future.