Bai ri yan huo

English title: Black Coal, Thin Ice

Genre: crime drama

With: Fan Liao (Zhang Zili, the badass detective), Gwei Lun-Mei (Wu Zhizhen, the widow), Jingchun Wang (Rong Rong, the laundry owner), Ailei Yu (Captain Wang, Zhang’s friend), Jingyang Ni (Su Lijuan), Xuebing Wang (Liang Zhijun)

Director: Yi’nan Diao

Screenplay: Yi’nan Diao

Release: 2014

Studio: Omnijoi Media Corporation, Boneyard Entertainment China, Fortissimofilms et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.5/10 

 

‟Hey, did they find the head?” 

 

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Story-line: in 1999, while cracking a gruesome murder case in which victims were dismembered, Zhang loses two colleagues and is severely injured during the final arrest. Five years later, given to drink and scraping by as a security guard, Zhang feels his investigative instincts rekindled when an old buddy on the force tells him about a new string of murders committed in much the same way as in 1999.

Pluses: solid acting by Fan Liao (a Silver Bear winner in Berlin as the dominant character here), Gwei Lun-Mei and a flawless supporting cast, tight, economical but dynamic direction, a busy, quirky and mysterious screenplay bolstered by interesting characters, odd events and a few very funny moments, lovely and unusually atmospheric cinematography (as most of the action happens in winter), top-quality production values, a fine, varied musical score and a bizarre, open-ended denouement.

Minuses: be especially alert during the first 20 minutes when facts come by fast and furious (or watch the opening segment a second time to really get into the groove of things).

Comments: I will be brief because I don’t want to spoil this one for you. The more you watch this product of recent Chinese cinema, the more it grows on you with its action-packed, enigmatic story and spunky protagonist. Kudos to Yi’nan Diao, a Golden Bear winner, and to everyone involved! 

 

MBiS 

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