#DiaoYinan's #WildGooseLake is a ridiculously good looking noir/policier. If his Black Coal Thin Ice was a cold noir w/its wintry setting, this film is opposite- its subtropical setting & constant rain provide the film soaked w/atmosphere & vivid colors under flickering fluorescent lights. And it's a beauty, thanks to Diao's regular DP Dong Jingsong. Along with recent Long Day's Journey into Night, it continues the tradition of 'Tropical Noir' of Wong Kar-Wai's work. #HuGe #LiaoFan #KweiLunMei
Zhao, a disgraced cop, is not brutish & doesn't necessarily use violence. But his heart is colder than Nothern China in winter. Only in the dance sequence he lends any kind of emotion for the audience. The greatness of this sad/funny dance number is about the same level as the ending in Beau Travail. Diao's China, the Beijing Olympics still 4 years away, is still very much provincial, yet fast changing & cold-hearted. A gritty neon soaked noir. #DiaoYinan #LiaoFan #chinesecinema #neonoir