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