Blog Archives

South of the Clouds (2004)

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Posted on July 10, 2006 by Christian

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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Posted on September 11, 2003 by Deni

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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