Bai ri yan huo (2014) Reviews

• Excellent Film, Grim and Dark

  wackuselfkill2014-04-08

  It seems that, every few years, there are one or two Chinese films that, despite being slow-paced, dark, and lacking A-list stars, somehow manage to attract a large domestic audience without being controversial enough to risk complete censorship. In 2014, the only example I have seen so far is this, Black Coal, Thin Ice. The reason for its domestic success is presumably because of its awards at the Berlin Film Festival. As the story unfolds, despite being based around a series of murders, the film has a pace more similar to an art-house film than a crime- thriller. A couple of scenes were impressively disturbing, made even more so by the slow paced, subtle atmosphere surrounding them. The setting of a polluted, dark, seedy city in a long Heilongjiang winter seems perfect for the noir tone of the film. A subtle musical score, with some dissonant strings combined with (terrible) Chinese pop songs (intra-diegetic) creates a fantastic atmosphere. The closest thing to it I have seen is Suzhou River, which, now I come to think of it, has a lot of similar motifs (I haven't seen Diao Yinan's previous films). The acting performances were all impressive, the female lead (played by Taiwanese Gwei/Gui Lun-Mei) seemed suitably out of place in the Far Northeast of Mainland China. Liao Fan's male lead, and Wang Xuebing's character, were both impressive. Despite a bit of dark humour that made me giggle, Black Coal, Thin Ice is a relentlessly grim and slightly disturbing film. I was impressed that it wasn't (more) censored in China, as it paints a pretty depressing picture. Despite being enthralled by the film, I won't be booking a flight to Heilongjiang any time soon.

• Classic Noir meets Chinese Realism

  Josh_Friesen2014-10-09

  In snow covered streets surrounded by perpetual darkness detectives and suspects are made distinguishable only by the soft glow of neon signs. Faces are shrouded by shadow, characters motives are unclear. We are in very classic noir territory in Black Coal, Thin Ice. A brutal murder occurs in Northern China. Severed limbs appear simultaneously across the country in coal plants. The investigation into the murder is botched, leaving detective Zhang Zili injured, ashamed and without a job. Five years later, body parts are found in coal plants. Now an alcoholic and working as a security guard, Zhang once again finds himself in the pursuit of the mysterious mass murderer. The only connection between the two cases is a beautiful dry cleaning assistant Wu Zhizhen, who soon becomes the object of Zhang's obsession. An intriguing combination of neo-noir and Chinese realism, Black Coal, Thin Ice demonstrates director Yi'nan Diao's genre literacy. From the lighting, to the troubled anti-hero, to the femme-fatale, the film is full of noir tropes. What makes the film unique is the camera's continual shift to the mundane. Unlike the modern Tarantino-inspired trend, the revelations and acts of violence are down-played. Plot takes a back seat to atmosphere as the audience is immersed in a bleak, nihilistic vision of modern China. Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival, Black Coal, Thin Ice has been a hit with critics but it's hard to see it winning any audience awards. The slow pace and dark, defeatist world view will be a turn off for most audience but if you don't view those as detractors, and if you are a fan of noir then this is a film to see.

• Black Coal, Thin Ice

  Argemaluco2015-07-29

  I have seen various Chinese films (specially during the '90s, the golden age of Hong Kong), but I think Black Coal, Thin Ice is the first (from what I have seen) genuinely Chinese movie, because it embraces the national idiosyncrasy and offers us a revealing look to the culture of that country. Black Coal, Thin Ice is also an excellent thriller on its own right. Its screenplay employs many elements of classic noir: the failed detective, a confusing but vaguely logical mystery and the obligatory femme fatale who might be guilty of the crimes or an innocent victim of circumstances. However, director and screenwriter Yi'nan Diao filters those components through his particular sensibility, and the result is so natural that it borders on the prosaic. For example, near the beginning of the film, there is a very short shootout, shot almost with apathy... the camera is midway and it barely moves; but the impact of the scene is tremendous, manifesting the easiness with which tragedy can come, completely lacking of the artifice and ornaments we see in many Hollywood films. This doesn't mean that Black Coal, Thin Ice feels flat or superficial. The "anti-style" of the scenes and their minimalistic aesthetic is obviously intentional, highlighting the characters' opaque lives and the bleak social setting of poverty and corruption, in which dignity and "political correction" are almost inexistent. And all that is framed by a grey wintry atmosphere, ready to trample human spirit even more. In conclusion, Black Coal, Thin Ice is an innovative and fascinating interpretation of contemporary neo-noir, deceiving us with false clues, obfuscating our perception and saving the revelations for an ending which is as austere and enigmatic as the rest of the film. Black Coal, Thin Ice might not be everyone's cup of tea, but whoever is willing to face the challenge of watching something new and unusual will surely appreciate Diao's intention and his strange ordinary/dreamlike style.

• weak plot; strong mood and style

  harry_tk_yung2014-05-24

  I'll start with a few words on GWEI Lun-mei. When I saw her debut in 2002, she played the lead role of a tomboyish teenager with a hint of Lesbian tendency. The film was Taiwan's exquisite "Blue gate crossing" (Lan se da men). As can be seen from my IMDb posting below, while I thought highly of both leads, I didn't mention their names because they were unknowns. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0333764/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 She has come a long way since then, attaining celebrity status at least in the Asian film community, and now plays the bewitching, beguiling femme fatale in "Black coal". This Berlin multiple-winner "Black coal" is a salute to the genre film noir. Don't look for a water-tight plot or a fiendishly clever twist that will propel you from your seat into a standing ovation. The style and mood, however, will be satisfying, especially when this is your first exposure to the bleak coal-mining community of China's expansive North-east. The protagonist is all but iconic for this genre, an alcoholic ex-cop. The details of what triggered his downhill slide in 1999 are incidental – a divorce and a fumble on the job. The case, however, is crucial, a bizarre and macabre affair of body parts of the victim being scattered like "flower pedals" (an imagery drawn from Chinese literature and mythology) in coal mines all over the province. The logistics of how this was accomplished would be the key to the solution. As Holmes motto says: when you have eliminated all other possibilities, what remains, however improbably, is the solution. Five years later, in 2004, two similar gory cases occur and all three victims, it is discovered, have had romantic associations with aforementioned fame fatale, a worker at a small laundry shop. Our protagonist is drawn back into the role of an investigator and during the investigation, develops romantic relationship with the women he is investigating – all too predictable. As mentioned, when the final revelation comes, it is a little bit of a letdown. As well, there is such a proliferation of red herrings that it gets somewhat tedious, especially when some of them come out of nowhere and are entirely irrelevant. Still, it wouldn't have a furious audience pulling out pocket knives and cutting the seats. It's not that bad. In any case, what the movie offers is something else, as mentioned, mood and style. The direction shows occasional flashes of cleverness; the camera work is exquisite. Acting is competent. All told, if you are not put off by some of the violence that is not unexpected, this would be an interesting cinematic experience.

• Chinese tale of murder, intrigue, coal and skating

  t-dooley-69-3869162015-07-16

  The plot is that two cops who have had their careers ruined, by a case that went horribly wrong, decide to reunite. This they do after a murder that has striking similarities to the one that floored them happens again. Zhang Zili has lost everything, his wife, the job he loved and has turned to the bottle as he goes through the motions as an underpaid security guard. Then he gets the chance to solve the case that is his nemesis. This is not a police procedural though; this has elements of the heart, base existentialism and even dark humour. This is from director and writer Yi'nan Diao who brought us 'Night Train' and 'Uniform'. He comes from a very industrialised part of China and this is generally reflected in his films - and indeed it is here. Also the loneliness that comes from the isolating capacity of industrialised living. This though is a confident and assured piece of film making. Even when I thought a scene or two had stayed going a tad too long, he just reveals why and all of a sudden you are right back on track. In Mandarin and running to around 100 minutes this will appeal to those who appreciate modern Chinese cinema and who like a bit of dark brooding to their crime thrillers.