Bi gans dreamy, daring debut feature kaili blues has already racked up a series of film festival accolades since its bow at last years locarno. Kaili blues, a dreamy trek with otherworldly beauty the. The chinese name of this film lu bian ye can originated from strugatsky brothers roadside picnic which was rearranged into stalker by andrei tarkovsky. Bi gans long days journey into night brings noir to siff. Review astonishing first film about a geography of the soul. Apr, 2016 bi gan on long days journey into night and pushing the boundaries of 3d nyff56 duration. One of them, chen, decides to fulfill a family wish and sets off on a train journey to search for his brothers abandoned child, only to find himself in a dreamlike world where past, present, and future as well as fantasy and reality become one. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. His attention to detail, storytelling and arresting images complement director bi gans fluid and poetic storytelling, including most prominently in one bold 40minute travelling shot that lies at the films heart that rivals some of cinemas finest and most famously audacious single takes. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing kaili blues near you. Borne from more than a decades worth of frustration with the studio system, it was, as the last picture he completed, his stamp on his time as a director. He has just completed his second feature film long days journey into night, an international coproduction between china and france. Chen, a preoccupied doctor working in a small clinic in the raindrenched city of kaili, decides to fulfill his late mothers wish and sets off on a journey to look for his brothers abandoned child.
Just shy of reaching 30, bi gan completed yet another feature film set in his hometown of kaili in guizhou province, china, called long days journey into night. Were lulled into an aquatic setting of a provincial mainland set, and shot on location in the kaili, and zhenyuan province, where chen shen runs a small medical practice with an elder practitioner named guanglin. A sometimes transfixing art film about a doctor trying to make up for past crimes by caring for a neglected nephew in rural china, gan bis kaili. An audacious, richly imagined feature debut that has collected prizes around the world, kaili blues heralds the arrival of a major new filmmaker. Far and away our mostanticipated film at the 2018 cannes film festival isnt even premiering in the competition lineup. Here are the best movies of 2019 to watch, from crowdpleasing blockbusters to underthe. Bi gan on long days journey into night and pushing the boundaries of 3d nyff56 duration. To be sure, there are other nonspiritual contexts in which to consider bis extended shot. Bi gans film is a soulful depiction of chinas increasingly rapid pace of. Kaili blues bi gans arthouse gem blends memories and time. Weiwei soon vanishes, and chen sets out to find him, embarking on a mystical quest that takes him to the riverside city of kaili and the town of dang mai. In the subtropical province of guizhou, chen sheng embarks on a journey to find his nephew.
The layered, dreamlike plot follows luo hongwu played by huang jue as he returns to his hometown, looking into the past for clues about what happened to wildcat lee hong, a lost love he last saw more than a decade ago. Kaili blues a new language for chinese film kaili blues, an eccentric, remarkably assured first feature by the young chinese director bi gan, is both the most elusive and the most memorable new movie that ive seen in quite some timeelusive and memorable being central to bis ambitions. This is kaili blues trailerwith english subtitles by heaven pictures on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. The screenings i attended gave rise to audienceecstasy in both situations. Born in kaili in china in 1989, bi gan directed his first short, diamond sutra, in 2012 which earned him the special mention award in the asian new force category at the ifva festival in hong kong. In the film, we see and hear traces of miao culture. Kaili blues dvd burnaby public library bibliocommons. May 19, 2016 kaili blues has the kitchensink feel of a new director eager to try every artfilm technique in the book, but the films beauty and inventiveness are riveting. One of them, chen, decides to fulfill his late mothers wish and sets off on a train journey to look for his brothers abandoned child. Kaili blues, a rebut film directed by gan bi who hadnt been heard before by most film critics or audience. Kaili blues 2015, his first narrative feature film, screened at locarno film festival 2015, winning the best emerging director award and the.
The two have been working together since their film kaili blues. Each moment hangs in the air complete in a way without much. After his road movie kaili blues became an international success, writer and director bi gan turned to the film noir genre for his follow up, long days journey into night. Kaili blues is a magnificent contrast of show and tell as carefully delineated compositions into a freewheeling travelogue.
Gan bis kaili blues is nowhere near as plotdriven as that perhaps misleading synopsis suggests. Its easy to read kaili blues through firsttime director gan bis background as a poet, given its elliptical narrative and emphasis on allusive beats and lyrical imagery. Here are the best movies of 2019 to watch, from crowdpleasing blockbusters to. At the kaili clinic,there are two doctors who live quiet,lonely lives.
Like the work of many young filmmakers, bi gans debut feature pulsates with a cinephiles admiration for his predecessors. His first feature film, kaili blues, garnered worldwide praise from critics, capturing the honor of best new director at the 52nd taipei golden horse awards, best first feature. Situated in the subtropical southwest of china, this apparently timeless. Poetic kaili blues is a beautiful film about a chinese. Kaili blues has the kitchensink feel of a new director eager to try every artfilm technique in the book, but the films beauty and inventiveness are riveting. Through a remarkable arsenal of stylistic techniques, the film develops into a oneofakind road movie, at once magical and materialist, traversing both space and time. Grasshopper film is a distribution company dedicated to the release of acclaimed and awardwinning independent film. His partner in the clinic, a lonely old lady, asks chen to. An astonishing film debut where dream and reality meet. Kaili blues, an eccentric, remarkably assured first feature by the young chinese director bi gan, is both the most elusive and the most memorable new movie that ive seen in quite some timeelusive and memorable being central to bis ambitions. If thats an elliptical statement, it befits a film thats baffling as a whole though.
Aug 30, 2016 kaili blues really does impress from start to finish, and is exactly the kind of independent film which itd be great to see more in chinese cinemas to compliment the countrys explosion in blockbuster commercial productions. The opening shot is a nearly 360degree roving take setting against in a fixed position, a sparse clinic where chen works with an elderly doctor zhao, they live in kaili, a foggy, soggy, slight crummy town in chinas southeast, subtropical guizhou province. By visiting our website or transacting with us, you agree to this. It has a pencil sketch of a plot, with the makings of a subtropical noir. Bi gan, china, 2015 by andrew chan in the mayjune 2016 issue.
Coming to the topic of that, i do not like the whole concept of consumption of dog meat in the festival. The quote from the diamond sutra, the sacred buddhist text, that opens kaili blues states that neither the past mind, the present mind, nor the future mind can be attained, and the films ultimate point is the elusiveness of a single, stable reality. In a small clinic in the raindrenched city of kaili, two preoccupied doctors. Gan bi won best emerging director and best first feature at the 2015 locarno film festival. In the subtropical and foggy city of kaili, morose poet chen sheng decides to fulfil his dead mothers wish and sets off on a surreal journey to look for his brothers abandoned child.
Chinese director bi gan also makes a statement about his film kaili blues, his debut feature, and, perhaps, about cinema in general. Kaili blues takes a mysterious journey through memory. May 20, 2016 im not eager to see kaili blues a second time. In a small clinic in the raindrenched city of kaili. How many of you have heard of the film the road to yulin. In a small clinic in the raindrenched city of kaili, two preoccupied doctors live ghostlike lives. Jan 19, 2016 a film by bi gan one of the past years most striking, dreamy and poetic debuts is difficult to describe in retrospect. Dec 18, 2019 2019 gifted us a bounty of audacious dramas, documentaries, comedies, thrillers and actionadventures. Poetic kaili blues is a beautiful film about a chinese doctor. Kaili blues by director gan bi is a chinese vision quest that could be the. May 17, 2016 in a way, kaili blues is perhaps one of the closest continuations of russian auteur andrei tarkovskys insistence on film as sculpting in time, but where tarkovsky sought to incite a sense of immensity and the sublime in films such as nostalghia and the sacrifice, bi here takes a far more gentle, handcrafted, and playful approach. A film by bi gan one of the past years most striking, dreamy and poetic debuts is difficult to describe in retrospect. Chen sheng chen yongzhong, the directors uncle, a reformed gangster who now owns a smalltown medical clinic in chinas misty guizhou province, sets off to adopt his. Kaili blues 2015 is amazingly wang tainxings debut work as cinematographer.
The picture is by grasshopper film, not grasshopper films. Kaili blues, a dreamy trek with otherworldly beauty. Kaili blues is a genuine arthouse film, confusing to follow but visually captivating and a great testament to bi gans directorial abilities. Bi gans debut feature kaili blues ducks and doubles back like a fugitive trying to lose a tail, finding itself in stranger and stranger places. This remarkable visual achievement, which feels as singular and alien as the films of the great apichatpong weerasethakul, was shot in the mining village kaili, the directors birthplace, and incorporates poetry hes been writing since he was a teenager. A stunning, dreamlike debut, kaili blues is about a country doctors. An astonishing film debut where dream and reality meet the. Like those auteurs, he achieves what film is best at. A stunning, dreamlike debut, kaili blues is about a country doctors search for an abandoned child that takes him to a mysterious place where past, present and future become one. A stunning debut from chinese director bi gan, kaili blues is an audacious, mesmerizing work that announces the arrival of a major new filmmaker. An audacious, richly imagined feature debut that has collected prizes around the world, kaili blues heralds the arrival of. We use our own and thirdparty cookies to personalize your experience and the promotions you see. Through a remarkable arsenal of stylistic techniques, the film develops into a oneofakind road movie, at once magical and.
His first feature film, kaili blues, garnered worldwide praise from critics, capturing the honor of. Kaili blues directed by gan bi opens may 20 at the metrograph. Kaili blues filmmaker bi gan explains how magic and his own. Kaili blues china 110 mins one of the most striking films of the year will leave you questioning your sense of reality. But ive sure heard about the yulin festival which the film is based on. But such an approach might miss just how remarkably focused on material and sensual elements this stylistically astonishing debut is. Kaili blues is also a road movie, and the various legs of chens. Wang tianxing for kaili blues lu bian ye can asia pacific. The films premise is that chen undertakes a journey from kaili to zhenyuan to try to find wei wei, but in truth, kaili blues is about what its title names. A complete understanding of our minds, feelings, and our world is unavailable. Dangmai films shanghai was cofounded by director bi gan and his producer shan zuolong in july 2016.
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