夜半梳头
王李丹妮,李威,宣璐,杨紫彤,戴阳天
Five years in the making, Manchu director Nà Jiāzuǒ’s 那嘉佐 feature debut embraces style over substance...
Gaey Wa’r — known also by its English titleStreetwise — is a gritty drama of youthful angst. Premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, which focuses on the discovery of original films with high aesthetic quality, the low-key crime drama is an example of an “arthouse genre” film whose artistry prevails over its narrative.
The story follows Dongzi (李九霄 Lǐ Jiǔxiāo), a 21-year-old who works as a henchman for a local debt collector, Xijun (余皑磊 Yú Áilěi), to pay for the medical treatment of his father (姚橹 Yáo Lǔ), who the film implies used to be a local boss. Off work, Dongzi finds comfort in the presence of Jiu’er (黄米依 Huáng Mǐyī), the owner of a local tattoo parlor, but their relationship is in limbo because she’s also the former spouse of Mr. Four (沙宝亮 Shā Bǎoliàng), a crime boss who remains dangerously obsessed with her. To further complicate matters, Xijun is skimming off Mr. Four while Dongzi and Jiu’er plan an escape from their little town. Alas, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.
Location, location, location. If those are the three things that matter the most in real estate, so it is in Gaey Wa’r. Set in 2004 in the small town of Zhenwu in Sichuan province but shot in Chongqing, the setting almost becomes a character in its own right. The title, Gaey Wa’r — 街娃儿 jiē wár — is in Sichuanese dialect meaning “street kid.” After winning the Grand Jury Prize at the FIRST International Film Festival earlier this month, director Na acknowledged the importance of the city: “I think this honor belongs not only to us,” he said on stage, “but also to every crew member, lighting, stray dog, bug, tree, and every single small but significant life in third- and fourth-tier cities.”
With predominantly nocturnal scenes, art director Wáng Chúnmò’s 王淳墨 vividly realistic design results in striking set pieces that are expertly captured by cinematographer Lí Jiānéng 黎佳能 (whose first name happens to be identical as the Chinese name for the camera brand Canon). Li combines deep focus shots with saturated colors and low-key lighting to film the neon-lit narrow alleys and slopes of the “mountain city,” as well as its lush green hills in the distance, which renders a neo-noir effect. For his brilliantly expressive camerawork, Li received the Best Artistic Originality award at FIRST.
For all its admirable artistry and corresponding awards, however, Gaey Wa’r’s plot leaves something to be desired. Set against the background of China’s mass rural-urban migration around the turn of the century, the story portrays those who are unable to leave their small towns due to the various strings attached. Actress Huang Miyi excels as Jiu’er, who exudes cool tenderness as a contrast to the violence of Dongzi and the other male characters, but her role as the boss’s girlfriend is cliched.
Centering the story around youthful frustration and disillusionment — a theme that many first-time Chinese indie directors engage with — results in characters who struggle to go beyond archetypes. The film reminds one of the narrative setting of Jiǎ Zhāngkē’s 贾樟柯 Unknown Pleasures(2002) — in which a teenage protagonist also takes a fancy to the local boss’s girlfriend — and the neo-noir atmosphere of Diāo Yìnán’s 刁亦男 The Wild Goose Lake. The resulting effect, however, skews more to genre mainstream than to arthouse stylistics.
Originally published on The China Project."<>""}
Five years in the making, Manchu director Nà Jiāzuǒ’s 那嘉佐 feature debut embraces style over substance...
Gaey Wa’r — known also by its English titleStreetwise — is a gritty drama of youthful angst. Premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, which focuses on the discovery of original films with high aesthetic quality, the low-key crime drama is an example of an “arthouse genre” film whose artistry prevails over its narrative.
The story follows Dongzi (李九霄 Lǐ Jiǔxiāo), a 21-year-old who works as a henchman for a local debt collector, Xijun (余皑磊 Yú Áilěi), to pay for the medical treatment of his father (姚橹 Yáo Lǔ), who the film implies used to be a local boss. Off work, Dongzi finds comfort in the presence of Jiu’er (黄米依 Huáng Mǐyī), the owner of a local tattoo parlor, but their relationship is in limbo because she’s also the former spouse of Mr. Four (沙宝亮 Shā Bǎoliàng), a crime boss who remains dangerously obsessed with her. To further complicate matters, Xijun is skimming off Mr. Four while Dongzi and Jiu’er plan an escape from their little town. Alas, you know what they say about the best-laid plans.
Location, location, location. If those are the three things that matter the most in real estate, so it is in Gaey Wa’r. Set in 2004 in the small town of Zhenwu in Sichuan province but shot in Chongqing, the setting almost becomes a character in its own right. The title, Gaey Wa’r — 街娃儿 jiē wár — is in Sichuanese dialect meaning “street kid.” After winning the Grand Jury Prize at the FIRST International Film Festival earlier this month, director Na acknowledged the importance of the city: “I think this honor belongs not only to us,” he said on stage, “but also to every crew member, lighting, stray dog, bug, tree, and every single small but significant life in third- and fourth-tier cities.”
With predominantly nocturnal scenes, art director Wáng Chúnmò’s 王淳墨 vividly realistic design results in striking set pieces that are expertly captured by cinematographer Lí Jiānéng 黎佳能 (whose first name happens to be identical as the Chinese name for the camera brand Canon). Li combines deep focus shots with saturated colors and low-key lighting to film the neon-lit narrow alleys and slopes of the “mountain city,” as well as its lush green hills in the distance, which renders a neo-noir effect. For his brilliantly expressive camerawork, Li received the Best Artistic Originality award at FIRST.
For all its admirable artistry and corresponding awards, however, Gaey Wa’r’s plot leaves something to be desired. Set against the background of China’s mass rural-urban migration around the turn of the century, the story portrays those who are unable to leave their small towns due to the various strings attached. Actress Huang Miyi excels as Jiu’er, who exudes cool tenderness as a contrast to the violence of Dongzi and the other male characters, but her role as the boss’s girlfriend is cliched.
Centering the story around youthful frustration and disillusionment — a theme that many first-time Chinese indie directors engage with — results in characters who struggle to go beyond archetypes. The film reminds one of the narrative setting of Jiǎ Zhāngkē’s 贾樟柯 Unknown Pleasures(2002) — in which a teenage protagonist also takes a fancy to the local boss’s girlfriend — and the neo-noir atmosphere of Diāo Yìnán’s 刁亦男 The Wild Goose Lake. The resulting effect, however, skews more to genre mainstream than to arthouse stylistics.
Originally published on The China Project.{else}在潮湿、静谧的山城烟火里,“街娃儿”东子(李九霄饰)艰难谋生。日子在流血和受伤间慢慢熬过,可东子毕竟有两份难以割舍的寄托:一份是对固执的父亲的照顾,一份是对纹身店老板九儿(黄米依饰)的朦胧感情。东子竭力在世事繁杂中活出自己的畅快,但也无法逃开父亲、九儿、希军、四哥等人物造成的爱恨牵缠……{end if}收起
HD
王李丹妮,李威,宣璐,杨紫彤,戴阳天
约翰尼·韦斯默勒,Neil,Hamilton,莫琳·奥沙利文,Johnny,Weissmuller,Maureen,O'Sullivan
成龙,刘浩存,郭麒麟,吴京,余皑磊,容祖儿,于荣光,安志杰,释彦能,郎月婷,小沈阳,李治廷,潘斌龙,贾冰,印小天,唐季礼,吕良伟,孔琳,张双利,陈铭
王岩松,刘亭驿,朱宏,张艺军,顺子
HD
托尔斯坦·比约克朗德,安蒂·希海基宁,维尔·希尔卡,约翰内斯·霍洛佩宁,萨穆利·贾斯基奥
DVD
爱德华·安达尔EduardOndar,斯蒂潘尼达·博瑞索瓦StepanidaBorissova
HD
金·凯瑞,摩根·弗里曼,詹妮弗·安妮斯顿,菲利普·贝克·霍尔,凯瑟琳·贝尔,丽萨·安·沃尔特,史蒂夫·卡瑞尔,诺拉·邓恩,埃迪·杰米森,保罗·萨特菲尔德,马克·基利,莎莉·柯克兰德,托尼·本内特,蒂莫西·迪普里,卢·费尔德,莉莲·亚当斯,克里斯托弗·达尔加,杰克·乔泽弗森,马克·阿戴尔-里奥斯,恩里克·阿尔梅达,诺尔·古格雷米,罗兰多·莫利纳,埃米里奥·瑞弗拉,玛德琳·洛夫乔伊,丹·戴斯蒙德,罗伯
成奎安,汤镇业,汪永芳,刘可雯,Si,Ting,Fong
HD
SheninaCinnamon,奇科·库尔尼亚万,Lutesha,杰罗姆·库尼亚,迪娅·潘德拉,GiulioParengkuan,MianTiara,鲁思·马里尼,路克曼·沙帝,RukmanRosadi,LandungSimatupang,雅彦·鲁伊安,ElisabethPasaribu,BudiRos,东尼·达玛拉
HD
汤姆·拉斯齐哈,玛莎莱奥妮巴赫,肯·杜肯,理查德·艾沃特,艾米莉·普拉斯-琳克,基达·拉马丹,蒂姆·维尔德
HD
刘德华,关之琳,雷宇扬,林保怡,秦豪,成奎安,韦基舜,卢雄,鲍方,方平,丁家强,陈志文,曾近荣,梁葆贞,曾守明,龙彪,谢伟杰,秦贵宝,伍国健,黄志强,蔡国强,苏伟南,林国杰,梁其禧
HD
张涵予,戚薇,福山雅治,河智苑,国村隼,池内博之,樱庭奈奈美,仓田保昭,吴飞霞,斋藤工,吉泽悠,竹中直人,冈本多绪,德永邦治,矢岛健一,田中圭,中村让