Product Description
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From accled director Diao Yinan, The Wild Goose Lake is the
eagerly anticipated follow-up to his 2014 Berlinale winning
neo-noir Black Coal, Thin Ice. Toppling box office records in
Diao's native China, The Wild Goose Lake "cements his status as a
master filmmaker with another ingenious crime epic" (Little White
Lies).When small-time mob leader Zhou Zenong (Chinese superstar
Hu Ge) accidentally kills a cop, a dead-or-alive bounty is placed
on his head, forcing him on the lam from both the as well
as dangerous gangsters out for the reward. Hiding out in China's
densely populated (and deeply divided) Wuhan province, Zhou
becomes entangled with a beautiful, enigmatic woman, who has
mysterious intentions of her own. Featuring gorgeous,
neon-drenched cinematography and bursts of shocking, expertly
choreographed action, The Wild Goose Lake is "spellbinding"
(Rolling Stone), "brilliant" (Indiewire) and "downright
Hitchcockian" (AV Club).
Review
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Winner - Best Director - NETPAC
Nominated - Palme d'Or - Cannes Film Festival
Nominated - Best International Film - Jerusalem Film Festival
Official Selection - Toronto Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection - New York Film Festival
Official Selection - Melbourne Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection - Vancouver Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection - Munich Int'l. Film Festival ---
An invigorating, poetic, and discretely brilliant Chinese noir...
- David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Diao Yinan delivers a definitive Chinese crime noir, in which
the ravishing style and inventive staging form the substance. -
Jessica Kiang, Variety
Diao Yinan cements his status as a master filmmaker with another
ingenious crime epic. The Wild Goose Lake is another assured,
exhilarating tale of criminality and the havoc it wreaks on
interpersonal connection, with everything impressive about its
predecessor attentive procedural detail, curious experiments with
colour and shadow, action set pieces that'd make Michael Mann
envious raised to the Nth degree. There's not a single false step
in its two hours; every edit, every setup, every movement of
the camera maximises the raw cinematic effect. There's power in
Diao's more subdued passages, but when he really lets loose and
the fists (or bullets, or strategically concealed booby-traps)
start flying, this film's greatness transforms from the kind that
sneaks up on you to the kind that blows you away. - Charles
Bramesco, Little White Lies
[The Wild Goose Lake] doesn't recycle film noir conventions so
much as contrive with a genuine sense of discovery...the movie
exhilarates. --Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
Like a beautifully constructed puzzle box, The Wild Goose Lake
various layers unfold in satisfying ways. With elegant violence,
emotional richness and a complex yet coherent storyline, this is
a rare bit of crime thriller treat that truly pays off. Above
all, it's a highly entertaining film that doesn't for a moment
eschew aesthetics, crafting a world of shadow and subterfuge
that's terrific. The Wild Goose Lake is a hoot, a Chinese crime
thriller that proves Diao Yinan is a new master of dark,
thrilling noir. - Jason Gorber, Slash Film
Diao Yinan's twisting and turning nocturnal noir is full of
moody attitude and glorious cinematography. - Dave Calhoun, Time
Out
Diao Yinan's The Wild Goose Lake starts with a rainy night, a
guy on the lam, a dame who sidles up to him and murmurs, 'Got a
light?' In other words, this Chinese gangland thriller kicks off
in classic noir style, and gets progressively noirer and more
nocturnal as it goes on. The fourth feature from writer-director
Diao, who made a major impression with 2014's investigative drama
Black Coal, Thin Ice, this hyper-stylish manhunt drama laces
slow-burn atmospherics with abrupt outbursts of staccato action,
and boils down characterisation to the leanest of bare s,
making for minimalist existentialism in the style of Jean-Pierre
Melville. - Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily
It s a spellbinding pulp noir with a stylish edge and a sui
generis alism. (12 Best Movies at the Toronto Film Festival).
--David Fear, Rolling Stone