China
Film Review – Dongji Rescue
There are sequences in the Chinese film Dongji Rescue (2025) that are breathtaking. Set primarily in or around the ocean, scenes feature characters swimming across choppy water, diving deep under the surface with no oxygen, or flinging themselves off sinking boats. These instances are so believable that…
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Film Review – Hidden Blade
There are few films that evoke atmosphere and mood as well as Er Cheng’s Hidden Blade (2023). A spy thriller set in Japanese-occupied China during the height of WWII, the tone and visuals have such rich textures that every frame looks like an oil painting. Compositions place characters…
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An Appreciation – Chungking Express
There are few filmmakers who can capture the feeling of longing the way Wong Kar Wai does. Throughout his career, WKW has consistently revisited the ways in which people come together or fall apart. His characters are constantly moving, interacting or separating, or barely missing…
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Film Review – Mulan (2020)
The Disney money train rolls on. After numerous delays due to the Covid pandemic, Disney’s live action Mulan (2020) has finally rolled out through their streaming platform, Disney+. The troubled release schedule along with the company’s pricing decision (currently, you can only watch it by…
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SIFF Film Review – Dead Pigs
Dead Pigs presents a panorama of modern lives in go-go-go Shanghai, like La Dolce Vita (1960) and The Great Beauty (2013) did in Rome or Nashville (1975) did in…well, Nashville. Much like how Magnolia (1998) brought down a rain of frogs to unite its disparate characters,…
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