Hu Ge plays Zhou Zenong, an ex-con and a leader of a minor crime family mostly specializing in motorcycle thefts. Unfortunately, a quarrel with another crime family has him accidentally shoot a police officer, mistaking the man for one of his enemies. Now he's on the run and ends up near Wild Goose Lake, a lake resort known for its prostitutes. You can definitely disappear in a place like that. But does he manage to pull it off?
The story revolves around Zhou and Liu Aiai (Gwei Lun-mei), one of the local prostitutes, whose pimp is a known associate of Zhou's. Liu is made to contact Zhou because she's not immediately known to the police, and the rest evolves from that.
If I had to describe the style of the film, I'd say it's a weird mixture of John Woo and Kim Ki-duk. With more emphasis on Kim. It definitely wants to be a crime thriller, but it's very slow and thoughtful about it. The film has this serenity to it. People are in a rush, it's a tense situation, but there are still moments just to have a conversation or to get lost in your thoughts. Have a moment of introspection.
Until the film decides it's time for the final action scene, when all bets are suddenly off. It's a jarring mixture to say the least, but I can't say I minded it.
If I had to name one flaw, I'd say the plot is a touch meandering. The slow style works surprisingly well, but whenever the story needs to move forward, it takes a while to do so and jumps through a few hoops too many.
Still, if you're looking for a Chinese crime drama, you could do a lot worse.
The story revolves around Zhou and Liu Aiai (Gwei Lun-mei), one of the local prostitutes, whose pimp is a known associate of Zhou's. Liu is made to contact Zhou because she's not immediately known to the police, and the rest evolves from that.
If I had to describe the style of the film, I'd say it's a weird mixture of John Woo and Kim Ki-duk. With more emphasis on Kim. It definitely wants to be a crime thriller, but it's very slow and thoughtful about it. The film has this serenity to it. People are in a rush, it's a tense situation, but there are still moments just to have a conversation or to get lost in your thoughts. Have a moment of introspection.
Until the film decides it's time for the final action scene, when all bets are suddenly off. It's a jarring mixture to say the least, but I can't say I minded it.
If I had to name one flaw, I'd say the plot is a touch meandering. The slow style works surprisingly well, but whenever the story needs to move forward, it takes a while to do so and jumps through a few hoops too many.
Still, if you're looking for a Chinese crime drama, you could do a lot worse.