Knitting

Niu lang zhi nü

(China, 2008, 101 mins)

35mm

PRODS: Jiao Aimin, Liu Jiang, Vivian Qu
SCR: Yin Lichuan, A Mei
CAM: Liu Yonghong
ED: Yan Tao
MUS: Zhang Weiwei
Cast: Zhang Yi, Yan Bingyan, Lu Yulai, Li Genmei

Li Daping and Chen Jin seem to have a relatively stable though impoverished existence: he drives a minibus, and she collects the passengers' money. Li appears extremely introverted, and Chen Jin seems no more than normally self-absorbed; they live together in a cheap but serviceable apartment in a nameless southern Chinese city. But when Chen Jin's flamboyant former girlfriend Zhang Haili suddenly appears and installs herself in the apartment, things get very crowded and very complicated. Li trains her the full force of her taciturn passivity on the overtly hostile and mocking Zhang, while Chen seems to float above the situation, content to have two (albeit warring) lovers under the same roof.

What prevents Yin Lichuan's film from devolving into farce is her concentrated attention on the domestic details of this unusual arrangement. She keeps her hand-held camera at a dispassionate distance from the characters while at the same time shaping an ever-changing compassionate identification with them that flows with the twists of the film's story.

With fine performances by two young professionals (the gifted Yan Bingyan as Li and up and coming indie star Lu Yulai as Chen) and one astonishing non-pro (Zhang Yi as Li), Yin's film gathers in suspense as it floats between indie drama, romantic comedy, and subtle melodrama in its own offbeat, original way.

-- Shelly Kraicer

Sponsored By:

Chinese Canadian Times

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