Wu Gang Movies

The Portuguese-produced, Gulbenkian Foundation-funded omnibus film The State of the World (O Estado do Mundo, 2007) joins September 11 (2003), Paris, Je T'Aime (2006), and other feature-length works made around the same time that resurrect the form and structure of the classic "episode picture." Like the aforementioned titles, the scope here is international: six directors from around the globe were each invited to contribute a sketch of around 15 minutes, on the theme of sociocultural change as it occurs transcontinentally -- change in populace, landscape, economy, and/or lifestyles. The directors who agreed to participate include Belgian Chantal Akerman, Portuguese Pedro Costa, Thai Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Chinese Wang Bing, Brazilian Vicente Ferraz, and Indian Ayisha Abraham.

Weerasethakul's segment, "Luminous People," opens the picture, and depicts one Thai family's ash-scattering ceremony following the death of a beloved relative, as they cruise down the Mekong River in a boat between Laos and Thailand. The director utilizes a broken stream of metonymical shots to create a dreamlike, gossamery ambience, and consciously resists any explanatory voice-over or interpretation, instead encouraging his subjects to reflect on the meaning of the ceremony in voice-over. Next up is Ferraz's contribution, "Germano" -- a message-laden allegory about the elderly Brazilian fisherman of the title (Paschoal Vilaboim), saddled with a minimal crew, who must pilot his tiny vessel beyond its safe and shallow haven and venture boldly into deep waters to draw a healthy catch. En route, however, he must face a lull in the dreaded doldrums and the presence of a mammoth Russian oil tanker. Abraham helms the third segment, "One Way" -- a documentary piece that meditates on the life of Shyam Bahadur, a Nepali emigrant who works as a security guard in Bangalore. Per its title, Bing's fourth segment, "Brutality Factory," bombards the audience with a compendium of almost assaultive images, depicting factory ruins culled from his movie West of the Tracks. Bing then shifts the form of the segment from documentary to docudrama, by filming scripted scenes that depict the torture inflicted by the government on alleged counterrevolutionary dissidents during the notorious Cultural Revolution. A wife is ordered, under threat of execution, to betray her husband. She refuses and is promptly murdered, prior to the sickeningly ironic revelation that the husband committed suicide in 1967. Costa's acclaimed fifth segment, "Tarrafal," unfolds in a dilapidated shack in the outlying regions of Lisbon, where a mother and her son huddle protectively and reflect on the destruction of their Cape Verde home. The mother tells the son a fantastic story about a Boogeyman saddled with the task of determining who is to die, in his roamings throughout the world. Akerman closes the picture with a conceptual art piece -- a montage set in Shanghai, depicting the advertisements for popular products on the sides of buildings and boats. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A police officer has been disgraced in front of both the department and the entire city, and when the sadistic gang that wronged him attempts to cement their grip on the terrified community, the only man who can come to their aid is the one nobody believes in anymore as the long-running Police Story saga receives an exciting breath of fresh-air from director Benny Chan. Police Inspector Wing (Chan) used to be Hong Kong's top cop, but when his entire team is wiped out by a youthful group of cold-blooded bank robbers, Wing quickly falls into a deep depression. A year after everyone including Wing's fiancée has lost their faith in the fallen police inspector, Wing gets a second shot at glory when he is assigned an ambitious new partner and given the opportunity to bring the gang that nearly destroyed his life to justice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The film's title is Chinese slang for the bathrooms located on the edge of Tiannamen Square, favorite haunts of Beijing gays. Billed as the first mainland Chinese drama to deal openly with the subject of homosexuality, the film angered censors and this resulted in mainland authorities confiscating director Zhang Yuan's passport shortly after his return from Hong Kong on April 10, 1997 therefore preventing him from attending that year's Cannes Film Festival along with the film. Primarily a psychological drama, it centers on a verbal cat-and-mouse game played between a gay writer and the straight policeman who arrests and interrogates him. The two meet in the square park, a place where many gays gather to pick up lovers and make out. Though homosexuality is not illegal, those who openly practice it are subject to often brutal police harassment. It is during one of the cops' frequent raids on the park that writer A-Lan kisses officer Shi. Later he sends the cop a gift; shortly thereafter, the cop happens to arrest Shi. During the interrogation, shameless A-Lan tells his life story, episodes of which appear via flashback. Many of his tales seem designed to provoke Shi into challenging his own sexuality. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Asian love story two men battle it out with fire crackers for the hand of a woman. The story is set in a remote village on northern China's Yellow River, circa 1911. Niu Bao is a handsome wandering painter whom the Cai family contracts to decorate its huge mansion on the other side of the river. The Cai family are the major fireworks makers in northern China. The family is now run by Chunzhi, a 19-year old woman who wears men's clothing. The feisty artist falls for her immediately. He ends up being beaten by Man Dihong, the foreman who also wants to woo the powerful young girl. Niu Bao leaves town, but later slips back to sleep with Chunzhi. In the end, Man Dihong and Niu Bao have a showdown, each demonstrating their skill with live fireworks. The bold Niu Bao even risks his family jewels as a last resort. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam, the Chinese had their own brief conflict with that country. This leisurely, talk-filled drama, based on the novel Lei Chang Xian Si Shu by Jiang Qitao, examines the lives of several young cadets fresh out of military school before and during their participation in that conflict. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide