People Montain, People Sea

Guizhou, south-western China. Right from the first shots, this masterly second film introduces a paradoxical mixture: the immutable serenity of a mountain landscape is shaken by the soft, almost mute, violence of a murder committed with a knife, in broad daylight. The general indifference and the absurdity of the crime are conveyed through long shots, rather than the more predictable medium shots. Yet, the visual harshness, enhanced by almost burnt-out images, is only the first in a series of surprises in a narrative which through a manhunt puts deposits the portrait of pulverulent contemporary China filmed in its margins.