My latest review from the 2013 New York Asian Film Festival (which is now over) is the Chinese/French drama, Mystery, and what a drama it is!
From the mind of ‘controversial’ director Lou Ye comes a wonderful, harrowing film about the dysfunctional love triangle between Lu Jie (Lei Hao), Yongzhao (Hao Qin) and Sang Qi (Qi Xi). I say ‘controversial’ because I fear it’s more a case of censorship gone mad in China, rather than anything this talented filmmaker has done wrong. Mystery itself was very nearly banned in China but from an outsiders point of view, it’s hard to understand why.
Mystery opens with a young woman, Ziaomin (Fangyuan Chang), being struck by a car as she stands in the middle of the road. The driver of the car rushes out to see if she’s okay, but in a moment of madness kicks her to death as she grabs their leg for help. We then join housewife Lu Jie as she’s picking her daughter up from school, while waiting she makes a new friend, Sang Qi – another mother with a son at the same school. Yongzhao has arrived home to Lu Jie, his wife. The two briefly talk about Lu Jie getting back involved in their business to help Yongzhao who seems tired, at that point a mystery caller once again phones their house – for the 4th time that month. Lu Jie is panicked but Yongzhao thinks nothing of it. The police, meanwhile are investigating the death of Ziaomin from the beginning of the film. They arrest the driver and while it’s apparent more is at hand here (she has bruises on her head from a rock) the lead investigator quickly determines that it will be put down to an accident and nothing more will come of it – something his friend (and ex of the victim, Ziaomin) cannot stand the thought of. All the stories soon become linked together and it ties in quite nicely, apart from the rather rushed and ambiguous ending.
The film is based off the story of an unnamed woman and her real-life account of the struggles she faced with her husband back in 2009 as she was entangled in a very messy love triangle. This story caused quite a stir in China in 2009 and the film has equally raised concerns.
Mystery is a hard film to really sum u, and do it justice without revealing too much of what is an incredibly layered and intelligent plot. There’s obvious digs at contemporary Chinese issues such as the corruption within Chinese law currently, as well as domestic violence and all round morality. It appears the Chinese supervisory bodies aren’t huge fans of director Lou Ye’s work and Mystery was very nearly another one of his banned films – only getting through the governing body because the last 3 seconds and 23 frames (included Lou Ye’s names in the credits) were removed. Mystery is Ye’s first screening in China in 10 years. He recently faced one 2 year ban and one 5 year ban from filmmaking due to his determination to ignore censorship, which to the rest of the world looks admirable, as he’s a man who wants to tell his story regardless of the rules set in place.
Rating: A clever and thought-provoking film (6/10)
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