Black Coal

OK, so yes - this is a very slow burn a times with far too many establishing and shots of decaying urban industrialisation, but when the action does actually focus on the story it's not a bad crime drama at all. We start with an arm sticking out of a pile of coal. The cops arrive and "Zhang" (Fan Liao) is soon on the case. He can only identify the corpse, though, and unimpressed his bosses ensure that five years down the line he is reduced to working as a security guard with a penchant for the bottle too. What we now know, though, is that there were a series of such killings and they are now under his fingernails. He is obsessed with identifying the killer. Reuniting with his for partner "Liang" (Xuebing Wang), they pick up a trail that leads them to the enigmatic "Wu Zhizhen" (Gwei Lun-Mei). "Zhang" now vacillates between an attraction to this woman and to suspecting her, but has she anything to do with the crimes? It's a curiously developed film, this. It proceeds in fits and starts before a denouement that is rushed and rather unfulfilling. It looks gritty and dark, the weather - cold and miserable, also helps to create an atmosphere and the acting is competent. Maybe it could lose twenty minutes of preambling characterisations, but it has a solid story with director Yi'nan Diao getting close to the the best from Fan Liao and his lumps of coal.

A Chinese crime drama with a good storyline and convincing acting. Low key style with a mix of random everyday events and a police investigation. Filmed in a realist style with some surreal moments.

A series of murders, whose hallmarks are numerous body parts being found around the Province, perplex detectives and leave them with a failed investigation. A former member of the force, sacked for incompetence, takes the initiative and follows a lead.

Slow paced but gripping. We are given insights into the characters' lives, motivations and idiosyncrasies alongside their roles in the unfolding world of the murder investigation. What it lacks in action is made up for in a range of intriguing characters and quirky events.

There are definitely some impressive technical flourishes here. The lighting and the colors used are gorgeous, and really do highlight a lot of the film's atmosphere, which is the other good thing about it. It's able to achieve atmosphere in a rather surprising way, but it's just too bad hat that atmosphere is wasted and doesn't really highlight much. The acting is decent, but the story and the screenplay leave a lot to be desired. The characters just aren't developed all that well, and just are so, so dull. The film's sense of pacing and development are non- existent. I don't think this is anything worthwhile, although I'm sure many will like it just fine.

The plot is that two cops who have had their careers ruined, by a case that went horribly wrong, decide to reunite. This they do after a murder that has striking similarities to the one that floored them happens again.

Zhang Zili has lost everything, his wife, the job he loved and has turned to the bottle as he goes through the motions as an underpaid security guard. Then he gets the chance to solve the case that is his nemesis. This is not a police procedural though; this has elements of the heart, base existentialism and even dark humour.

This is from director and writer Yi'nan Diao who brought us 'Night Train' and 'Uniform'. He comes from a very industrialised part of China and this is generally reflected in his films - and indeed it is here. Also the loneliness that comes from the isolating capacity of industrialised living. This though is a confident and assured piece of film making. Even when I thought a scene or two had stayed going a tad too long, he just reveals why and all of a sudden you are right back on track. In Mandarin and running to around 100 minutes this will appeal to those who appreciate modern Chinese cinema and who like a bit of dark brooding to their crime thrillers.

In snow covered streets surrounded by perpetual darkness detectives and suspects are made distinguishable only by the soft glow of neon signs. Faces are shrouded by shadow, characters motives are unclear. We are in very classic noir territory in Black Coal, Thin Ice.

A brutal murder occurs in Northern China. Severed limbs appear simultaneously across the country in coal plants. The investigation into the murder is botched, leaving detective Zhang Zili injured, ashamed and without a job. Five years later, body parts are found in coal plants. Now an alcoholic and working as a security guard, Zhang once again finds himself in the pursuit of the mysterious mass murderer. The only connection between the two cases is a beautiful dry cleaning assistant Wu Zhizhen, who soon becomes the object of Zhang's obsession.

An intriguing combination of neo-noir and Chinese realism, Black Coal, Thin Ice demonstrates director Yi'nan Diao's genre literacy. From the lighting, to the troubled anti-hero, to the femme-fatale, the film is full of noir tropes. What makes the film unique is the camera's continual shift to the mundane. Unlike the modern Tarantino-inspired trend, the revelations and acts of violence are down-played. Plot takes a back seat to atmosphere as the audience is immersed in a bleak, nihilistic vision of modern China.

Winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival, Black Coal, Thin Ice has been a hit with critics but it's hard to see it winning any audience awards. The slow pace and dark, defeatist world view will be a turn off for most audience but if you don't view those as detractors, and if you are a fan of noir then this is a film to see.