I got tickets for the film on the first day tickets were released, but after the fact I was annoyed at myself for having gotten tickets for the morning at 9.30. It was going to be a tough day with me having to go back home in the afternoon, and I was not looking forward to it. In the end, we saw this film and “The Midnight After” in the evening, and it almost became the best day of this year’s Berlinale, with both titles better than almost every film from 2009 (though I only saw 8 films during the festival at the time, so that may not mean that much).
Even though we only got there shortly before it started, we managed to get reasonable seats – a little far in front but very centered. We learn that not many people want to go to the movie theaters early in the morning on a weekday, and certainly not for a Chinese film.
Bai Ri Yan Huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice)
China 2014, Diao Yinan, 106′
In 1999, pieces of a corpse are found in various coal mines. The protagonist, Zhang Zili, is a police officer investigating the murder case and can’t put it to rest even after some of his colleagues died and the case was closed. More mysterious deaths happen and they are all related to the same woman. As he tries to find out the truth, Zhang slowly falls in love with her.
Death count: 7. (I think.)
Usually my excitement for a film is somewhat proportional to the length of the posting I dedicate to it. In the case of “Bai Ri Yan Huo”, the length does not mean much. I think this movie a must-see, and considering that it won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale, it won’t take long until it appears at least on the internet. However, I am not into analyzing a film whose main characteristic is suspense. I could compare it to classic film noirs (especially “The Maltese Falcon” which I incidentally never saw, only read) or Hitchcock movies, but I think it’s pretty moot. Perhaps it’s worthwhile to mention that I really love film noirs, and it’s important to like the genre to like this film. “Bai Ri Yan Huo” is a very classic example of the genre, though I guess we have to call it neo-noir. The film works because the female main character is somewhat special (an somewhat phlegmatic ice queen, much unlike the typical passionate femme fatale) and very attractive, the male character does the slightly screwed up, rugged policeman very believably, and the setting is suitably dark and atmospheric. Add a few absurdly comic scenes (the chase scene on ice! Hahaha!) and you got “Bai Ri Yan Huo”, the film every film noir should be like.
Personally, I suppose I have a thing for domestic love stories like “Chiisai Ouchi” and preferred it on a personal level, but from what I saw in the competition, I think that “Bai Ri Yan Huo” totally deserved its Golden Bear and wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who does not have an intense dislike against film noirs or crime stories. “Bai Ri Yan Huo”‘s win is proof that sometimes the simple wins over the pretentious, the moody over the beautiful, the underrated over the critically loved and finally, the story-telling wins over the (typically overtly political) meaning. The Berlinale jury finally gave the Golden Bear to something that is just a good film, no more and no less. That is awesome and that is why you all need to see this film to remind ourselves what movies are all about.