NY ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL July 15-28, 2022

[Chris Knipp]

Ripples of Life 永安镇故事集 (Wei Shujun China 2021)

Under thirty Wei Shujun won an award at Cannes for his shortOn the Border (2018) and many other awards. His first feature Striding into the Wind (2020) was also presented at Cannes, got a lot of festival attention, and even, the disapproving Derek Elley admits, did well at the box office in China. This second feature was at Directors' Fortnight this year and turns away from the autobiographical indulgence of the first feature for an ironic, rueful, sometimes beautiful picture in three chapters, partly in emulation of early Jia Zhang-ke, about preparations for a perhaps abortive film production set in the female star's remote hometown in Hunan province.