The Case is a 2007 Chinese film directed by the female first-time director, Wang Fen. It is the first film of the Yunnan New Film Project,[1] a planned anthology of ten films directed by female Chinese directors, all taking place in the southern province of Yunnan. It was followed by The Park, also in 2007. The film was produced by Filmblog Media with the support of the Yunnan provincial government.
The Case follows an innkeeper, played by Wu Gang, who one day comes across a black suitcase floating in the river, only to discover that it contains a body, finely dismembered and frozen.
He Dashang (Wu Gang) is a middle-aged childless innkeeper trapped in an unhappy marriage in a sleepy city in Yunnan, China. Sleepwalking through his days, everything changes when he spies a black suitcase floating down the river. Retrieving it, Dashang hopes to find his fortune in the mysterious case, only to discover its contents are dismembered human body parts. Thrown into panic, he attempts to hide the contents. Things become even more complicated when a young couple, the sultry Lily (Wang Sifei), and her mousy husband (Wang Hongwei) arrive at the inn.
Soon mishap follows upon mishap as He Dashang finds himself over his head.
Castedit
Wu Gang as He Dashang, a middle-aged inn-keeper living in Lijiang.
Wu Yujuan as He Dashang's wife.
Wang Sifei as Lily, a beautiful woman who claims her car broke down and needs to use He Dashang's inn.
Tang Wei as Lijiang's local police chief and Wu Gang's brother-in-law.
Productionedit
The film began production on May 31, 2006 in the small city of Lijiang, in the Shuhe Old Town district.[1] Heavy rainfall, however, threatened to delay the production until director Wang Fen made the decision to shoot some of the more dramatically intense scenes first, so as to utilize the moodier weather.[1]
Receptionedit
Despite being actress Wang Fen's first feature film, The Case received fairly positive reviews upon its release, particularly among the Western press. Variety for example, called it an "impressive first feature," with special attention being paid to Wu Gang's "marvelous" portrayal as He Dashang, the innkeeper.[2] Other critics, meanwhile, have noted that while the film is an "accomplished and well executed piece of cinema," the ending nevertheless can be "divisive" or at least difficult to swallow.[3] A more technical review from FIPRESCI praised the film director's methods as "something special" in the way they reinforce "an evident theatrical treatment of the subject matter."[4]
case, other, uses, case, disambiguation, 2007, chinese, film, directed, female, first, time, director, wang, first, film, yunnan, film, project, planned, anthology, films, directed, female, chinese, directors, taking, place, southern, province, yunnan, followe. For other uses see Case disambiguation The Case is a 2007 Chinese film directed by the female first time director Wang Fen It is the first film of the Yunnan New Film Project 1 a planned anthology of ten films directed by female Chinese directors all taking place in the southern province of Yunnan It was followed by The Park also in 2007 The film was produced by Filmblog Media with the support of the Yunnan provincial government The CaseTraditional Chinese箱子Simplified Chinese箱子Hanyu PinyinXiang ziDirected byWang FenWritten byWang FenZhang ChenProduced byLola ZhangStarringWu GangWu YujuanWang SifeiWang HongweiCinematographyZhang HuajieEdited byZhou XinxiaMusic byXiao HeDistributed byFilmBlog MediaRelease dateMarch 21 2007 2007 03 21 Hong Kong International Film Festival Running time90 minutesCountryChinaLanguageMandarinThe Case follows an innkeeper played by Wu Gang who one day comes across a black suitcase floating in the river only to discover that it contains a body finely dismembered and frozen Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksPlot editHe Dashang Wu Gang is a middle aged childless innkeeper trapped in an unhappy marriage in a sleepy city in Yunnan China Sleepwalking through his days everything changes when he spies a black suitcase floating down the river Retrieving it Dashang hopes to find his fortune in the mysterious case only to discover its contents are dismembered human body parts Thrown into panic he attempts to hide the contents Things become even more complicated when a young couple the sultry Lily Wang Sifei and her mousy husband Wang Hongwei arrive at the inn Soon mishap follows upon mishap as He Dashang finds himself over his head Cast editWu Gang as He Dashang a middle aged inn keeper living in Lijiang Wu Yujuan as He Dashang s wife Wang Sifei as Lily a beautiful woman who claims her car broke down and needs to use He Dashang s inn Wang Hongwei as Lily s mousy husband Tang Wei as Lijiang s local police chief and Wu Gang s brother in law Production editThe film began production on May 31 2006 in the small city of Lijiang in the Shuhe Old Town district 1 Heavy rainfall however threatened to delay the production until director Wang Fen made the decision to shoot some of the more dramatically intense scenes first so as to utilize the moodier weather 1 Reception editDespite being actress Wang Fen s first feature film The Case received fairly positive reviews upon its release particularly among the Western press Variety for example called it an impressive first feature with special attention being paid to Wu Gang s marvelous portrayal as He Dashang the innkeeper 2 Other critics meanwhile have noted that while the film is an accomplished and well executed piece of cinema the ending nevertheless can be divisive or at least difficult to swallow 3 A more technical review from FIPRESCI praised the film director s methods as something special in the way they reinforce an evident theatrical treatment of the subject matter 4 The Case won the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival s College Students Favorite Asian Film 5 References edit a b c The first film begins China Daily 2006 06 19 Retrieved 2008 03 23 Elley Derek 2007 05 15 The Case Review Variety Retrieved 2008 03 27 Review The Case China Film Journal 2007 03 19 Retrieved 2008 03 28 Mak Grace 2007 The Case A Suitcase As Magical Object FIPRESCI Retrieved 2008 03 28 Trombley Richard 2007 06 25 Shanghai Film Fest high and dry The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved 2008 03 23 External links editThe Case at IMDb The Case at AllMovie The Case at the Chinese Move Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Case amp oldid 1136848382, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
