Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted October 4, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 4, 2015 For anyone who's a fan of crime thrillers, this one comes strongly recommended. With echoes of Bong Joon-ho's 'Memories of Murder', director Diao Yinan has established himself as a mainland talent to keep an eye on, with a tale of a former cop attempting to track down the person responsible for a series of grizzly murders. Check out my full review here - http://www.cityonfire.com/black-coal-thin-ice-2014-review/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member FilmMomatic Posted October 4, 2015 Member Share Posted October 4, 2015 Quickie ReviewPROSLiao Fan and Guey Lun-mei give fantastic performances that not only adhere to their noir archetypes perfectly, but they also warp them in a entertaining fashion (Liao Fan's character can be hilariously incompetent)The cinematography is astounding (everything from seedy bars, snowy valleys, police stations, barbershops, laundromats etc. look fantastic)Diao's surreal direction sometimes works spectacularly well (there's an arrest sequence in a barbershop that combines suspense, brutal violence and physical comedy really well) (Ice plays an integral part to the plot as well as adds much-needed humour to the downbeat story)The finale is incredibly satisfyingAll film noir tropes are replicated faithfully, yet they are also tweaked (even the story is pure noir)CONSThe film demands audience participation, which can throw some offThe film is too arthouse for mainstream viewers (the surreal style can be quite confounding)Tone shifts can be quite jarringSCORE: 8.5/10 (Indescribable and outworldly in the best way possible. It's fantastic to see film noir beautifully realized.) Also visit my review site, like and follow on FaceBook (https://www.facebook.com/FilmMomatic) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/FilmMomatic) for more reviews! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 7, 2015 Member Share Posted October 7, 2015 https://worldfilmgeek.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/review-black-coal-thin-ice-2014/ Here's my review of the film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Sheng Posted October 7, 2015 Member Share Posted October 7, 2015 Watched this last year after it surprisingly clinched the "best film" award at the Berlin film festival. Cinematographically well executed, occasionally chilling and highly athmospheric film with an absolutely stunning Guey Lun-Mei, for sure. Definitely one of the more unique Mainland films in the last few years, but by no means as intense and structurally inventive as MEMORIES OF MURDER or, closer at home, Jia Zhangke's A TOUCH OF SIN. I felt one of the movie's shortcomings was that what little there was in the way of 'action' came across kinda bland in a television drama sort of way. If tdirector Diao Yinan steps up in this department in the future he'll definitely be a man to watch out for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator thekfc Posted October 10, 2015 Moderator Share Posted October 10, 2015 I have been wanting to give this one a watch. However, I am still waiting on Amazon to ship me my BD copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator One Armed Boxer Posted October 29, 2015 Author Moderator Share Posted October 29, 2015 Kozo over at lovehkfilm also recently gave this one the thumbs up - http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/black_coal_thin_ice.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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