Night Train (2007)
"Ye che" (original title)

Wu Hongyan is a young woman working as a prison guard during executions of female convicts. She feels lonely after her husband died, and she takes a night train to another city to visit a ... See full summary »

Director:

Yi'nan Diao

Writer:

Yi'nan Diao

Stars:

Rongcai Fu, Chao Ji, Dan Liu

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Rongcai Fu	...	Work chief
Chao Ji	...	Boat owner
Dan Liu	...	Wu Hongyan
Shudi Liu	...	Neighbor
Yongsheng Liu	...	Secretary Ma
Halyan Meng	...	Lingling Zhang
Liang Qi	...	Li Jun (as Dao Qi)
Lijuan Wang	...	Ticket seller
Zhengjia Wang	...	Hong Xiao
Yuxi Wu	...	Wei Zhao
Chao Xi	...	Boat owner
Zhiqiang Xie	...	Village chief
Wei Xu	...	Yulong Li
Hua Yao	...	Victim's wife
Ge Zhu	...	Li Xiao

Storyline

Wu Hongyan is a young woman working as a prison guard during executions of female convicts. She feels lonely after her husband died, and she takes a night train to another city to visit a dating service. After a series of unsuccessful dates, she meets Li Jun. It quickly becomes obvious that he is hiding a secret: he is the widower of one of the female convicts of which Wu Hongyan assisted in the execution. Li Jun is torn apart by his feelings, as he is both attracted to Wu Hongyan, and having a desire for revenge for his executed wife.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

China France

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

23 January 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Night Train

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ho-Hi Pictures, DViant Films, Visions Sud Est

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Zola-esquire

Based in an industrial provincial Chinese city, this is about the lives of a handful of people affected by a crime. There's a strong element of realism in the depiction of both lives and cityscapes of China today and this is the film's great strength. The story is told in an episodic way, with each episode unfolding fairly slowly. One had to be fairly alert to understand how each episode related to the main story and universal themes of the film, which are desire, loneliness, revenge and the justice system. However, the script is pared down, with relatively little dialogue or detailing of the lives depicted. There are elements of suspense and also an interest for non-Chinese in observing the detailed workings of a society. The acting is restrained but convincing. In justifying my lowish score, I would point to the relative lack of pace and complexity as factors against engagement.