‘Old ways’ meet modernity in its purest brutality in Li Ruijun’s drama “Return To Dust”, a shocking proof of life’s injustices that have the tendency of pouring on some people’s heads bucketwise. When they do not exactly pour over the head of Ma (Renlin Wu), the least loved of many brothers, than the heavy rains do. But as the good man is very much used to it, he takes whatever comes with the calmness of someone who doesn’t wish much of life, and has even less to lose.
“Return to Dust“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Li takes us to the vast landscapes of Gaotai and its surroundings on a journey through all four seasons and different stages of radical changes Ma is met with during that time. It is not only his life that gets impacted by the sudden appearance of land developers.
“Return to Dust“ is screening at Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Li takes us to the vast landscapes of Gaotai and its surroundings on a journey through all four seasons and different stages of radical changes Ma is met with during that time. It is not only his life that gets impacted by the sudden appearance of land developers.
- 11/8/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Li Ruijun’s film, set in his home province of Gansu, brings together two outcast farm workers who have been shunted off their land
Set in his home province of Gansu, Li Ruijun’s golden-hued film is a heartbreaking tale of love and resilience in the face of societal indifference and change. With a cast largely made up of the director’s relatives as well as villagers from the landlocked province, this deeply personal work on the plight of rural farmers has a striking feel of authenticity and poetry.
Against the brutal reality of manual labour, the unlikely romance that develops between Ma (Wu Renlin) and Guiying (Hai Qing), two middle-aged outcasts herded into an arranged marriage by their apathetic siblings, is at once tender and fragile. Echoing a quote from the film, their existence is like the brittle wheat that gets listlessly blown in the wind. As a means to eradicate poverty,...
Set in his home province of Gansu, Li Ruijun’s golden-hued film is a heartbreaking tale of love and resilience in the face of societal indifference and change. With a cast largely made up of the director’s relatives as well as villagers from the landlocked province, this deeply personal work on the plight of rural farmers has a striking feel of authenticity and poetry.
Against the brutal reality of manual labour, the unlikely romance that develops between Ma (Wu Renlin) and Guiying (Hai Qing), two middle-aged outcasts herded into an arranged marriage by their apathetic siblings, is at once tender and fragile. Echoing a quote from the film, their existence is like the brittle wheat that gets listlessly blown in the wind. As a means to eradicate poverty,...
- 10/31/2022
- by Phuong Le
- The Guardian - Film News
Li Ruijun’s arthouse hit Return To Dust has been dropped from theatrical release and streaming platforms in China, without any reason being given to the producers or distributors of the film.
The move prompted discussion on Chinese social media as the film was a surprise box office hit, grossing more than 15m (RMB100m), an exceptional result for a specialist film in China, before it disappeared from view.
The film was released on July 8 and played relatively well for an arthouse title, before ironically receiving a 5.3m (RMB36.2m) boost over the September 2-4 weekend when it hit streaming platforms. It disappeared from release on September 26.
China’s film regulators don’t usually give reasons for their decisions to withdraw a title from release. It’s not unusual for a film to be pulled abruptly from screens to make way for newer titles, even if the film is still selling tickets.
The move prompted discussion on Chinese social media as the film was a surprise box office hit, grossing more than 15m (RMB100m), an exceptional result for a specialist film in China, before it disappeared from view.
The film was released on July 8 and played relatively well for an arthouse title, before ironically receiving a 5.3m (RMB36.2m) boost over the September 2-4 weekend when it hit streaming platforms. It disappeared from release on September 26.
China’s film regulators don’t usually give reasons for their decisions to withdraw a title from release. It’s not unusual for a film to be pulled abruptly from screens to make way for newer titles, even if the film is still selling tickets.
- 10/3/2022
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The drama has now gone to Germany and Austria.
German sales outfit M-Appeal has closed further deals on Li Ruijun’s Chinese title Return To Dust, one of the buzz films in the Berlinale competition earlier this year,
The drama has now gone to Germany and Austria, where it has been picked up by Rapid Eye Movies, and to New Cinema in Israel.
The sales come as the film continues to do brisk box office in China itself, according to M-appeal and the film’s producer Zhang Min. It was released in its home market by Kashi J.Q. Pictures...
German sales outfit M-Appeal has closed further deals on Li Ruijun’s Chinese title Return To Dust, one of the buzz films in the Berlinale competition earlier this year,
The drama has now gone to Germany and Austria, where it has been picked up by Rapid Eye Movies, and to New Cinema in Israel.
The sales come as the film continues to do brisk box office in China itself, according to M-appeal and the film’s producer Zhang Min. It was released in its home market by Kashi J.Q. Pictures...
- 7/25/2022
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
"This mission is a message to all terrorists." Well Go USA has released an official trailer for an action movie titled Operation Red Sea, made by Hong Kong filmmaker Dante Lam, who last made the action movie Operation Mekong. This sort-of-sequel is about the Chinese Navy's elite Jiaolong Assault Team who gear up and head into action when a terrorist plot to obtain nuclear materials is hidden under the cover of a violent coup. This pretty much looks if Michael Bay was from China, with all of his usual explosive touches. It also seems perhaps like a Chinese propaganda movie about how great their navy is. The huge cast includes Yi Zhang, Johnny Huang, Hai-Qing, Jiang Du, Luxia Jiang, Fang Yin, Yutian Wang, Jiahao Guo, and Henry Prince Mak. This also takes place mostly in the desert, despite the "Red Sea" part of the title. Here's the official Us trailer...
- 2/7/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
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