7.5/10
2,480
21 user 44 critic

Mang jing (2003)

Two Chinese coal miners have hit upon the perfect scam: murder one of their fellow mine workers, make the death look like an accident, and extort money from the boss to keep the incident ... See full summary »

Director:

Yang Li

Writers:

Yang Li, Liu Qingbang (novel)
16 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards »

Photos

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Cast

Credited cast:
Yixiang Li Yixiang Li ... Song Jinming (as Yi Xiang Li)
Baoqiang Wang ... Yuan Fengming
Shuangbao Wang ... Tang Zhaoyang
Jing Ai Jing Ai ... Xiao Hong
Zhenjiang Bao Zhenjiang Bao ... First boss
Sun Wei Sun Wei ... Tang Zhaoxia
Jun Zhao ... Miss Ma
Yining Wang ... Mamasan
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Li Cao Li Cao
Yang Cao Yang Cao
Zhimei Dong Zhimei Dong
Changwen Jan Changwen Jan
Yan Li Yan Li
Zhenji Liu Zhenji Liu
Yong'an Mao Yong'an Mao ... (as Yongan Mao)
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Storyline

Two Chinese coal miners have hit upon the perfect scam: murder one of their fellow mine workers, make the death look like an accident, and extort money from the boss to keep the incident hushed up. For their latest "mark," they choose a naive teenager from a small village, and as they prepare to carry out their newest plan, things start to get complicated... Written by Verbal-17

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Crime | Drama

Certificate:

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on Mainland Chinese writer Liu Qingbang's short novel "Shen Mu" (Sacred Wood). The French translation of it is titled as its film adaptation, "Le puits aveugle". See more »

Connections

Referenced in Telma demain (2005) See more »

User Reviews

 
Brilliant Performances, Assured Direction
21 February 2005 | by gifnonSee all my reviews

I just saw this at the Pan African Film Festival where it was curated in conjunction with Visual Communications in a cross-cultural viewing. Bravo for that foresight.

And bravo for selecting BLIND SHAFT. Is it a masterpiece? No. What it is is a very solid piece of film-making. In basketball terms, it isn't Magic Johnson, it's James Worthy.

Rather than go into the plot, which everyone seems wont to do on these boards, I think it's much more helpful to talk about films in terms of their elements. Plot you can get anywhere, such as Ebert.

The story is a simple morality tale. Nuff said. What's standout about this movie is the ACTING - some of the best, particularly by the youngster that plays the young boy. He is super. The two principles and extended cast are solid as well.

Which points toward director Li Yang who flexes assured muscles throughout. Nothing fancy - no super montages or MTV fancy shmancy technique. In fact, the lighting is uniformly flat throughout, with a decidedly blue cast to connote the frigid brisk air. That's it.

It's also marked by the absence of a soundtrack.

BLIND SHAFT is a return to film-making of a Bressonian order, but with actors, not "models" as Bresson called them. It is a simple tale, but told in such a straight-ahead honest manner, it stands in stark contrast to the contrived machinations of the Hollywood puke machine that spews out "packages" like clockwork.

See this movie if you want bare-knuckle, honest film-making. Skip it if you want Brett Ratner window dressing from Hollywood - it's not for you then.


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Details

Country:

China | Germany | Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

10 November 2005 (Germany) See more »

Also Known As:

Hei xue: Black Snow See more »

Filming Locations:

Yi Ma District, Henan, China

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Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,550, 8 February 2004

Gross USA:

$33,272

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$65,383
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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