The River

Taiwan 1997

Picture and details imdb

Seen 17 August 2006

A lyrical visually stunning film. The plot revolves around Xiao-kang who became an extra in a film. He was required to simulate a corpse floating in a river. After the filming, he starts getting pains in his neck and we see how this affects his parents and he himself. The family might be living together but each of them lead very separate lives. The son's malady brings forth forces previously kept secret. The director loves to take long shots which enhances the mood of the characters. The lighting technique is also another device to lure the audience further into the story. Shadows play a big role at the beginning of some scenes before everything turns pitch black for at least a few minutes where you can only see flickers of light. Not much dialogue as the focus is more on lingering scenes which tell the story better. A normal family drama it is not.