The Wild Goose Lake

From the director of Black Coal, Thin Ice (Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2014) comes a new, and more fast-paced film noir thriller. It portrays a China where crime abounds, where rivalling gangsters seek revenge, where the rain never seems to stop falling, and where a detective tries to track down a man who accidentally has become a murderer. Gang leader Zhou is the man in trouble, after having harassed the wrong people on a meeting between criminal gangs that ends with Zhou also killing a cop by mistake.

Behind the genre conventions of The Wild Goose Lake there is a socio-political perspective on China's recent history. Reckless economic growth has caused greed and lawlessness on a scale that the authorities are incapable of handling. Under the guise of making a genre film, director Diao manages to discuss these themes without being subject to censorship.

While parts of the first hour or so is partly shrouded in mystery, there is much to be gained for those who stick with this visually seductive film.

Diao Yi’nan (b. 1969) is best known as a director, but he graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing and has had a long career as a stage actor. Among his best-known films are Night Train (2007), Shower (1999), and Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014). The Wild Goose Lake premiered in the competition programme at the Cannes film festival in May.