Black Snow (1989)
Director: Xie Fei
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
This was adapted by young writer Liu Heng from his own short story about an ex-con trying to go straight in the back alleys of Beijing, but finding himself dragged down by the crime and violence he encounters. Film-school teacher Xie Fei keeps it all very low-key, but has no obvious point of view about the characters or the material. What brings the film to life is the writing (realistic to a fault, but very sharply observed), and the superb central performance of Jiang Wen, previously seen in films like Red Sorghum and Hibiscus Town. Jiang really is in the class of Gary Oldman: a young actor capable of inhabiting a role in a way that makes his smallest gesture count.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Xie Fei
Cast: Jiang Wen, Cheng Lin, Yue Hong, Liu Xiaoning, Cai Hongxing, Lui Bin full cast
Duration: 107 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.



What do you think?
Post your review now