Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageAbout July (1999)
Director: Wei Desheng
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
When his father throws himself under a truck because of huge gambling debts, the young protagonist of this well-observed indie feature is pressed into service as a door guard at the underground gambling den to work off some of the debt. And when the place is raided by an 'untouchable' cop newly posted to the local station, he's the only one to get arrested and very brutally interrogated. Meanwhile his father's coffin sits in the family living room because there's a taboo against being buried in July. Wei worked as Edward Yang's assistant on Mahjong but had never made a film himself. This suitably modest debut is full of wry, darkish humour and has a touching sense of life's disappointments and humiliations.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Wei Desheng
Producer: Liu Xiaochu
Cast: Tychicus Wang, Sima Sansan, Dong Waixiu, Zeng Mian, Zhang Long full cast
Duration: 72 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Cannes 2008 diary: ‘Lion’s Den’ and 'Three Monkeys'
Geoff Andrew likes Pablo Trapero's 'Lion's Den', but loves 'Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 'Three Monkeys', both of which screened at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes 2008 diary: 'Hunger'
Dave Calhoun sees much promise in artist Steve McQueen debut film, 'Hunger', which received its premiere at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes 2008 diary: 'Blindness'
Dave Calhoun sees the good and the bad in Fernando Meirelles' 'Blindness', the opening film at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
The Wild Geese: 30 Years On
Time Out looks back at Andrew V. McLaglen's 1978 Film 'The Wild Geese', 30 years after its original release
What do you think?
Post your review now