About July

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.