Though he only has three feature films to his name, Bi Gan has become one of the Chinese art house’s most lauded and surreal directors of the last 15 years. With his previous film, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Bi blew minds and dimensions, culminating in a single, sustained 3D shot lasting 59 minutes. His latest, the Cannes Film Festival Prix Spécial winner, Resurrection, Bi has dreamt up an even more elliptical and sumptuous vision set inside a monster’s dream.
Here’s the synopsis:
In a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream, one creature remains entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. This monster, adrift in reverie, clings to visions no one else can see—until a woman appears. Gifted with the rare power to perceive these illusions for what they truly are, she chooses to enter the monster’s dreams, determined to uncover the truth that lies hidden within.
“Visualizing my emotions was so difficult,” Bi said at the Busan International Film Festival. “Even angels can’t do it. So what perspective could I use? How about capturing 100 years of film? That became my focus.”
Told in six parts, with each chapter corresponding to the six “roots” of Chan Buddhism (vision, sound, taste, smell, touch, and mind), Resurrection follows the woman, Miss Shu (Shu Qi), on a journey through Chinese and cinema history as she leaps into the creature’s (Jackson Yee) dreams. Set to M83’s ethereal score, the trailer conveys that through changes in aspect ratio, frame rate, and color grading. Shot by Long Day’s Journey cinematographer Dong Jingsong, the red, blue, and green filters create a kaleidoscopic effect, evoking different eras of filmmaking that draw on cinema history, from silent comedies and Dr. Caligari to Wim Wenders and Wong Kar-Wai.
Resurrection opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 12.
