Something to watch tonight: Monday 11 March
The Wild Goose Lake (Diao, 2019)
Today’s recommendation is a stone-cold neo-noir classic. It played the 2019 New Zealand International Film Festival and I was able to preview it for RNZ:
The closest thing to a genuine masterpiece I saw in previews for this festival was Diao Yinan’s The Wild Goose Lake, a Chinese noir – a Chi-noir, if you like – that holds atmosphere, social politics and superb structural control together to make something wonderful.
I missed Diao’s last picture, Black Coal, Thin Ice in the 2014 festival due to illness and I have regretted it ever since. The Wild Goose Lake makes up for it.
A gangster summit goes wrong and one of the leaders (Hu Ge) finds himself on the run, framed for a crime he didn’t commit. His enemies try and leverage his wife, not realising they have been separated for years, and the over-it femme fatale (Gwei Lun Mei) sent to find him sees an opportunity for her own advantage.
Beautiful, inspired and aware of its heritage but not beholden to it, The Wild Goose Lake is superb.
The production company is called Omnijoi and I want that to use that word as a tattoo.
Also included in that festival preview were Andrew Garfield in Under the Silver Lake (I was “left cold”), the restored version of Koyanisqaatsi, the lovely documentary Martha: A Picture Story (about photographer Martha Cooper), the “difficult but ultimately heartwarming” Knife+Heart, MO TE IWI: Carving for the People, and the harrowing drama set in post-WWII Leningrad, Beanpole.
Where to watch The Wild Goose Lake
Aotearoa: Streaming on Brollie (free), Kanopy and Beamafilm (if your library supports them)
Australia: Streaming on Brollie, Prime Video and SBS On Demand (with ads)
Canada: Streaming on Hoopla
USA: Streaming on Hoopla and Kanopy
UK: Streaming on Mubi
Referrals update
One of the reasons that I’m still here on Substack is that the referrals system they have built is bringing new readers and I don’t take that for granted.
Congratulations to subscriber MC of Wellington who tops the table for referrals which means he gets a free month of his paid subscription and also a brand new Blu-ray of the 35th anniversary edition of Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (courtesy of Madman Entertainment).
You are invited to click the button above, invite a friend to join the community, and get yourself some rewards.
