Night Train (2007 film)

Night Train
Night Train
Traditional Chinese	夜車
Simplified Chinese	夜车
Hanyu Pinyin	Yè chē
Directed by	Diao Yinan
Written by	Diao Yinan
Produced by	Vivian Qu; Steve Chow
Starring	Liu Dan; Qi Dao
Cinematography	Dong Jingsong
Edited by	Kong Jinglei
Music by	Wen Zi
Production; companies	Fonds Sud Cinema; DViant Films
Distributed by	MK2 Diffusion
Release date	May 25, 2007 (Cannes);
Running time	94 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin

Night Train is writer-director Diao Yinan's second feature film. Like his previous film, Uniform, Night Train takes place in Diao's home province of Shaanxi and was shot in and around Baoji.^[1]

Night Train premiered in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival as part of the Un Certain Regard competition and was one of only two Asian films (the other being Li Yang's Blind Mountain) in competition for an award.^[2] The film was produced by Diao's Beijing-based Ho-Hi Pictures with funding from French (Fonds Sud Cinema) and American (DViant Films) companies.

Plot

The film follows a young woman, Wu Hongyan (Liu Dan), who works as a prison guard who aids in the execution of female prisoners. Lonely and widowed, Wu finds herself taking the night train to a dating service in a neighboring city.

After a series of unsuccessful dates, she meets Li Jun (Qi Dao), with whom she begins a relationship. It soon becomes clear that Li Jun is hiding a secret: that he is the widower of one of Wu's executed prisoners. Li Jun is torn both by his attraction to Wu, but also his desire to exact some sort of vengeance. Wu, meanwhile, must consider her own safety in this new volatile relationship.

Cast

Liu Dan as Wu Hongyan, a widow, now working on the execution
Qi Dao as Li Jun, the husband to one of Wu's executed inmates, Li Jun and Wu embark on an unstable sexual relationship
Xu Wei as Wu's first date
Wu Yuxi as Wu's second date
Wang Zhenjia as Wu's girlfriend
Meng Haiyan as a new prisoner

Reception

Awards and nominations

2007 Warsaw International Film Festival
- Nescafe Grand Prix^[3]
2008 Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema
- Best Actress — Liu Dan^[4]
- Jury Special Prize^[4]

References

^ Elley, Derek (2007-05-28). "Night Train Movie Review". Variety. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
^ James, Alison (2007-04-20). "Cannes is cool on Asian movies". Variety. Archived from the original on 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
^ Tizard, Will (2007-10-22). "'Band' drums up support in Warsaw". Variety. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
^ ^a ^b Newbery, Charles (2008-04-20). "'Intimacies' wins Buenos Aires". Variety. Retrieved 2008-04-21.