The Case (film)

Infobox Chinese Film
name = The Case


image_size =
caption =
director = Wang Fen
producer = Lola Zhang
writer = Wang Fen
Zhang Chen
starring = Wu Gang
Wu Yujuan
Wang Sifei
Wang Hongwei
music = Xiao He
cinematography = Zhang Huajie
editing = Zhou Xinxia
distributor = International:
FilmBlog Media
released = Hong Kong
March 21, 2007
runtime = 90 min.
language = Mandarin
budget =
amg_id = 1:401489
imdb_id = 1080877
jianti = 箱子
fanti = 箱子
pinyin = Xiāng zi

"The Case" is a 2007 Chinese film directed by the female first-time director, Wang Fen. It is the first film of the Yunnan New Film Project,cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/yunnan/2006-06/19/content_619977.htm| title = The first film begins| publisher = "China Daily" | date =2006-06-19|accessdate=2008-03-23] a planned anthology of ten films directed by female Chinese directors, all taking place in the southern province of Yunnan. It was followed by "The Park", also in 2007. The film was produced by Filmblog Media with the support of the Yunnan provincial government.

"The Case" follows an innkeeper, played by Wu Gang, who won day comes across a black suitcase floating in the river, only to discover that it contains the body, finely dismembered and frozen.

Plot

He Dashang (Wu Gang) is a middle-aged childless innkeeper trapped in an unhappy marriage in a sleepy city in Yunnan, China. Sleepwalking through his days, everything changes when he spies a black suitcase floating down the river. Retrieving it, Dashang hopes to find his fortune in the mysterious case, only to discover its contents are dismembered human body parts. Thrown into panic, he attempts to hide the contents. Things become even more complicated when a young couple, the sultry Lily (Wang Sifei), and her mousy husband (Wang Hongwei) arrive at the inn.

Soon mishap follows upon mishap as He Dashang finds himself over his head.

Cast

*Wu Gang as He Dashang, a middle-aged inn-keeper living in Lijiang.
*Wu Yujuan as He Dashang's wife.
*Wang Sifei as Lily, a beautiful woman who claims her car broke down and needs to use He Dashang's inn.
*Wang Hongwei as Lily's mousy husband.
*Tang Wei as Lijiang's local police chief and Wu Gang's brother-in-law.

Production

The film began production on May 31, 2006 in the small city of Lijiang, in the Shuhe Old Town district. Heavy rainfall, however, threatened to delay the production until director Wang Fen made the decision to shoot some of the more dramatically intense scenes first, so as to utilize the moodier weather.

Reception

Despite being actress Wang Fen's first feature film, "The Case" received fairly positive reviews upon its release, particularly among the Western press. "Variety" for example, called it an "impressive first feature," with special attention being paid to Wu Gang's "marvelous" portrayal as He Dashang, the innkeeper. [cite web|url=http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/1328/|title=The Case Review| author = Elley, Derek | publisher = "Variety" | date = 2007-05-15 | accessdate =2008-03-27] Other critics, meanwhile, have noted that while the film is an "accomplished and well executed piece of cinema," the ending nevertheless can be "divisive" or at least difficult to swallow. [cite web|url=http://chinafilmjournal.com/2008/03/19/review-the-case-%E7%AE%B1%E5%AD%90/|publisher = China Film Journal|title =Review: The Case | date =2007-03-19|accessdate =2008-03-28] A more technical review from FIPRESCI praised the film director's methods as "something special" in the way they reinforce "an evident theatrical treatment of the subject matter." [cite web|url=http://www.fipresci.org/festivals/archive/2007/hong_kong/case_gmak.htm |title= "The Case": A Suitcase As Magical Object|author = Mak, Grace |publisher = FIPRESCI | date =2007 | accessdate =2008-03-28]

"The Case" won the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival's College Students' Favorite Asian Film. [cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/international/news/e3i1d4af5a7ea85ee1bf0fa8be334271eaa|title = Shanghai Film Fest high and dry| author= Trombley, Richard| publisher = "The Hollywood Reporter" | accessdate =2008-03-23|date =2007-06-25]

References

External links

*imdb title|id=1080877|title=The Case
*amg title|id=1:401489|title=The Case