The mood is heavy from the very first moments of Diao Yinan’s (Black Coal, Thin Ice) stylish China-noir The Wild Goose Lake. In the midst of a significant downpour, two strangers meet near a train station for a clandestine meeting that will set them on their fateful paths moving forward. Zhou Zenong (Chinese TV star Hu Ge) is a street-level gangster with a history of incarceration who has just found himself with a bounty on his head. Liu Aiai (Gwei Lun Mei, also the star of Black Coal, Thin Ice) is an alluring “bathing beauty” (translation: a prostitute who does most of her business on the water) sent by her boss to deliver a message from his wife. The particulars of the cops-and-gangsters plot are handled well enough, but it is the visual storytelling that proves to be key to making this film so transfixing. Everything from the bold colors of the neon-drenched night to the shot composition and even the wisp of smoke from the copious intake of cigarettes settles you into the underbelly of the city. Many filmmakers over the last decade have gone for a style-over-substance approach when attempting to work within this space, but Diao Yinan walks the delicate tightrope admirably.
While not an impregnable narrative by any means, the film is one you should pay strict attention to as it nimbly maneuvers between flashbacks and intentionally disorienting parallel editing. To witness the inciting incident of the journey we turn back the pages a few days to an underground mobster meetup which functions almost as a seminar on how to keep up with evolving anti-theft technology for these motorcycle thieves. Tensions rise when it comes time to assigning territories and the claim over a lucrative zone becomes violent. A basement brawl is nothing we have not seen, but as captured here it feels deliriously energetic. When the confrontation escalates to a chase scene, things become especially bloody, unfortunately so for a fleeing Zhou who unbeknownst to him shoots and kills a police officer. This inevitably brings police captain Liu (Liao Fan) and his squad into the fray, and with a large cash offering on his head the amount of people looking to capture him dead-or-alive keeps growing.
Hu Ge is stone-cold cool in the lead role as a character who has all-but accepted that he is not going to make it out of this predicament alive. With Liu’s help, he only hopes that he will be able to ensure that his ex-wife will be able to receive the reward money if he must go down for this. Liu likewise sees this as an opportunity to break free of her dreary life, and she puts herself at the precipice of danger time and time again in order to make that happen. The actual details of various double-crosses and the fine line between gangster and cop can become a bit muddled in this slightly overstuffed story, but the hazy aesthetic on display floats you along gently with a general understanding of what is going down. The film has a gift for injecting new life into old tropes. A climactic canvassing of a rundown apartment building pans from level to level peaking into the gutted-out interiors that reveal little vignettes of violence. The camera feels like an animal stalking its prey, which seems extra apt considering a thrilling sequence taking place at a zoo.
Compared to some of his previous work, this new one from Diao lacks substantial thematic weight. There are echoes of criticisms towards law enforcement, but you really have to reach to draw such connections. Nevertheless, the journey is supremely entertaining from one hypnotic development to the next. Cinematographer Dong Jinsong should be given just as much credit as the director for his use of color and lighting. This seedy film primarily takes place cloaked in darkness, but thanks to some inventively composed shots and atypical lighting (LED shoes, anyone?) the story does not drown in it. B6 provides a wonderfully dramatic score that occasionally makes you feel as if you are in a fever dream, which actually feels like a benefit in this context. The Wild Goose Lake is a striking example of how to make a fairly standard narrative feel like a new discovery. The movie is not only a visual delight with stellar performances, but it is simply entertaining as hell. Diao Yinan is a filmmaker that should be firmly on your radar in the future.
Video Quality
The Wild Goose Lake comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is truly stunning. This is a visually rich film with beautiful shots of nature and the city throughout where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The film is bursting with vivid colors throughout much of the film which really pop from the lush nature to some of the neon in the nightlife. The interiors are typically a more dour and dark environment that the presentation represents perfectly with a pleasing richness. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the intensely deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation is definitely a knockout on the Blu-Ray format.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track in the original Mandarin which conjures a very specific mood that transports you to this locale. The film uses music in really powerful ways that fill the room, especially as they traverse some bass-heavy locales in the city. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is just as precisely thought-out as the on screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really nice soundscape of nature and the din of the city. The low end is employed quite effectively thanks to some heavy punches and some forceful gunshots. This is a lovely sounding release that brings the movie to life in a really thrilling way.
Special Features
- Diao Yinan Featurette: A nine-minute piece which provides some great behind-the-scenes footage along with interviews with the performers concerning their experience working with Diao.
- Hu Ge and Gwei Lun Mei Interview: A six-minute interview with the two performers in which they discuss their time on the set.
- The Goddess: A seven-minute short from Renkai Tan which is fairly small scale but intriguing enough for a viewing.
- Trailers: The two-minute trailer for The Wild Goose Lake is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Zombi Child, Corpus Christi and The Fate of Lee Khan.
Final Thoughts
The Wild Goose Lake is a thrilling and immensely entertaining neo-noir directed impeccably by Diao Yinan. The film may suffer ever so slightly from having too many ideas forced into the story, but overall the narrative delivers on all accounts. The film is a marvel when it comes to its visuals and technical prowess behind the camera. Film Movement has released a Blu-Ray featuring a stellar A/V presentation and some interesting special features. This should be a fun journey for anyone looking for a stylish and inventive journey into a criminal underworld. Recommended
The Wild Goose Lake is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Film Movement has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
