Our country needs to see this: the early documentaries of Zhao Liang
Zhao Liang is best known to contemporary audiences for Behemoth (2015) which employs extraordinary imagery, lyricism, and the structure of Dante’s Inferno to document the human and environmental cost of unchecked industrialisation in modern China. At the Open City Documentary Festival (4-10 September), Zhao was the subject of a dedicated strand that included a masterclass with the director alongside screenings of three of his earlier non-fiction feature films…
Hard-boiled Dude
As is doubtless true with many a reader, I’ve been known to exchange quotes with friends – especially if we ever find ourselves out bowling. “I’m throwin’ rocks tonight.” What has become more apparent on revisiting the film, however, is just how clever and loving a spoof and homage to Film Noir, and particularly The Big Sleep, it actually is.