Night Train (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
Night Train is writer-director Diao Yi'nan
'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
.
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. The film was produced by Diao's Beijing-based Ho-Hi Pictures with funding from French (Fonds Sud Cinema) and American companies (DViant Films).
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.
Diao Yi'nan
Diao Yinan is a Chinese director, screenwriter and occasional actor.-Biography:A graduate of the Central Academy of Drama in 1992, Diao has worked as a screenwriter with directors Shi Runjiu and Zhang Yang...
's second feature film. Like his previous film, Uniform
Uniform (film)
Uniform is the 2003 feature film debut of director Diao Yi'nan, who had previously worked as an established screenwriter for directors such as Zhang Yang and Shi Runjiu...
, Night Train takes place in Diao's home province of Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
and was shot in and around Baoji
Baoji
Baoji is a prefecture-level city in Shaanxi province, China.-Geography:The prefecture-level city of Baoji has a population of 3,716,731 according to the 2010 Chinese census, inhabiting an area of . The city itself has a population of approximately 800,000. Surrounded on three sides by hills,...
.
Night Train premiered in the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
as part of the Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
competition and was one of only two Asian films (the other being Li Yang
Li Yang (director)
Li Yang is a Chinese writer-director. Though often grouped with the so-called Sixth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, he is in fact closer in age to the Fifth Generation and in interviews has denied membership with either group, claiming that such labels are only artificial differentiations.Born...
's Blind Mountain
Blind Mountain
Blind Mountain is a 2007 Chinese film directed by Li Yang and is Li's first feature film since his 2003 debut Blind Shaft. It is also known as Road Home....
in competition for an award. The film was produced by Diao's Beijing-based Ho-Hi Pictures with funding from French (Fonds Sud Cinema) and American companies (DViant Films).
Plot
The film follows a young woman, Wu Hongyan (Liu Dan), who works as a prison guard who aids in the executionCapital punishment in the People's Republic of China
Capital punishment in the People's Republic of China is currently administered for a variety of crimes, but the vast majority of executions are for cases of either aggravated murder or large scale drug trafficking...
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
- Men Haiyan as a new prisoner
Awards and nominations
- 2007 Warsaw International Film FestivalWarsaw International Film FestivalWarsaw International Film Festival , also known as the Warsaw FilmFest, is a film festival held every October in Warsaw, Poland. The festival has been held every year since 1985....
- Nescafe Grand Prix
- 2008 Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaBuenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaThe Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente is an international festival of independent films organized each year in the month of April, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.The festival is managed by the Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, it is not...
- Best Actress — Liu Dan
- Jury Special Prize
External links
- Night Train from the Chinese Movie Database
- Night Train from distributor Mk2