Resurrection

“im afraid. im afraid of pain” im completely and utterly floored. theres SO much to unpack, but that was one of the most mystical, gorgeous, and amazing films i have ever seen in my entire life. im mesmerized. for 8 months, i have been anxiously waiting to watch this movie. i knew absolutely nothing about the plot or themes etc., and i was honestly expecting something similar to ‘Kaili Blues’ or ‘A Long Days Journey into Night’, i in no way anticipated for this to be a piece of surrealist science fiction, so i was a bit confused at first, especially with the opening silent sequence, but very quickly, in the darkness of my room, my reality began to distort and transform into this ephemeral and feverish dimension of wonder, and my eyes became hyper fixated on the screen… the film itself had coalesced with my own. with every new episode exploring the 6 senses of buddhism came a new fantastical and ethereal dreamscape in which i felt as though i was transcending my current plane of existence, drifting between the past, the present, and the future on a spiritual odyssey through all of cinema history, every instance was packed with loss, love, grief, desire, and existentialism, all of it seeming to exist entirely outside the bounds of my time and space. it honestly felt like i took 3 benadryls and dropped a tab, it was a completely psychedelic experience in more ways than 1. throughout the entire film, i kept repeating to myself “holy fuck this is one of the most incredible things ive ever seen!”, the color grading, the blocking, the lighting, the set pieces, the acting, the dialogue, the M83 score, the themes, and my god that ending that left me on the cusp of tears (probably the greatest ending to a film ive ever seen), everything left me so incredulous and intoxicated by what i was witnessing. im doing my best but its unexplainable. its just… its left me stunned.  ive said it before, and ill say it again, Bi Gan is leading a new era of slow cinema that 1000% gives even the greatest films of the 20th century a run for their money. he’s exploring avenues that have never been discovered until now with such depth and beauty, i cant help but be astonished. in the coming years or decades, he will be talked about in the same regard as Bergman, Tarkovsky, Tarr, Ozu, or any other acclaimed pioneers of slow cinema if he keeps doing what hes doing. we are witnessing the beginning of a new golden age of arthouse cinema, and Bi Gan’s films are the first dominoes to fall.