Discovering Bi Gan’s films these past two weeks has been like rediscovering cinema itself. I feel like I’m fourteen again seeking answers to all these unanswerable questions, searching for some meaning in conversations with friends and on the internet. I realise though that clarity here is far from the point, and to sit with his films is like having elements of a dream come back and make sense to you long after you’ve woken up. 

Unlike filmmakers like Tarkovsky, who is a clear influence on Bi Gan’s work, the discourse surrounding his films is so undersaturated and much less definitive which makes it so exciting to unpack and interpret on an individual level. This really feels like a eureka moment for me in my film studies. 

What I love about his films is that each one is a clear meditation and development of his cinematic ideas where time is elastic and malleable, spaces collapse and fold in on each other, the camera as consciousness guiding us through these dreamscapes marked by motifs of timepieces, long-takes and karaoke. 

I only wish I had seen Kaili Blues first as his successive films expand on these ideas in a much more compelling and calibrated way, especially as they incorporate genre and reference film movements which focus the film and provide a more interesting and intentional framework for the dreamscape. That being said, I can only really fault the film insofar as it suffers from the curse of being a precursor to better films that come after it, especially the long-shot which feels a bit like a proof of concept here, but one that he goes on to master in Long Day’s Journey into Night and Resurrection.

Discovering Bi Gan’s films these past two weeks has been like rediscovering cinema itself. I feel like I’m fourteen again seeking answers to all these unanswerable questions, searching for some meaning in conversations with friends and on the internet. I realise though that clarity here is far from the point, and to sit with his films is like having elements of a dream come back and make sense to you long after you’ve woken up. 

Unlike filmmakers like Tarkovsky, who is a clear influence on Bi Gan’s work, the discourse surrounding his films is so undersaturated and much less definitive which makes it so exciting to unpack and interpret on an individual level. This really feels like a eureka moment for me in my film studies. 

What I love about his films is that each one is a clear meditation and development of his cinematic ideas where time is elastic and malleable, spaces collapse and fold in on each other, the camera as consciousness guiding us through these dreamscapes marked by motifs of timepieces, long-takes and karaoke. 

I only wish I had seen Kaili Blues first as his successive films expand on these ideas in a much more compelling and calibrated way, especially as they incorporate genre and reference film movements which focus the film and provide a more interesting and intentional framework for the dreamscape. That being said, I can only really fault the film insofar as it suffers from the curse of being a precursor to better films that come after it, especially the long-shot which feels a bit like a proof of concept here, but one that he goes on to master in Long Day’s Journey into Night and Resurrection.

thought this was wonderful thing to see as a precursor to what Bi Gan has since done. he’s only 36 years old with 3 feature length films - at this rate there a real chance he becomes an all time great, and i feel so privileged to be seeing that in real time

this has all the notes of his later works - it’s both beautiful and profoundly confusing. in some ways, that’s the point and that’s okay: the film’s mantra is literally that the past, present and future mind cannot be attained.

all that said tho, ngl the one shot looked so amateur - took me out of it for a bit

thought this was wonderful thing to see as a precursor to what Bi Gan has since done. he’s only 36 years old with 3 feature length films - at this rate there a real chance he becomes an all time great, and i feel so privileged to be seeing that in real time

this has all the notes of his later works - it’s both beautiful and profoundly confusing. in some ways, that’s the point and that’s okay: the film’s mantra is literally that the past, present and future mind cannot be attained.

all that said tho, ngl the one shot looked so amateur - took me out of it for a bit

four things that bi gan loves:
dreams, time, pomelos, and a long-shot. 

the night after watching this i dreamt i was in a village with a tall building, flying over everything as if i was the camera itself à la the ghost of christmas past, observing events and having to write an essay for matthew cipa to grade before bi gan himself showed up in my dream and criticised my essay so badly because it didn’t line up with his vision of the film. i guess that’s why they say never meet your heroes. 

kaili blues perfectly captures how soft and elastic a dream feels, where time is anything but linear and one second stretches out like taffy into eternity. half-formed dreams lead us by the hand and cloak us, nudging us into dimly-lit alleyways and cramped hair salons. sometimes if i linger in the mirror long enough i see myself as a seven year old, watching my grandmother pull out her professional hairdressing scissors to cut my bangs. 

路边野餐 kaili blues is clearly bi gan’s directorial debut, with each wobble of the camera momentarily reminding me i’m not actually part of the dream but merely a spectator, and i only wish i had seen this before 地球最后的夜晚 long day’s journey into night and 狂野时代 resurrection (which just made its way into my top4) just so i could have appreciated this even more for the masterpiece it clearly is.

four things that bi gan loves:
dreams, time, pomelos, and a long-shot. 

the night after watching this i dreamt i was in a village with a tall building, flying over everything as if i was the camera itself à la the ghost of christmas past, observing events and having to write an essay for matthew cipa to grade before bi gan himself showed up in my dream and criticised my essay so badly because it didn’t line up with his vision of the film. i guess that’s why they say never meet your heroes. 

kaili blues perfectly captures how soft and elastic a dream feels, where time is anything but linear and one second stretches out like taffy into eternity. half-formed dreams lead us by the hand and cloak us, nudging us into dimly-lit alleyways and cramped hair salons. sometimes if i linger in the mirror long enough i see myself as a seven year old, watching my grandmother pull out her professional hairdressing scissors to cut my bangs. 

路边野餐 kaili blues is clearly bi gan’s directorial debut, with each wobble of the camera momentarily reminding me i’m not actually part of the dream but merely a spectator, and i only wish i had seen this before 地球最后的夜晚 long day’s journey into night and 狂野时代 resurrection (which just made its way into my top4) just so i could have appreciated this even more for the masterpiece it clearly is.

just like any other Bi Gan film, this film possesses a dreamlike quality, seemingly attempting to put the viewer in a trance. it also highlights the poetic qualities of his work with literal poetry being recited now and then to compliment the gorgeous cinematography. Resurrection did feel like the film equivalent of a T.S. Eliot epic, but this one reins in the scope while still retaining the emotional impact. and of course there are a lot of shots that make you go :O

just like any other Bi Gan film, this film possesses a dreamlike quality, seemingly attempting to put the viewer in a trance. it also highlights the poetic qualities of his work with literal poetry being recited now and then to compliment the gorgeous cinematography. Resurrection did feel like the film equivalent of a T.S. Eliot epic, but this one reins in the scope while still retaining the emotional impact. and of course there are a lot of shots that make you go :O

Bi gan réussi toujours à transporter le spectateur dans son monde via sa mise en scène. Je trouve quand même qu'ici l'immersion est peut être moins réussi que pour ses autres long métrages.

Je n'ai pas compris grand chose au film concrètement, mais l'ambiance général m'a plus. Ya toujours cette impression de suivre partout les personnages sans pour autant transgresser leur espace. Ce qui rend l'expérience plus distante qu'intimiste, ce qui, en réalité fonctionne très bien avec l'onirisme du film.

On se plait à suivre la vie du personnage principal tout en contemplant le quotidien de ceux qui l'entourent. C'est très doux et calme comme film. À la limite du reposant ce qui m'a pas grandement aidé, étant déjà un peu fatigué de ma journée..

Bi gan réussi toujours à transporter le spectateur dans son monde via sa mise en scène. Je trouve quand même qu'ici l'immersion est peut être moins réussi que pour ses autres long métrages.

Je n'ai pas compris grand chose au film concrètement, mais l'ambiance général m'a plus. Ya toujours cette impression de suivre partout les personnages sans pour autant transgresser leur espace. Ce qui rend l'expérience plus distante qu'intimiste, ce qui, en réalité fonctionne très bien avec l'onirisme du film.

On se plait à suivre la vie du personnage principal tout en contemplant le quotidien de ceux qui l'entourent. C'est très doux et calme comme film. À la limite du reposant ce qui m'a pas grandement aidé, étant déjà un peu fatigué de ma journée..