Fire on the Plain

Description

In this drama set in the bitter winter landscape of China’s industrial northeast in 1997, Shu, the taciturn son of a local gangster, and Fei, the introspective daughter of a factory worker, conspire to flee their desperate lives as a serial killer runs rampant targeting cab drivers in their hometown. On Christmas Eve, the young lovers’ secret rendezvous hits an unexpected dead end causing a ripple effect into a near future neither of them foresaw. Balancing family melodrama and hard-boiled film noir, veteran cinematographer Zhang Ji’s auspicious directorial debut luxuriates in a Chinese mindset of fatalism, reconciliation, and scarcity, reminiscent of executive producer/director Diao Yinan’s Black Coal, Thin Ice (Festival 2015) and The Wild Goose Lake (2019).

Director Zhang Ji

Zhang Ji graduated from the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts and studied cinematography at Beijing Film Academy. He began his career as a cinematographer whose features include Beijing Suburb (2004), The Orchard (2007), Ba bai bang (2008), and North by Northeast (2014). Fire on the Plain (2021) is his writing/directing debut.

Film Details