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).
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
Language Mandarin
Year 2021
Premiere California
Runtime 113
Country China
Director Zhang Ji
Executive Producer Diao Yinan
Producer Dun He
Writer Cao Liu
Editor Matthieu Laclau
Cinematographer Chengma Zhiyuan
Music Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine
Cast Zhou Dongyu, Liu Haoran, Mei Ting
Print Source MEMENTO DISTRIBUTIONsylvain@memento-films.com https://www.memento-distribution.com
Closed Captions Closed captions are not available for this screening.
Audio Description Audio description is not available for this screening.
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is not currently scheduled for this event. For more information about ASL interpretation at our events, e-mail ADA@SFFilm.org.