Blind Shaft

"Blind Shaft" is a good/great film about two con men. One of the con men is more vicious than the other, and has lost all feelings for other human beings. The other less-vicious con man still has some pangs of conscience, but both will do whatever it takes to survive.

This is like a small "Goodfellas" in that the two crooks, and the mine bosses they work for, are corrupt, and have no qualms about criminally exploited those around them. They live in a world of crime, and act accordingly. The Chinese street scenes ring with authenticity, no Westerners are present, this the China that hundreds of millions of Chinese see every day - poor, impoverished, corrupt, desperate, where the Communist party has long since abandoned Communism, and Socialism is just an empty slogan.

Nevertheless, there are good, compassionate people in this cynical environment. This film is really about one man's "redemption", the less negative of the two con man, and his realization that his destructive path in life is wrong. I'm writing cryptically because I don't want to spoil what the con is, I recommend this film highly, and I think it will play just as well on the small screen as on the large. See it on the big screen or DVD, but just see it!

A bold feature from writer-director Li Yang (also producer, film editor and focus puller) who is not afraid to expose the every man for himself corruption and swindling situations of China's mining workers conditions. Seems like a sad story yet its plot progression is as taut a thriller and chilling as its straightforward dauntless depiction of the ugly, the callous and the innocent. Amorality and moral strength is at play here - call it political concerns. There is no shyness to the telling of the story like it is. There is no fear that this film may not be for everyone (NFE) and that doses of entertainment/merriment may not be enough for Hollywood standard. This is a very good film in spite of all the odds. Script was written with dramatic turns akin to basics of human nature, be it circumstantial greed, abandoned pleasure, filial attachment, or unabashed dreams.

Lots of respect for all involved in the production of this film - not an easy one at that. Going deep down into the mines and photographing in utter pitch darkness is one tough challenge. Applause to the actors, the crew, all the assistance in the realization of this no ordinary film effort, of a seemingly ordinary life of coal mine workers, family members, and the management. This film has such strength and poignancy that it felt like the result of a veteran filmmaker rather than a debut effort.

Past films with coal mine workers theme: John Sayles' "Matewan" (1987) with Chris Cooper and co.; Richard Harris in Martin Ritt's "The Molly Maguires" (1970); a more modern day story with Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor in Mark Herman's "Brassed Off" (1996). Li Yang's "Blind Shaft" aka "Mang Jing" is by far an every-man account of how dark the situation can be, or is. The film is in Mandarin with well-translated English subtitles by Jonathan Noble. The fascinating study of human nature is fully embraced in the storytelling and the convincing performances of the three central characters: Qiang Li and Shuangbao Wang as the ugly and callous pair of Song and Tang, and Baoqiang Wang as the innocent teenage boy Yuan. It is a worthwhile 92 mins.

Thanks to Kino International for distributing this rare film, jointly produced by China, Germany and Hong Kong. Other distributed foreign gems: w-d Im Kwon-Taek's "Chihwaseon" aka "Painted Fire" (Korean 2002); w-d Jeong Jae-eun's "Take Care of My Cat" (Korean 2001); w-d Michael Haneke's "Code Unknown" (French 2000, with Juliette Binoche); w-d Wong Kar-Wai's "Happy Together" (Cantonese 1997); w-d Julie Dash's "Daughters of the Dust" (1991).

Two men befriend itinerant workers in order get them work in the mines posing as a relative... then they kill them and, as family, claim compensation.

After a successful score, the pair find a fresh-faced youth just come from the country and take him under their wing planning to start over again - but their new protégé is a genuine innocent, and their relationship shifts around him until it becomes clear that their plan won't run so smoothly this time around...

I've seen this described both as an art-house character drama and as a kind of noir thriller, and while neither description is wrong both ideas of the movie lack something. It's neither - it's just an excellent film.

If it's a character drama, it scores: all three central characters are brilliantly played and have the idiosyncratic, sometimes inconsistent feel of real people. You laugh with them and feel for them, even when sometimes you shouldn't.

If it's a noir it also scores: bleak, honed to a sharp point and without an ounce of fat on, it's a mesmeric film in which the viewer is compelled to keep watching... in spite of the inescapable feeling that it's not going to end happily.

On the other hand, it's visually a world apart from the majority of Chinese art movies. With no music to relieve the realism, it eschews sumptuous visuals in favour of a raw, documentary style which pays off from the first scene, impressing on the viewer the mundane nature of its characters and how chilling simple their plan is.

Unlike most noir flicks, it's not overtly a thriller. Events unfold at their own pace, without the careful buildup and the climactic peak of the traditional thriller, and the murder and crime are presented as a part of these men's lives rather than the central subject of the film.

The central subject of the film is people, and that's where this film's unique impact lies. Not a film noir and not an art film, this is just a fine film which also happens to be a work of art.

Jinming and Zhaoyang travel around illegal mines with marginalised, friendless individuals, people who won't be missed, killing them underground and faking a mine collapse, so they can collect the compensation. The scam works well till their youngest ever recruit, fresh-faced Yuan, starts to grow on his 'uncle' Jinming, leading Zgaoyang to make a fateful decision.

Yang Li fashions a gritty, realistic tale from naturalistic performance and uncompromising locations. Life in the mines seems so severe, so sapping, that there is a tinge of release around the untimely deaths of the victims. The camaraderie and ephemeral nature of life as an itinerant worker is shown in all its banal and brutal detail. Families exist at the end of a phone line. The banter crackles with humour. Women are bought and paid for. Drink, cigarettes and gambling fill out the days. Bosses are amoral misanthropes.

This picture certainly jars with the 'new China' currently feted in Sunday glossies and in-flight magazines. Strong plot, and with a social conscience, this is an interesting fusion of social realism and plot-driven film-making. Highly recommended.

Song and Tang are two conmen who make their money through murder and deception. They live among the unemployed drifters of China, latch onto lonely young men, convince them to pretend to be one of their relatives and then the three get a job together in a mine. After a few days, Song and Tang kill their companion and make it look like a cave in - extorting the bosses for compensation in return for silence. They have been doing this for a while to good profit and plan to continue when they pick up the sixteen year old Yuan, creating a moral crisis for Song.

I was not sure what this film was about when I sat to watch it but the fact that it had been made as an underground film (literally) without the permission of the Government and that was enough reason for me to give it a bit of my time. As one would expect from such a film, the plot is a mix of narrative and comment. The comment is delivered in the form of us seeing the working conditions and the poverty `enjoyed' by the citizens who are outside of what we would consider the `proper' economic system. In this regard the film is interesting if not totally gripping. The narrative is just as gripping but it is less satisfying as it seems to be secondary to the other aspects of the film. The characters do just enough to carry the story along, in fact they win over the audience well enough for us to care about all the main players - essential in a film that is driven more by them than by action.

To that end, the cast (a mix of professionals and non-professionals) deliver the goods pretty well. Yuan's innocence and dedication to the characters is key to the film and Wang carries this off well. The elder Wang is also good but has a simpler character to deliver - however it is to his credit that his `bad' guy never lost my interest. Li is the best thing in the film even if he goes through an fairly recognisable crisis of confidence. Yang Li's documentary background shows through with the realistic direction and the great use of locations - all the more impressive as many of them must have been difficult to shoot in.

However, the lack of events means that the narrative is a little less than satisfying when it comes to the end. We more or less know where it is going and the film uses the ending as much as a closure to the narrative as it is a further comment of the people's place within the system. Despite this it is still worth seeing even if it may not match the hype that the awards and reviews on this page would have you believe. Overall a good film that is worthy with good direction and acting even if the commentary of society and narrative don't sit as well together as one would hope.