Black Coal, Thin Ice
| Black Coal, Thin Ice | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Chinese | 白日焰火 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Báirì Yànhuǒ |
| Directed by | Diao Yinan |
| Screenplay by | Diao Yinan |
| Produced by | Vivian Qu |
| Starring | Liao Fan Gwei Lun-mei Wang Xuebing |
Production company | Omnijoi Studios |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 106 mins |
| Country | China |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Box office | US$16.8 million[1] |
Black Coal, Thin Ice (Chinese: 白日焰火; pinyin: Báirì Yànhuǒ; lit. 'Daylight Fireworks') is a 2014 Chinese thriller film written and directed by Diao Yinan, and produced by Vivian Qu. The film won the Golden Bear award at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
Plot
[edit]In 1999, dismembered body parts are found scattered across various coal factories in Heilongjiang Province; the victim is identified as one Liang Zhijun from an ID card found at one of the scenes. Recently divorced detective Zhang Zili is assigned to the case; his investigation leads him to Liu Fayin, a coal truck driver. The police track Liu and his brother to a beauty salon, but they botch the operation, resulting in the deaths of several policemen and the suspects, with Zhang himself being shot, effectively killing the case.
Five years later, Zhang has quit the force and become an alcoholic. Encountering his former partner Xiao Wang on a stakeout, Zhang is told that two similar murders have occurred since the first - with both victims found wearing ice skates, and were romantically linked to Liang's widow Wu Zhizhen, a dry cleaners worker. Zhang himself enters the dry cleaners and hands over his clothes to Wu. He learns from owner Rong Rong that Wu had once damaged an expensive leather coat, with the owner returning to demand compensation for a week before he inexplicably stopped coming. Wu is aware of Zhang tailing her and demands that he stop, but he continues to follow her.
At one such stakeout, Zhang's bike is tampered with by an unknown person. Rong Rong is revealed to be sexually assaulting Wu. Zhang sees Wu with an injury caused by Rong Rong and offers her medicine; he also kicks an unruly customer out of the store. He invites Wu on an ice skating date, which she accepts. At the ice rink, Wu skates away into a remote area, followed by Zhang, who knocks her down and kisses her. Meanwhile, an undercover Wang notices a truck following the two. Wang confronts the driver, who wears a pair of ice skates around his neck, and is cut down.
Zhang discovers a registration plate number Wang had supposedly written down, leading to him boarding a bus, before noticing the skate-slinging truck driver following him. He lures the driver into a crowded nightclub, forcing him to abort his pursuit. Zhang picks up the driver's trail the next day, discovering his employment as an ice delivery man, which he exploits to hide Wang's dismembered remains in ice blocks; Zhang then witnesses him dropping them onto a passing coal train from an overhead bridge. Zhang follows the driver to the ice rink and asks the service desk to page 'Liang Zhijun'; the driver flees upon hearing the announcement. Wu is then brought in for interrogation; she confesses to Zhang that Liang had faked his death to cover up the first killing, which he committed during a robbery, and has since been killing anyone who gets close to her. Using Wu as bait, Liang shows up to meet her before the police gun him down.
Forensics policemen approach Wu, wanting to test the ashes of the first murder victim; she claims that she has scattered them in the river. Having witnessed Wu bury the ashes five years ago, Zhang approaches Rong Rong and demands the leather coat Wu damaged, which leads him to the nightclub Daylight Fireworks. The owner states that the coat belonged to her husband, and he had run away with another woman in 1999. She had reported his disappearance to the authorities a year later, only to be told that he had gone missing. Zhang invites Wu to a date at an amusement park; they ride a ferris wheel, and Zhang points out the flashing sign of Daylight Fireworks to Wu. Zhang goads Wu on; she kisses him and they have sex.
Wu is arrested the following day, where she reveals the truth - she had been unable to pay back the coat's owner and was thus blackmailed into a sexual relationship. Eventually, she killed him and Liang had disposed of his remains along with his own ID card to hide her complicity. Zhang watches as she is driven away. He heads to a dance hall where he has a breakdown, dancing wildly. The police bring Wu back to her old apartment to gather evidence. As they leave, they are interrupted by a drunk man (implied to be Zhang) setting off fireworks in broad daylight, which Wu recognizes before she is taken away.
Cast
[edit]- Liao Fan as Zhang Zili
- Gwei Lun-mei as Wu Zhizhen
- Wang Xuebing as Liang Zhijun
- Wang Jingchun as Rong Rong
- Yu Ailei as captain Xiao Wang
- Ni Jingyang as Su Lijuan
Production
[edit]The project started from Diao Yinan's idea to film a detective story.[3][4] Diao spent eight years in total writing the screenplay;[5] the final version that was filmed was the third draft. The film was then laid out into a detective film noir.[6]
Liao Fan gained 44 pounds of weight to play the film's protagonist of an alcoholic and suspended police officer.[7]
Name
[edit]The film's English title Black Coal, Thin Ice is different from its Chinese title Bai Ri Yan Huo, which translates literally as Daylight Fireworks. Diao Yinan came across this phrase from a friend of his.[5] Diao further clarified the meaning of "daylight fireworks" as a state of sentiment or a state of condition. For him, the Chinese and English names together helped to construct the difference between reality and fantasy. In an interview he explained, "Coal and ice both belong to the realm of reality, but fireworks in daylight is something fantastic; they are the two sides of the same coin." The English name refers to the two visual clues in the film: coal as "where the body parts were found" and ice as "where the murder was committed".[8] He further explained, "when the two are combined, the reality of this murder is constructed ... while daytime fireworks is a fantasy, it is what we use to coat ourselves from the cruel side of this real world."
Reception
[edit]Box office
[edit]Black Coal, Thin Ice grossed US$16.8 million worldwide.[1]
Critical response
[edit]The film was shown in competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival,[9] won the Golden Bear prize for Diao.[2][10] The film's leading actor Liao Fan also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.[11] The film received critical praise at the Berlin Film Festival, but audience reaction was more divided.[12][7]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 7.82/10.[13] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 75 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Black Coal, Thin Ice". Box Office Mojo. Amazon. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Chinese film wins Best Picture at Berlin film festival". BBC. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ "重庆晚报数字报". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^ "第64届柏林电影节主竞赛单元之亚洲力量-搜狐娱乐".
- ^ a b "《白日焰火》到底是啥？金熊奖影片大起底_娱乐_腾讯网".
- ^ "桂纶镁变"蛇蝎美人"_娱乐新闻·综合_新京报电子报".
- ^ a b "Asian glory as Berlin film fest wraps up". The Bangkok Post. 16 February 2014.
"Black Coal, Thin Ice" divided audiences in Berlin but won over many critics.
- ^ "Cinephilia迷影 | 【Berlinale 2014】对话刁亦男：活在他们自己的世界里（作者：Tony Rayns）". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^ "Competition Jan 15, 2014: Berlinale 2014: Competition Complete". berlinale.de. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ "Berlin Golden Bear Goes to China's 'Black Coal, Thin Ice,' Jury Prize to 'Grand Budapest Hotel'". Variety. 15 February 2014.
- ^ "Berlin: Chinese Film Noir 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' Wins Golden Bear". The Hollywood Reporter. 15 February 2014.
- ^ "China's 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' takes top prize at Berlin Film Festival". France 24. 16 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
"Black Coal, Thin Ice" divided audiences in Berlin but won critical praise. It is Diao's third feature film.
- ^ "Bai rì yan huo (Black Coal, Thin Ice) (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ "Black Coal, Thin Ice Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
