That was an excellent one.

A Disappointing Continuation

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This film noir detective story with fantasy elements takes place in China's northernmost corner, Heilongjiang province, in a nondescript industrial city where the grip of winter gets colder and colder as the story progresses. You will need to pay attention, as the plot is not explained verbally and you have to notice a lot of visual cues. The characters do not talk much really, and when they do utter a sentence or two, it has nothing to do with the plot. You could almost think that the director would be Jim Jarmusch but he's not obviously. Diao Yinan has seen an Aki Kaurismäki film or two, one can tell, and it is no wonder that the film was well received by the Berlin festival crowd. It is not the kind of film Chinese audiences would love, though. This does not make BCTI any worse as a film. It has a dark and twisted, sometimes silly sense of humour. Once you get the hang of it, the plot is easy to follow yet intriguing. Who dun-it - most viewers will not have a clue but neither does the police! The People's Republic does not send it's finest this far out in the north. They also have very little to work with to be honest. Detective Zhang who is obsessed with the case has been sacked from the force for very obvious reasons including serious drinking. In addition he can't skate and he's in Heilongjiang, which you will notice is not a good thing. The film wrings a lot of atmosphere from the utterly unpleasant surroundings. Excellent actors add to it. If you enjoyed the Coen brothers' Fargo I can see no reason why you wouldn't enjoy Black Coal, Thin Ice. In the final scene, the original Chinese name of the film, Fireworks in Daylight, will be explained - sort of.

Getting the wonderful chance to be the host for an event held on IMDb's Film Festival board,I decided to take a closer look at the nominated titles. Introduced to Film Noir from Asia via John Woo's Heroic Bloodshed movie The Killer,I was intrigued to find a Neo-Noir from China on the list,which led to me breaking into the ice.The plot:In the city of Heilongjiang Province,dried up body parts of Liang are found in bags of coal.Sent to investigate, Zhang and his partner Wang go to interview a suspect,who opens fire on them and is soon killed. Shaken by the events,Zhang sinks into booze and gets dropped into being a security. Finding out that two men who have recently dated Liang former wife Wu have recently been found killed in a similar way,Zhang decides to become an ice breaker for the case and for Wu. View on the film:Burning up the black coal,co-writer/director Yi'nan Diao unveils a Neo-Noir landscape of frosty blues and decayed greys,with the people in the outdoor scenes being drained of as much colour as the body parts. Getting in from the cold, Diao sets Zhang's life in stylish chalk Neo-Noir reds and yellows which bluntly hit the pessimism of the case.Spending 8 years writing the screenplay, Diao gives the Noir mystery a clinical edge,as Zhang becomes entwined in a detached love for Femme Fatale Wu.Cut down from the original 210 minutes cut, Diao sets the Noir in a glacial mould.Whilst giving light to some startling images,the sparse nature of the dialogue and the stilted solving of the mystery leaves to any feeling of intrigue being frozen under thin ice.

'Black Coal, Thin Ice' is a bit slow in many senses. A film that spans a five year period, starting when a human arm is found among a coal delivery, prompting a murder investigation that takes a long time to be solved. This is all filmed at quite a slow pace as the story starts to develop over time.Zhang is a detective, recently divorced, called to a factory when an arm is found in some coal. The investigation identifies the victim as the husband of a laundry worker, though the murder is left unsolved. Five years down the road, Zhang is now a drunk working as a security guard at a factory; his life and career now at a halt, he meets with his former partner, they discuss the old case, as well as two subsequent murders of the widowed laundry worker's lovers. Zhang pursues both the cases and the women that is connected to them, gradually becoming involved with her as he works to solve the murders, as well as his own life. The film is quite understated, moving along at a slow pace, with some interesting camera-work, steady throughout. Twists comes towards the film's conclusion, though with a lack of tension or suspense really created, these are met with a muted response, lacking real build. The film also doesn't seem to know when exactly to end, continuing after the final revelations, ending with a scene that is both comprehensible and unusual.Unlike the title would suggest, 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' is solid: decent performances, some interesting cinematography, with interesting enough a story. But, it never really goes beyond this, feeling very much a film for a slow Sunday afternoon, relaxing more than thrilling.

Black Coal, Thin Ice is the kind of film that can only be felt, the charming point of the film is the indescribable feeling you get from the unique atmosphere. It's a suspense film with sort of Film-Noir feeling, but the plot of the case actually is not so important. As I said, what matters is the feeling. Those empty street shots, environment background sounds, strange acts and even some dark humor tastes. It even looks like a Jia Zhangke's film sometimes.(Well, Jia Zhangke's name did appear in the thank list in the end credits.) Such feeling reached the top in the ending of the pyrotechnical in daytime, it not only reflect the title (The Chinese title is Bai ri yan huo, which means The Daylight Pyrotechnix.) but also release the depressed emotion and atmosphere. (The Uncut Version has very strange but interesting dark humor style scenes in the ending, but they are cut out in the Censored Mainland China Theatrical Version.)The atmosphere in the film is nearly perfect, however the romance relationship between two characters is not believable at all. The whole film is based on that relationship, but it didn't convince me. Without the reliable relationship, the rest of the film seems not make sense at all. So yeah, it's a rare and unique film in Chinese cinema, it is well did in many aspects, but I don't think it is qualified for Golden Berlin Bear.My score: 7.5 for the Uncut Version, 7.3 for the Mainland China Censored Theatrical Version.