Haven’t Seen A Good Chinese Film In A While? Go See ‘Mountain Cry'

It seems everyone is freaking out about the state of Chinese cinema at the moment.

As box office numbers continue to sag, many are taking the opportunity to apportion blame where they think it belongs.

While some are pointing the finger at the amount of foreign competition, others are saying there’s not enough of it. 

Now some parts of the local media are even criticizing the high fees being paid to the country’s top celebrities as the root cause for the parlous state of Chinese films.

Amidst all of this it’s easy to miss the Chinese films hitting cinema screens that are actually good. Mountain Cry (喊.山) is one such film.

An adaptation of Ge Shuiping’s award-winning novel of the same name, Mountain Cry presents a love story of sorts set in 1984 in a village on top of the Taihang Mountains. 

The story begins with the sudden death of a husband and father whose family is new to the village's tight-knit traditional community. 

In the aftermath of that tragic event, the villagers come to know and understand the man's widow, a mysterious mute with a story to tell and the power to tell it wordlessly.

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Variety said the film is "a bluntly effective condemnation of intolerant groupthink that reveals just how quickly the inhabitants of a remote village will turn on their own."

The Hollywood Reporter called the film "visually reminiscent of the dignified and stately dramas of Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou."

Mountain Cry makes for very compelling viewing as the tension slowly builds to a crescendo that is at once satisfying but also leaves you guessing.

So, if you feel like you haven’t seen a good Chinese film for a while, this one is definitely worth your time.

Photo: cine21.com