Movie Digest
Yang Hua and Miao Wei are a happily married couple residing in Wuhai, a small city in Inner Mongolia. The financial disparity between Yang Hua’s family and his wife’s family frequently makes him anxious. He co-owns a commercial lending company with his friend Luo Yu, but the enterprise fails. As a result, he has a mountain of debt. One day, Yang Hua’s family, friends, creditors, and debtors arrive at once, stripping him of his remaining dignity.
The Feel-Good Part
Matthias Delvaux’s cinematography was beautiful, bringing in many metaphors in various shots. Another remarkable aspect is the subtle humor that exhibits in between the conflicts.
The Disappointing Factor
The movie might have trouble gaining the audience’s interest or momentum needed to make them want to watch the whole thing through. Wu Hai’s setting feels lifeless and uninteresting, even with some quirky aspects of its world and characters.
In-Depth Analysis
Wu Hai is the result of filmmaker Zhou Ziyang’s second feature, which combines emotion with eccentricity. It is the tale of how greed and horrible judgment primarily caused the descent of an ordinary man into chaos. Ziyang depicts a world under the ruthless control of debt. Everyone is thinking about money, and there is no way to avoid its psychological effects. Ziyang deliberately tries to drag you along with his main character as he descends into a pit of despair. The film’s motivation eventually turns into our investment in the impending failure of the protagonist. Sensitive writing and acting are necessary to pique an audience’s interest and sympathy. In this movie, the writing part was not up to the mark. However, the bold direction, stellar acting, and stunning visuals have enough impact to captivate, delight, and even inspire.
Star Power
Huang Xuan (Yang Hua) has a lot of emotion to process and effectively express as a performer, but he does a pretty good job considering everything. It becomes apparent that his character is the source of almost all genuine audience investment or engagement.
Overall Opinion
Wu Hai is merely one of those movies that shows room for more potential than the outcome. The storyline possesses strength and soul, but the film’s overall conception and execution prevent these moments from truly shining.
