Qiuxi

秋喜

China, 2009, colour, 2.35:1, 106 mins.

Director: Sun Zhou 孙周.

Rating: 7/10.

Intriguing cat-and-mouse thriller between a KMT agent and CPC spy is classily played and directed.

STORY

Guangzhou, southern China, Oct 1949. The Nationalists are preparing to evacuate to Taiwan as Communist troops advance on the city. Yan Haiqing (Guo Xiaodong), a CPC spy in the KMT-controlled local radio station, is told by his CPC minder, Tao (Sun Min), also to join the evacuation and carry on as a secret agent in Taiwan. The decision comes as a shock to Yan Haiqing’s “wife”, co-spy Shuang Qing (Wang Yajie), who’s fallen in love with him, and also to their servant-girl, Qiuxi (Jiang Yiyan), who may know the truth about them. Yan Haiqing’s boss, KMT officer Xia Huimin (Sun Chun), suspects Yan Haiqing may be a communist, and in the final few days before evacuation tries to prove it with an increasingly elaborate series of ruses.

REVIEW

This return by writer-director Sun Zhou 孙周 to the big screen, seven years after Zhou Yu’s Train 周渔的火车 (2003), was unfortunately overshadowed by the release of blockbuster The Message 风声 (2009) two weeks before, and also by the earlier success of TV spy thriller Lurk 潜伏 (2008), which has a similar cat-and-mouse espionage plot. Of the two movies, The Message is the flashier and starrier but Qiuxi the more believably written and acted. Though technically an “official” film celebrating the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the PRC, it stands up – like Tian An Men 天安门 (2009), The Founding of a Republic 建国大业 (2009), and several others – as a movie in its own right, and also never looks like a de facto TV drama.

Despite the title, it’s only peripherally about the servant girl played by Jiang Yiyan 江一燕; and despite its sizeable RMB45 million budget, and occasional setpieces, the film is more like a chamber drama between two characters. The elaborate game of charade is beautifully played by Sun Chun 孙淳 (director Sun Zhou’s younger brother, and largely a TV actor) and Guo Xiaodong 郭晓冬, as the suspicious KMT cat and the wily CPC mouse. Sun Chun creates a strong impression from the start as the ruthless Xia, who realises the game is up on the Mainland but just can’t give up his fanatical hatred of communists. Guo comes through more slowly, as the opium-addicted CPC agent who conceals a host of lies behind his wide-eyed front. Both actors hit their stride in a long dinner sequence of parry and feint, in which they’re later joined by Jiang.

Unfortunately, the script never quite knows what to do with its female characters. Jiang’s titular role is basically a supporting one that’s beefed up too quickly and too late to really get under the viewer’s skin (thus reducing the emotional impact of a clever twist). The “special appearance” by Qin Hailu 秦海璐 as the KMT officer’s languid, opera-singing mistress is little more than that, and Wang Yajie 王雅捷 as Guo’s co-spy is given too much emotional baggage to carry for such a brief role.

Despite those flaws, the main dramatic axis of the repeated games between Sun Chun and Guo is strong enough to support the film. It wouldn’t be a Sun Zhou movie without a few moments of visual indulgence (Jiang naked in the rain, Sun and Guo in their final confrontation etc.) but these do serve a dramatic purpose beyond being just eye candy.

CREDITS

Presented by Pearl River Film Studio (CN), Guangdong Southern Broadcasting & Film Media Group (CN), Shenzhen Universal Digital Film & Culture (CN). Produced by Pearl River Film Studio (CN), Guangdong People’s Radio Station (CN), Shenzhen Universal Digital Film & Culture (CN).

Script: Wang Lifu, Sun Zhou, Wang Yi, Liu Chen. Photography: Liu Biao. Editing: Zhou Ying. Music: Lin Chaoyang, Ding Wei. Production design: Li Min. Art direction: Shen Xiaoyong. Sound: Feng Lunsheng, Lu Hong. Visual effects: Lin Hongfeng (Base FX). Executive director: Hu Jiang.

Cast: Guo Xiaodong (Yan Haiqing), Sun Chun (Xia Huimin), Jiang Yiyan (Qiuxi), Qin Hailu (Hui Honglian), Sun Min (Tao), Wang Yajie (Shuang Qing).

Release: China, 14 Oct 2009.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 16 May 2010.)