Kaili Blues

113 minutes | 2015 | Fiction | Guizhou Dialect | English Subtitles

In the rain-drenched city of Kaili, two preoccupied doctors are working in a small clinic. The young man CHEN Sheng decides to fulfill his late mother’s wish by looking for his brother’s abandoned child. His companion, a lonely old lady, asks him to find her long-lost lover, known simply as “Lover”, giving him a photograph, a shirt, and a music cassette.

In the film, time is a melting watch. Poetry deconstructs the textual narratives within the southeastern region of Guizhou province. Here, the landscape becomes a canvas upon which the mysterious tales of jungle creatures unfold, with each element infused with symbolic resonance.

Jumping on a motorbike will offer you a passage through the past, the present, and the future. The long takes blur the boundaries between reality and reverie, yet the vibrant essence of life in this land remains palpable. Upon reaching the city of Dangmai, they say, “Kaili lies in the subtropical monsoon climate zone of southeastern Guizhou, with an average annual temperature of 16.8 to 18.5 degrees Celsius. The hottest month is July…”

Returning to a past haunt unveils one’s growth and transformation, while the senses meld with the landscape, and personal memories with public narratives. “Kaili Blues” is an unfinished ode, also known as, a roadside picnic. (LIU Yuetong)

BI Gan is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer. He was born and raised in Kaili, Guizhou Province, China. He directed his first fictional short film South (2010) during school, which won the first prize at the university-sponsored festival. Two years later, his short Diamond Sutra (2012) received Special Mention at the 19th Hong Kong ifva, organized by Hong Kong Arts Centre. In 2015, he won Best New Director at the 52nd Taipei Golden Horse Awards with his debut feature Kaili Blues. In 2018, BI wrote and directed his second feature film Long Day’s Journey into Night, which was selected to compete at the Un Certain Regard section at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.