NOW ON VOD! Director Xiaofeng Li’s Again to the Wharf is a Chinese language true-crime drama with particulars ripped from precise headlines. The son of a neighborhood official in a coastal fishing city, Track Hao (Zhou Zhengjie), is a star scholar who’s informed he received’t get the faculty placement he has earned. As an alternative, his slot has been given to shut good friend Li Tang (Gao Yuhang), the son of highly effective native mayor Li Weiguo (Jin Hui). The varsity principal (Zhou Jianya) tells Track that he believes Track will get into school with out the automated placement and that he’s reallocating it for the better good: “I prioritize the collective over the person.” When, the truth is, the change is completed to curry favor with the mayor.
Track tells his father, Jianhui (Wang Yanhui), of shedding the location, and there’s a tense alternate between them, after which they each depart the home extremely agitated. Track Hao goes to talk with Li Tang however by accident enters the fallacious home in an upscale neighborhood, the primary in a disastrous chain of occasions. The house owner, Wan Yuliang (Zhao Longhao), assaults Track, pondering he’s a burglar, and within the battle that follows, Track winds up stabbing him, leaving him wounded. Track’s father is close by, as he, too, comes to talk with the mayor, hears this commotion, and runs in. He murders Wan to make sure the person can by no means testify concerning the assault, and the daddy and son flee. Unbeknownst to them, Li Tang has seen the entire occasion and retains it quiet, submitting it away for future use.
“… The trauma of the homicide sends him into an existential despair…”
Together with his life in ruins, Track Hao strikes far-off to Guangzhou, the place he takes a menial job in a cement manufacturing unit. He spends the subsequent 15 years there, out of contact along with his dwelling village. The trauma of the homicide sends him into an existential despair from which he by no means recovers, however he does return dwelling when information of his mom’s loss of life compels him to return for her funeral. Regardless of his crimes being up to now up to now, his dramatic challenges are simply starting. His father has risen in rank and energy however has change into as corrupt as different officers to achieve and maintain his standing. His outdated good friend Li Tang has change into a rich, unscrupulous land developer who digs up the previous to blackmail Track into serving to him commit crimes to additional his enterprise pursuits.
One other complication Track provides to his plate is a reluctant romantic relationship he drifts into with one among his former classmates, Pan Xiaoshuang (Track Jia). Pan wins him over together with her exuberant way of living, including spark and coloration to his uninteresting, determined existence. She is a cultural anomaly, being an single “leftover girl.” After they’ve been intimate, she suggests they marry, and he agrees.
Again to the Wharf is a taut drama with twists and turns to maintain it full of life. Every time Track appears to be shifting towards a happier life, one other consequence of his poor judgment rises as much as block him. The story relies on components drawn from precise circumstances. Alongside strong performances, the blue-grey wash of the cinematography and the mournful retro soundtrack present the proper tones for Track’s sad dramatic journey. Track Jia’s intense efficiency as Pan Xiaoshuang is a stand-out on this movie.
For Western audiences, Again to the Wharf is a fascinating glimpse of every day life on the intersection of Chinese language household tradition and authorities corruption.
