Betelnut (Bing Lang) (Home Use)
	Rating
	Type	Video On Demand
	Release Date	2009-12-09
	Director	Yang Heng;
	Length	112 minutes
	Special Price
	Lowest New Price	$5.00
Categories
International
Similar products
Er Dong (Home Use)
Description
"Exquisite!" - Tony Rayns, The Film Society of Lincoln Center "Pure cinema" - Susanna Harutyunyan, FIPRESCI Along a sleepy Hunan riverside, two delinquent boys experience a summer of love and violence in Yang Heng's visually spectacular debut. Ali and Xiao Yu are two teenage rebels idling away their days along the banks of a river in Jishou, a quiet town in Hunan province. They steal motorbikes, bully and rob children, sing karaoke and get into fistfights outside the local internet bar. But their rough exterior belies a deeper romanticism, and a tenderness unfolds between them and their teenage loves. As one day bleeds into the next in this impoverished rural environment, it becomes apparent this these sun-baked days of misspent youth will be the wildest, freest time of their lives. These usual subjects are transformed by a groundbreaking digital cinematography unlike any other Chinese film. Alternating deep-focus together with bold flatness, Yang explores spaces together with a mastery this recalls together classical Chinese and modernist landscape painting. Filmed in a summery palette together with pictures this provide off an otherworldly shine, BETELNUT proposes a one-of-a-kind vision of what it's like to be young, poor and free in China. "Yang is a first-class visual stylist, and BETELNUT is far and away the much exciting debut film I've seen all year." (Michael Sicinski, The University of Houston) (Hunan Dialect w/ English subtitles)
Customer Reviews
"Betelnut" review   2009-12-16
By Nick Liptak
"Exquisite!" - Tony Rayns, Film Comment "Pure cinema" - Susanna Harutyunyan, FIPRESCI - The International Federation of Film Critics Along a sleepy Hunan riverside, two delinquent boys experience a summer of love and violence in Yang Heng's visually stunning debut. Ali and Xiao Yu are two teenage rebels idling away their days along the banks of a river in Jishou, a quiet town in Hunan province. They steal motorbikes, bully and rob kids, sing karaoke, and get into fist fights outside the local Internet bar. But their rough exterior belies a deeper romanticism, and a tenderness unfolds between them and their teenage loves. As one day bleeds into the next in this impoverished rural setting, it becomes apparent that these sun-baked days of misspent youth will be the wildest, freest time of their lives. These everyday subjects are transformed by groundbreaking digital cinematography unlike any other Chinese film. Alternating deep-focus with bold flatness, Yang explores spaces with a mastery that recalls both classical Chinese and modernist landscape painting. Filmed in a summery palette with images that give off an otherworldly glow, BETELNUT offers a one-of-a-kind vision of what it's like to be young, poor, and free in China. "Yang is a first-class visual stylist, and BETELNUT is far and away the most exciting debut film I've seen all year." (Michael Sicinski, The University of Houston)