Buddha Mountain

 

 

 

 
Harris Theater: May 12 @ 7:00 PM 
Melwood Screening Room: May 18 @ 7:00 PM

Passes not accepted on Opening/Closing Night. Please arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of start time to ensure availability of seating. Film schedule and Q & A's are subject to change.

2010/China/Director: Yu Li/104 min.
Cast: Fan Bingbing, Sylvia Chang, Bo-lin Chen, Fei Long (Language: Mandarin with English subtitles)
Festivals and Awards: Tokyo Intl Film Festival, Vancouver Intl Film Festival
Equal parts coming of age story and plaintive exploration of loss, Li Yu’s  Buddha Mountain is gorgeous and evocative follow up to her  Golden Bear award-winning Lost in Beijing.  Subtly set against the rubble of Sichuan province’s earthquake ravaged city, Chengdu, we watch four of the city’s inhabitants as they attempt to put their lives together and strain for human connection.
Three aimless 20-somethings form a small clique of outsiders as a refuge from what society and their families expect of them. After an unexpected, yet entirely logical, series of events, the trio  Ding Bo (Chen Bolin), Nan Feng (Fan Bingbing) and Fei Zao –Fatso- (Fei Long) all find themselves homeless. In their search for a place of their own, they happen upon a reserved and retired Chinese opera singer, Chang Yue Qin (in a flawless performance by Chinese cinema legend Sylvia Chang) who is looking to sublet a room in her unusually large and lonely apartment.
Almost immediately, personalities and generations begin to clash. The ill-mannered, hard partying tenants move like a hurricane into Chang Yue Qi’s quiet, regimented existence.  As Chang Yue Qi’s history unfolds, tragedy is revealed and connections are forged.  A gorgeous score and equally spectacular cinematography are a joy to behold when director Li Yu uses excursions to the titular Buddha Mountain to explore themes of human interaction, redemption, and loss.