Unfinished Film
[A] riveting, highly inventive mid-career oeuvre masterstroke.
-- Eric Lavallée, Ion Cinema
An Unfinished Film
In January 2020, director Xiaorui reunites his cast and crew to complete a film that was abandoned during production ten years earlier. However, the team is suddenly placed into lockdown together during the onset of COVID-19. Confronted with the challenges of the pandemic, Xiaorui and his crew are forced to determine how to move forward in a rapidly changing world.
From acclaimed director Lou Ye (Suzhou River, Summer Palace), An Unfinished Film is “an utterly unique and very important movie about Covid, the crisis that affected all of us,” (The Guardian). Combining fiction and documentary footage together, Lou Ye both commemorates those lost to the virus and creates “one of the most thoughtful, truthful and tactful depictions of the pandemic ever put to screen.” ~ The Wrap
"Limber and thought-provoking, An Unfinished Film is an absorbing portrait of an unfinished era." ~ Lee Marshall, Screen Daily
"By entwining reality with dramatization to such an inseparable degree, An Unfinished Film runs the emotional gamut, with a pulsing naturalism that few films about the recent pandemic (or any real disasters) have ever managed to achieve." ~ Siddhant Adlakha, Variety
"Out of agony and chaos, Chinese film-maker Lou Ye has created something mysterious, moving and even profound.... This is an utterly unique and very important movie about Covid, the crisis that affected all of us." ~ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"A fascinating formal hybrid that deals with censorship, COVID and civil courage. It’s the work of a group of fearless artists that gives you rare insights into the challenges faced by creatives in China today." ~ Zhuo-Ning Su, Awards Daily
"[A] poignant and uplifting tale about the Covid pandemic from a Chinese perspective." ~ John Bleasdale, Next Best Picture
"Director Lou Ye delivers both a powerful rebuke of excessive state intervention into private lives, and a celebratory ode to the resilience of the masses." ~ Clarence Tsui, South China Morning Post
"This is a return to form for one of the most talented, and least celebrated, of Chinese filmmakers working today, often at his own risk." ~ Mehdi Achouche, Asian Movie Pulse
From acclaimed director Lou Ye (Suzhou River, Summer Palace), An Unfinished Film is “an utterly unique and very important movie about Covid, the crisis that affected all of us,” (The Guardian). Combining fiction and documentary footage together, Lou Ye both commemorates those lost to the virus and creates “one of the most thoughtful, truthful and tactful depictions of the pandemic ever put to screen.” ~ The Wrap
"Limber and thought-provoking, An Unfinished Film is an absorbing portrait of an unfinished era." ~ Lee Marshall, Screen Daily
"By entwining reality with dramatization to such an inseparable degree, An Unfinished Film runs the emotional gamut, with a pulsing naturalism that few films about the recent pandemic (or any real disasters) have ever managed to achieve." ~ Siddhant Adlakha, Variety
"Out of agony and chaos, Chinese film-maker Lou Ye has created something mysterious, moving and even profound.... This is an utterly unique and very important movie about Covid, the crisis that affected all of us." ~ Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"A fascinating formal hybrid that deals with censorship, COVID and civil courage. It’s the work of a group of fearless artists that gives you rare insights into the challenges faced by creatives in China today." ~ Zhuo-Ning Su, Awards Daily
"[A] poignant and uplifting tale about the Covid pandemic from a Chinese perspective." ~ John Bleasdale, Next Best Picture
"Director Lou Ye delivers both a powerful rebuke of excessive state intervention into private lives, and a celebratory ode to the resilience of the masses." ~ Clarence Tsui, South China Morning Post
"This is a return to form for one of the most talented, and least celebrated, of Chinese filmmakers working today, often at his own risk." ~ Mehdi Achouche, Asian Movie Pulse
Genre
Drama,
Pandemic,
Films & Filmmakers
Runtime
107
Language
Chinese
Director
Lou Ye
Writer(s)
Ye Lou
Cast
Qin Hao,
Qi Xi,
Huang Xuan
Awards:
Nominee, Golden Eye, Cannes Film Festival
Played at
Royal 3.28.25 - 4.10.25
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