PIFF - [Closing Film] Crazy Stone
Published on | Source
Directed by Ning Hao
Starring Tao Guo, Hua Liu
This black comedy received positive reviews from critics and also achieved a commercial success when it opened in China and Hong Kong last June, despite its low production budget and with no big stars.
The mainland director, who is well known for the art films "Incense" and "Mongolian Ping Pong", puts gruff mainland humor into a zippy Hong Kong-style movie about a group of petty thieves trying to steal a jade pendant, which may look similar to Hollywood's "Ocean's Eleven", but it has many comic twists and turns that work well.
In the film, Xie (Zhenghua Chen) has a rundown factory in Chongqing, on the banks of the Yangtze River in central China, and in order to sell his site to a Hong Kong developer, he holds an exhibition of his antiques, hiring ex-cop Bao Shihong (Tao Guo) to handle security.
Knowing that the exhibits include a precious green jade pendant several different groups of robbers plan to steal it.
The film doesn't focus on their complicated plans and strategies, but rather their clumsy struggling attempts at thievery, which produces some hilarious jokes.
The petty criminals include Dao (Hua Liu) and his dumb associates Xiaojun and Xie's own son Hei Pi _ who switches the stone for a cheap fake to romance his lover Jingjing although she is actually Dao's woman _ and a slick professional thief hired by the Hong Kong property developer.
Starring Tao Guo, Hua Liu
This black comedy received positive reviews from critics and also achieved a commercial success when it opened in China and Hong Kong last June, despite its low production budget and with no big stars.
The mainland director, who is well known for the art films "Incense" and "Mongolian Ping Pong", puts gruff mainland humor into a zippy Hong Kong-style movie about a group of petty thieves trying to steal a jade pendant, which may look similar to Hollywood's "Ocean's Eleven", but it has many comic twists and turns that work well.
In the film, Xie (Zhenghua Chen) has a rundown factory in Chongqing, on the banks of the Yangtze River in central China, and in order to sell his site to a Hong Kong developer, he holds an exhibition of his antiques, hiring ex-cop Bao Shihong (Tao Guo) to handle security.
Knowing that the exhibits include a precious green jade pendant several different groups of robbers plan to steal it.
The film doesn't focus on their complicated plans and strategies, but rather their clumsy struggling attempts at thievery, which produces some hilarious jokes.
The petty criminals include Dao (Hua Liu) and his dumb associates Xiaojun and Xie's own son Hei Pi _ who switches the stone for a cheap fake to romance his lover Jingjing although she is actually Dao's woman _ and a slick professional thief hired by the Hong Kong property developer.
Advertisement