Forum of Independents 2002 / Haixian / China, Hong Kong 2001
An existential portrait of two lonely people living on the edge of contemporary Chinese society – a prostitute and a corrupt, violent cop – and a relationship with no future.
Xiao Mei has been a prostitute in Beijing for three years. Around the time of the Chinese New Year she decides to go to Beidaihe, a small seaside town, in order to commit suicide. With winter approaching, the resort is covered in snow and ice and the tourists have all left. There she bumps into a local policeman, Deng Jianguo. He figures out her plan to kill herself and uses extreme and unusual methods to try and stop her. Xiao Mei crosses over to Shanhaiguan to get rid of him, but Deng follows her and brings her back, heralding the start of a somewhat complicated relationship. Shot originally using a digital format, Seafood is an existential portrait of the relationship between two lonely people on the fringes of contemporary Chinese society – a prostitute and a corrupt, violent cop – a relationship with no future. Nevertheless, the presence of seafood in the film symbolises the power of life, which has to go on, no matter what.
90 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Zhu Wen
/ Screenplay Zhu Wen
/ Dir. of Photography Liu Yonghong
/ Editor Zhu Wen
/ Producer Mou Sen
/ Production Thought Dance Entertainment Ltd., Zhu Wen Workshop
/ Cast Jinzi, Cheng Taisheng
Zhu Wen (1967, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province) graduated in 1989 from a course in electrical engineering at South-East University. He left his regular job to devote himself to literature. He co-wrote the script of Zhang Yuen, Heinan, heinan (1999) and Zhang Ming, Wu shan yun yu (1996). Seafood is his first film as a director.
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