Friday 24 August 2018

Melbourne International Film Festival (7) - John Snadden praises ANGELS WEAR WHITE (Vivian Qu, China)

Amongst the paltry Asian offering from this year's MIFF was the Mainland drama, ANGELS WEAR WHITE  (2017), the second feature from Vivian Qu. It scored her the Best Director prize at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan.
The film follows the case of a high level Communist Party official who is charged with sexually assaulting two young girls. It's a grim study of moral, economic and legal corruption - which still appears to be endemic in China (even after nearly a decade of anti-corruption purges by the CCP).
It's a genuinely powerful movie which never resorts to overheated dramatics or contrived story-lines. A short sequence set in a provincial hospital depicts a truly crushing personal betrayal, where all the safeguards of a reasonable society have been thoroughly trampled. 
Angels Wear White
ANGELS WEAR WHITE is wonderfully acted by leads Zhou Meijun and Vicky Chen, and beautifully shot by French DOP Benoit Dervaux. 
Locally, we probably won't see this pic again on the big screen, but it's definitely worth a DVD purchase or download. 


Benoit Dervaux, Vivian Qu

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