Summary
A coming of age story takes a minimalist approach to show the perspective of a young girl facing major life moments.
Han Shuai’s debut feature just won Berlinale’s Generation Kplus Grand Prix and it’s easy to see how many would relate to it. From the opening moments, in which the young lead Guo (Huang Tian) awakens in semi-darkness, she establishes the massive ennui of this young woman on the verge of adulthood.
After witnessing the drowning death of a friend, the 13-year-old Guo struggles to deal with the aftermath, grief and guilt of this seminal moment. With an absentee mother, and the unwanted advances of another young boy, Guo navigates the various pitfalls associated with coming of age.
With the exception of the inciting event, Han Shuai’s script doesn’t overplay the emotion of this critical juncture. Through a series of lingering close-ups, Huang Tian impressively keeps it all just beneath the surface. In a scene in which she briefly breaks, she’s standing in a bikini literally being judged by a dude in a Slipknot t-shirt.
Later there’s a climactic emotional breaking point, where Guo literally slaps herself across the face while looking in the mirror. It’s a powerful moment to be sure — although when you step back and reflect on the context of the scene, one can’t help but wonder if there was enough connective glue to give it the full weight it deserves.
Set on the outskirts of Wuhan, there is inevitably an added weight to the location as well. If Han is demonstrating that there a numerous odds stacked against a young woman in China, then the location is arguably another point of inescapable prejudice.
Terrific young performances and Peter Pan’s delicate photography make this one of the more beautiful films in the festival’s stream, yet SUMMER BLUR (汉南夏日) never quite holds the attention for the duration of its brief running time.
2021 | China | DIRECTOR: Han Shuai | WRITER: Han Shuai | CAST: Gong Beibi, Huang Tian, Zhang Xinyuan, Yan Xingyue, Luo Feiyang, Wang Yizhu, Xie Lixun, Chen Yongzhong | DISTRIBUTOR: Rediance, Berlinale 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 88 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1-5 March 2021 (GER)
