THE WILD GOOSE LAKE

China, 2019, 113 minutes, Colour.
Ge Hu, Lun- Mei Kwei, Fan Liao, Regina Wan.
Directed by Yi'nan Diao.

The Wild Goose Lake is an area on the outskirts of a provincial Chinese town.

The audience is introduced to a large group of young men, gathered in a warehouse, enthusiastic. However, this is rather misleading. The men belong to gangs, drug dealers apportioned particular areas of the town for operation, many of the men bikies with some focus on the bikes.

The director of this film, Yi’nan Diao won the main prize at the 2014 Berlin film Festival for his social drama, a police investigation of a series of murders, Black Coal, Thin Ice. Once again, he has focused on a murder, police investigation.

The central character is a leader of the group, seen giving speeches, but soon involved in hiding because of his shooting of a policeman. While the film continues to show the work of the police, the reactions of other members of the gang, it concentrates on the leader himself, his ability to hide, conceal himself from the police.

The film has unexpected turns, especially with a prostitute, an enigmatic woman in red, approaching the man, mysterious in her character and behaviour, saying she was sent to him by his wife. She helps him in his continued hiding, at some risk to herself, becoming the victim of a sexual assault.

Then the film moves in something of a different direction, the issue of reward for the capture of the man. He would like to arrange a situation where his wife becomes the beneficiary of the reward money.

Which then takes the audience in yet another direction and a re-appreciation of the gang leader as well as the prostitute who has helped him.

The film has won some awards and has highly appreciative responses on the IMDb.

1. The title? The region, the town, the lake?

2. The locations, the town, homes, streets? The warehouse? The drug deals? The musical score?

3. The atmosphere of the town, provincial, expectations? The group of men gathered? The leader? The revelation of drug deals, motorcycles? The age of the men?

4. The police, the investigations, the leadership? The attacks, tactics?

5. Zenang Zhou, personality, leadership? The other leaders, his role?

6. His escape, hiding, the revelation about the shooting, the police, death? The woman coming to him, saying she was sent by his wife, her being a prostitute? Her leading him, protecting him?

7. The complexity of the plot, his of ageing the police, their blaming him, the other members of the group? The woman, seductive, pressurising him, the story about his wife?

8. His ability to hide, the work of the police, the leader? The role of the woman, hiding him, the sexual liaison? The prostitute and the brutality of her being raped?

9. His relationship with his wife, the past, her concern? The woman getting her?

10. The issue of the reward, the amount, the concern of Zenang, of the woman?

11. The unexpected chase, the melodrama, his death?

12. The woman claiming the money, the police, saying she would bank the money, the men following her, seeing her with the wife, their leaving with the money?

13. Zenang sacrificing his life for his wife?