Black Coal, Thin Ice
Black Coal, Thin Ice (Chinese: 白日焰火; pinyin: Báirì Yànhuǒ; lit. 'Daylight Fireworks') is a 2014 Chinese thriller film written and directed by Diao Yinan, and produced by Vivian Qu. The film won the Golden Bear award at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival.[2]
Black Coal, Thin Ice
白日焰火
Báirì Yànhuǒ
Diao Yinan
Liao Fan
Gwei Lun-mei
Wang Xuebing
- 12 February 2014 (Berlin IFF)
- 21 March 2014 (China)
106 mins
China
Mandarin
US$16.8 million[1]
Plot[edit]
Wu Zhizhen, who looks cold and beautiful, exudes the charm of a mature woman, which is a fatal temptation for men, especially for Zhang Zili, a policeman who had met her once.
Five years ago, Wu Zhizhen's husband Liang Zhijun was determined by the police to have died in a bizarre dismemberment case. At that time, Zhang Zili solved the case and shot the murderer who resisted arrest with a gun. Five years later, a similar serial case occurred again, and these deceased people had been in love with Wu Zhizhen. Zhang Zili, who had not yet resolved his heart knot, took the initiative to approach Wu Zhizhen, but fell in love with this woman like a moth to a flame. The two people who suffered major setbacks in life gradually went from sympathizing with each other to falling in love. With closer contact, Zhang Zili discovered the truth of five years ago.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The film was shown in competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival,[9] won the Golden Bear prize for Diao.[2][10] The film's leading actor Liao Fan also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor.[11] The film received critical praise at the Berlin Film Festival, but audience reaction was more divided.[12][7]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 7.82/10.[13] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 75 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]