MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
WHAT'S IN THE DARKNESS
Australian Centre for the Moving Image, August 3, 1.30pm; August 9, 11am
Recommended for ages 14+
In a northern Chinese village in the early 1990s, a series of murders of young women baffles the local cops, almost as bumbling as their equivalents in Bong Joon-ho's absurdist Memories of Murder.
The most dedicated investigator on the scene is Jing (Su Xiaotong), a schoolgirl on the cusp of adolescence who views the killings as one mystery among many.
This debut feature from writer-director Wang Yichun is part thriller, part bleak satire, and part realistic teen movie, diverting from the main plot line to dwell on subjects such as Jing's attempt to buy her first bra, or her longing for a proper girl's bike in place of the cheaper alternative supplied by her dad.
Borrowing something from Bong in style as well as content, Wang proves a skilled visual storyteller in her own right, using the wide screen to show Jing loitering tentatively on the edge of the adult world.