Director Diao Yi’nan
Starring Ge Hu, Lun-Mei Kwei
Rated MA
Score 4.5/6

Mandarin dialogue with English Subtitles
In Cinemas December 6

A gangster on the run sacrifices everything for his family and a woman he meets while on the lam.

This wasn’t the kind of movie that I was expecting. Alright, for those of you who might be wondering I went into this completely unfamiliar with director Yi’nan Diao’s work and if his other movies are as beautifully shot as The Wild Goose Lake, I think I might have to check out more of his movies. It should be noted that this has a very distinctive visual look that sets it apart from most movies and I would assume that was because of the camera that was used.
The Wild Goose Lake isn’t a slick fast paced as you would expect most crime movies to be which usually deal with the well-worn ‘one last job’ trope. In what could only be described as a moment of sink or swim storytelling Diao dumps you into his world and I must admit I was a little surprised by this movie until I realised what was going on. The Wild Goose Lake goes for more of slow burn and has more of a hint of realism to it without any ‘master criminals’ or ‘super cops’ (my only spoiler for this review there is a scene where some police officers ask to be allowed to train with their guns as they have never needed to fire them. This is something that you would never see in a Hollywood movie).
I was completely unfamiliar with any of the actors cast in this, Hu Ge seemed to have a great onscreen presence and I might have to check out a few more movies starring Lun-Mei Kwei.