Liberdade, São Paulo– a multi-ethnic neighborhood with the largest Japanese immigrant community in the world. Here,
traditional Japanese achitecture clashes with the gritty urban landscapes, while people of all races come here to do business – legal or illegal. This is where the story of Plastic City begins…
Yuda, a feared Chinese outlaw, and his adopted son Kirin, an impulsive young dreamer, together rule the pirated goods
racket in the ultra-liberal Brazilian metropolis. The magnate and his heir control all of from rival gangs to street hawkers, corrupt politicians to erotic dancers. But an empire that takes years to build can also crumble to the ground with one fatal mistake…
A conspiracy between politicians and the mafia begins to threaten Yuda’s power. Little by little, he loses control of his business and is ultimately arrested. Kirin struggles to re-conquer his father’s honor, fighting this city’s wars singlehandedly. But Yuda, tired of the bloodshed and feeling the weight of his years, abandons his son, falsifies his own death and returns to the jungle in a last attempt to put an end to his criminal life.
Escaping from a complex maze of violence, Kirin sets out to find his father. In the mysterious jungle, father and son both have to wipe the slate of their past clean. Only in the end will Kirin discover the ultimate answer to the search for his own destiny.
Yu Lik-wai (simplified Chinese: 余力为; traditional Chinese: 余力爲; Mandarin Pinyin: Yú Lìwéi; Jyutping: Yu4 Lik6 Wai4; born August 12, 1966 in Hong Kong) (sometimes credited as Nelson Yu Lik-wai or simply, Nelson Yu) is a Hong Kong cinematographer, film director, and occasional film producer. Born in Hong Kong, Yu was educated at Belgium’s INSAS (Institut National Superieur des Arts de Spectacle) where he graduated with a degree in cinematography in 1994.1 Yu has become a mainstay in both the cinemas of China (where he is perhaps best known for his collaborations with director Jia Zhangke) and Hong Kong.
Yu has served as director of photography for nearly all of Chinese director Jia Zhangke’s films, and along with Jia, the two men founded their own independent film production company, Xstream Pictures.—Wikipedia
The visuals are stunning, but the storyline? Nothing much really. I've spent almost 50 mins of it, trying to figure out what was this film trying to say, but in the end, if it's saying anything, it didn't say much. Almost fell asleep, even.
If you're going to talk about cinema at present, even if you're not talking very thoroughly, it's inevitable that Yu Lik-wai's work, if not
As Nelson the D.P. is associated with Jia, Nelson the director almost couldn’t be further away, this piece emerging heavily stylised, cued – a diverse, pulsing, shifting palette (though one sometimes… read review
This review attempts to emulate the form of Plastic City.
A pretty incomprehensible gangster film about nothing really by Yu Lik-wai, renowned for his cinematographic work with Jia Zhangke… read review
Saw this at TIFF08. Visually, it’s stunning and highly experimental. In terms of plot, it’s unforgivably flawed in pacing and lacks any semblance of coherency. Forcing Anthony Wong to speak Portuguese… read review
Saw the Venice cut of this last year (from memory it clocked in at around 120mins) but I don’t think that’s ever going to be released. I thought the DVD may have both versions but I recently got the… read review