I am torn about PANDA. This moody black and white slice of life concerning people on the fringes of society in China is stunning on almost every level. It has a visual style that kicks ass, it has a wonderful sense of reality and is filled with compelling characters. It’s a film that pulled me in from its opening moments and held me tight for the better part of the first hour…
…and then the film slowly began to slip away because the film really wasn’t keeping all the little bits connected. Yes, director Xinyang Zhang was giving us intriguing pieces but as the film went on he wasn’t connecting the pieces up. I kept thinking that what I was seeing was very good, but I wasn’t sure why I was seeing what was on screen. Yes, it pulls together towards the end, but it’s kind of too little too late. Intellectually I know it’s fine but at the same time, emotionally I was completely disconnected.
This film is a very long 148 minutes.
My issues aside, I want to see what director Zhang does next. On almost every level he has made a masterpiece, and I can’t wait for his next film.
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