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Review: The Wild Goose Lake (南方車站的聚會) (2019)
This was a crime film. It was alright. I got a little confused with some of the characters but that’s just a nitpick. Overall, I thought the story made sense. What set this film apart from other Chinese movies is probably its visual style. So I’d recommend this movie if you want a Chinese crime movie with some interesting visuals.
Spoilers.
Story
Zhou Zenong was a motorcycle thief, and somewhat of a leader. One of his cronies shot the crony of another gang. In retaliation, Zhou Zenong shot back, but accidentally shot and killed a police officer. Then he went into hiding.
Zhou was supposed to meet his wife Yang Shujun, but instead, he was met by Liu Aiai. She was a prostitute, working under Huahua. She told him that Shujun couldn’t meet Zhou.
The cops put in a full effort to look for Zhou. They also put up a reward of 300,000 yuan. Zhou wanted his wife to turn him in so that she and their son could get the money. However, she was under police surveillance and was afraid that meeting him would get him in further trouble.
The rival gang also wanted to get the money, so they tried to kidnap him. Zhou was able to escape, though he was injured in the process. Zhou believed that Aiai had also betrayed him, and he tracked her down, though she never confirmed that she had. While they were together, the cops tracked down Zhou. Zhou tried to escape, but he was shot dead.
In the end, Liu Aiai got the reward money, which she would share with Yang Shujun.
The story was fairly straightforward, but this kind of story is not a whodunit, just a story where we’re supposed to watch our characters work through their problems the only ways they know how. It was fine as a story. I wouldn’t say I was overly impressed with it. But a good story is good.
Production
As I mentioned, I think the draw here was the visual style. One of the first things that popped out to me was the deliberate lighting and colour choices, that definitely contributed to the overall style of the movie.
I was also very drawn to the way the director set up certain scenes. There were several scenes with meetings or big crowds of people and they were rather evocative of one another. For example, one of the first scenes was the meeting with the motorcycle thief gangs. They were seated all in a cluster watching the demonstration at the front of the room. It devolved into a gunfight. A little while later, we had a meeting among the police officers, where they were also sitting in a cluster watching the demonstration at the front of the room. The meeting also ended with a discussion of guns, namely a police officer asking where they could practise their shooting. There was another scene towards the end when Aiai was running away from Zhou, where she ran into a meeting among workers. They were seated together, attention on Aiai, and it reminded me of the scenes before. I think this kind of set up really drew the audience’s attention towards the demonstration, because all of the other people on screen were watching them as well.
I thought the bathing beauties with their wide-brimmed hats was also kind of an evocative image. They were recognizable everywhere. I don’t know if the hats were meant to represent anything though.
The acting was good. No complaints.
Characters
Zhou Zenong
Zhou was the thief who was on the run. He became a major target because he had killed a police officer. He did seem to care for his family somewhat, wanting to escape with his wife, and then wanting her to get the reward money for their child. That being said, he seemed more of a guy who prioritized his pride. I think he lived more of the lone wolf life because he wasn’t a family man, he couldn’t love from up close. Shujun said that he hadn’t contacted them much (or at all). And towards the end of the movie, I felt that he let his anger get the better of him.
Again, I don’t doubt that Zhou probably did care at least a bit for his family, but he was not suited for family life and I think he knew that. It showed in the fact that he didn’t stay home, but also that the only way he really knew how to care for his family was to send them money.
This movie also mostly focused on his actions in the short term so he appeared to me like a more short-sighted person. Which is what I would have expected for a guy who would get involved in crime as their main line of business. He did not think of the long term repercussions of getting in a gunfight before he shot that gun.
Liu Aiai
Aiai was a prostitute, known as a ‘bathing beauty,’ whose pimp was Huahua. Aiai first met Zhou because Huahua had sent her to meet him, and it was her who sent him the news that his wife wouldn’t be meeting her. Afterwards, Aiai helped him find his wife. Zhou assumed that she did this for a cut of the money, and I think that was essentially correct.
Aiai went to find Shujun and in the process, she realized that Shujun was being followed. Despite Aiai assuring Shujun that there was nothing between her and Zhou, Aiai did have sexual relations with Zhou later in the movie, though the nature of that is murky considering Aiai’s line of work.
Towards the end, Zhou suspected Aiai of betraying him, though the rival gang implied that she was not connected to them either. He tracked her down and they had a meal, during which Zhou was arrested and killed.
I think Aiai did first approach Zhou because of the money (i.e. it was a job from Huahua). And it continued being because of the money when the 300,000 yuan rewards was posted. I hesitate to say that she befriended Zhou because Zhou was such an icy and prickly guy. But I think Aiai sympathized with Shujun. And I think it was out of a sense of justice that she shared the reward money with Shujun as well.
Yang Shujun
Shujun was Zhou’s wife. When Aiai first met her, she seemed to still be a bit angry with Zhou, for good reason. He hadn’t contacted home at all, and Shujun was raising their child alone. Add to that the fact that she was being tailed by the cops.
However, Shujun did agree to meet Zhou, and I think it’s because a part of her does still love him. After all, they were married. When Huahua and Aiai tried to get her to turn Zhou in, she was reluctant, obviously worried for his safety. Then, she had an epileptic shock.
Captain Liu came to Shujun’s house with a warrant to search her home. That was the last we saw of her, until the very end, when she reunited with Aiai, only friendly terms.
I think Shujun did love Zhou, but all of that was irrelevant in the pickle that Zhou had gotten himself into if she wanted both Zhou and their son to be safe. There was also not a lot that she could do to help Zhou since she was under heavy surveillance by the police. I think that Shujun also appreciated Aiai’s friendship, because she was the only person who could understand her situation, having an acquaintanceship with Zhou.
Captain Liu
Captain Liu was a minor character in this movie. As a plot device, he represented the police force. He really only became more of a character towards the end of the movie, namely after Zhou was shot. He showed distaste at the other officers taking pictures with Zhou’s corpse. He chaperoned Aiai to and from getting the reward money and made some small talk. Aiai told him that she would plan to open a small business with the reward money. Captain Liu followed Aiai as she left his car, and watched her meet with Shujun, though he didn’t say anything.
My guess is that Captain Liu was supposed to shine a more humane light on the situation with his distaste at some of the police actions. I think he was meant to realize that Zhou, Aiai, and Shujun were all people who were trying to get by. But that’s kind of ironic considering he also used heavy handed methods to investigate, like the warrant for Shujun’s house.
Themes
Honestly I don’t think I understand this movie enough to be able to point out themes. This was as far as I got.
Guns
The first time I considered guns as a theme was when we saw guns handled in different contexts among the motorcycle thieves and among the cops. The crony had used the gun very flippantly to shoot someone he’d simply gotten into an argument with. And later, Zhou also used the gun flippantly, killing a police officer. On the other hand, the cops wanted to practise their shooting, to get the right target. But does that mean that the cops are more respectful in their killing? Not exactly.
After the crony was shot, Zhou agreed to pay the medical costs. However, the rival gang was still after his blood, wanting revenge.
As for the cops, they shot Zhou, but what did his family get in return? Technically nothing. His death was punishment for killing a cop. It was only because Aiai shared the money with Shujun that Zhou’s family got anything.
Justice
This is again a comparison between the thieves and the cops. For the thieves, their idea of justice was more physical/violent. Since a member of the rival gang was shot, they were seeking equal punishment, shooting at Zhou’s gang. When unsuccessful, they continued to seek out Zhou, going so far as to intending to kill him first before getting the reward.
For the cops, technically the justice system was the justice, but in the end, did their form of justice differ from the thieves? They still killed Zhou. It was just that they managed to get revenge for the dead cop, while the rival gang did not get revenge for their injured member.
Overall
It was an alright crime movie. Now that I’m writing about it, I feel like I possibly didn’t get it ☹ But at least I can agree that its visual style was interesting and worth checking out.
Spoilers.
Story
Zhou Zenong was a motorcycle thief, and somewhat of a leader. One of his cronies shot the crony of another gang. In retaliation, Zhou Zenong shot back, but accidentally shot and killed a police officer. Then he went into hiding.
Zhou was supposed to meet his wife Yang Shujun, but instead, he was met by Liu Aiai. She was a prostitute, working under Huahua. She told him that Shujun couldn’t meet Zhou.
The cops put in a full effort to look for Zhou. They also put up a reward of 300,000 yuan. Zhou wanted his wife to turn him in so that she and their son could get the money. However, she was under police surveillance and was afraid that meeting him would get him in further trouble.
The rival gang also wanted to get the money, so they tried to kidnap him. Zhou was able to escape, though he was injured in the process. Zhou believed that Aiai had also betrayed him, and he tracked her down, though she never confirmed that she had. While they were together, the cops tracked down Zhou. Zhou tried to escape, but he was shot dead.
In the end, Liu Aiai got the reward money, which she would share with Yang Shujun.
The story was fairly straightforward, but this kind of story is not a whodunit, just a story where we’re supposed to watch our characters work through their problems the only ways they know how. It was fine as a story. I wouldn’t say I was overly impressed with it. But a good story is good.
Production
As I mentioned, I think the draw here was the visual style. One of the first things that popped out to me was the deliberate lighting and colour choices, that definitely contributed to the overall style of the movie.
I was also very drawn to the way the director set up certain scenes. There were several scenes with meetings or big crowds of people and they were rather evocative of one another. For example, one of the first scenes was the meeting with the motorcycle thief gangs. They were seated all in a cluster watching the demonstration at the front of the room. It devolved into a gunfight. A little while later, we had a meeting among the police officers, where they were also sitting in a cluster watching the demonstration at the front of the room. The meeting also ended with a discussion of guns, namely a police officer asking where they could practise their shooting. There was another scene towards the end when Aiai was running away from Zhou, where she ran into a meeting among workers. They were seated together, attention on Aiai, and it reminded me of the scenes before. I think this kind of set up really drew the audience’s attention towards the demonstration, because all of the other people on screen were watching them as well.
I thought the bathing beauties with their wide-brimmed hats was also kind of an evocative image. They were recognizable everywhere. I don’t know if the hats were meant to represent anything though.
The acting was good. No complaints.
Characters
Zhou Zenong
Zhou was the thief who was on the run. He became a major target because he had killed a police officer. He did seem to care for his family somewhat, wanting to escape with his wife, and then wanting her to get the reward money for their child. That being said, he seemed more of a guy who prioritized his pride. I think he lived more of the lone wolf life because he wasn’t a family man, he couldn’t love from up close. Shujun said that he hadn’t contacted them much (or at all). And towards the end of the movie, I felt that he let his anger get the better of him.
Again, I don’t doubt that Zhou probably did care at least a bit for his family, but he was not suited for family life and I think he knew that. It showed in the fact that he didn’t stay home, but also that the only way he really knew how to care for his family was to send them money.
This movie also mostly focused on his actions in the short term so he appeared to me like a more short-sighted person. Which is what I would have expected for a guy who would get involved in crime as their main line of business. He did not think of the long term repercussions of getting in a gunfight before he shot that gun.
Liu Aiai
Aiai was a prostitute, known as a ‘bathing beauty,’ whose pimp was Huahua. Aiai first met Zhou because Huahua had sent her to meet him, and it was her who sent him the news that his wife wouldn’t be meeting her. Afterwards, Aiai helped him find his wife. Zhou assumed that she did this for a cut of the money, and I think that was essentially correct.
Aiai went to find Shujun and in the process, she realized that Shujun was being followed. Despite Aiai assuring Shujun that there was nothing between her and Zhou, Aiai did have sexual relations with Zhou later in the movie, though the nature of that is murky considering Aiai’s line of work.
Towards the end, Zhou suspected Aiai of betraying him, though the rival gang implied that she was not connected to them either. He tracked her down and they had a meal, during which Zhou was arrested and killed.
I think Aiai did first approach Zhou because of the money (i.e. it was a job from Huahua). And it continued being because of the money when the 300,000 yuan rewards was posted. I hesitate to say that she befriended Zhou because Zhou was such an icy and prickly guy. But I think Aiai sympathized with Shujun. And I think it was out of a sense of justice that she shared the reward money with Shujun as well.
Yang Shujun
Shujun was Zhou’s wife. When Aiai first met her, she seemed to still be a bit angry with Zhou, for good reason. He hadn’t contacted home at all, and Shujun was raising their child alone. Add to that the fact that she was being tailed by the cops.
However, Shujun did agree to meet Zhou, and I think it’s because a part of her does still love him. After all, they were married. When Huahua and Aiai tried to get her to turn Zhou in, she was reluctant, obviously worried for his safety. Then, she had an epileptic shock.
Captain Liu came to Shujun’s house with a warrant to search her home. That was the last we saw of her, until the very end, when she reunited with Aiai, only friendly terms.
I think Shujun did love Zhou, but all of that was irrelevant in the pickle that Zhou had gotten himself into if she wanted both Zhou and their son to be safe. There was also not a lot that she could do to help Zhou since she was under heavy surveillance by the police. I think that Shujun also appreciated Aiai’s friendship, because she was the only person who could understand her situation, having an acquaintanceship with Zhou.
Captain Liu
Captain Liu was a minor character in this movie. As a plot device, he represented the police force. He really only became more of a character towards the end of the movie, namely after Zhou was shot. He showed distaste at the other officers taking pictures with Zhou’s corpse. He chaperoned Aiai to and from getting the reward money and made some small talk. Aiai told him that she would plan to open a small business with the reward money. Captain Liu followed Aiai as she left his car, and watched her meet with Shujun, though he didn’t say anything.
My guess is that Captain Liu was supposed to shine a more humane light on the situation with his distaste at some of the police actions. I think he was meant to realize that Zhou, Aiai, and Shujun were all people who were trying to get by. But that’s kind of ironic considering he also used heavy handed methods to investigate, like the warrant for Shujun’s house.
Themes
Honestly I don’t think I understand this movie enough to be able to point out themes. This was as far as I got.
Guns
The first time I considered guns as a theme was when we saw guns handled in different contexts among the motorcycle thieves and among the cops. The crony had used the gun very flippantly to shoot someone he’d simply gotten into an argument with. And later, Zhou also used the gun flippantly, killing a police officer. On the other hand, the cops wanted to practise their shooting, to get the right target. But does that mean that the cops are more respectful in their killing? Not exactly.
After the crony was shot, Zhou agreed to pay the medical costs. However, the rival gang was still after his blood, wanting revenge.
As for the cops, they shot Zhou, but what did his family get in return? Technically nothing. His death was punishment for killing a cop. It was only because Aiai shared the money with Shujun that Zhou’s family got anything.
Justice
This is again a comparison between the thieves and the cops. For the thieves, their idea of justice was more physical/violent. Since a member of the rival gang was shot, they were seeking equal punishment, shooting at Zhou’s gang. When unsuccessful, they continued to seek out Zhou, going so far as to intending to kill him first before getting the reward.
For the cops, technically the justice system was the justice, but in the end, did their form of justice differ from the thieves? They still killed Zhou. It was just that they managed to get revenge for the dead cop, while the rival gang did not get revenge for their injured member.
Overall
It was an alright crime movie. Now that I’m writing about it, I feel like I possibly didn’t get it ☹ But at least I can agree that its visual style was interesting and worth checking out.