Dam Street (2005/First Run Features/Global Lens Collection DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: C     Film: B-

 

 

Li Yu’s Dam Street (2005) is now out on DVD as Yu’s hit Lost In Beijing also recently hit DVD.  This is all to say that he is potentially a major director on the rise worldwide and from these two films, I can see why.  In case you want to start with the recent film first, try this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6999/Lost+In+Beijing+(2007/New+Yorker

 

 

So what do we get in this film?  Another smart tale of hidden living in China circa 1983, this time beginning with a young lady who becomes accidentally pregnant!  The government makes an announcement that they are a moral disgrace, throws them out of school and she lands up having a miscarriage then told the dead child has been cremated, true or not.  Things pick up ten years later where she is a low paid performer of songs in creepy places and shows how trapped she is in a society that is a trap to being with.  Despite some predictability and minor down spots, this is a very good film and worth a good look.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is soft, flat, from what looks like an analog video master and has both poor depth and color.  Detail is a problem and yet, what is here is consistent.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mandarin & Sichuan Mono is compressed and with the picture proves this is an old source a few generations down.  Extras include a six-part piece about the Global Film Initiative, PDF discussion guide with director’s notes, bios, historical backgrounds & text on China, Global Lens Showcase and trailers for the 2007 picks.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo