Coming to Irish cinemas is Resurrection, a film that deals with the life of cinema through the lens of immortals and dreams. Director Bi Gan has constructed a fascinating world in Resurrection. Humanity is now immortal, however they’ve given up dreaming to achieve this wonder. There are, however, still those who wish to dream, the ‘Deliriants’. This group’s mere existence causes chaos to the very structure of the universe. To deal with them, a group of immortals dubbed ‘The Big Others’ hunts them down and kills them.
In Resurrection, we follow one particular Deliriant (Jackson Yee) and his journey after being captured by a Big Other (Shu Qi).
When reading the opening text, I had an assumption about this film, and I was completely wrong. What I thought I was getting was a war between immortals who had lost their humanity and a rebellious group of mortals trying to hold onto what possibly makes someone human. Instead, what I got from Resurrection was a poignant and moving story about the art of cinema and how this medium is made of our dreams.
A celebration
Resurrection is an experience, one that I likely won’t be able to replicate even if I were to watch it again. It is bizarre and beautiful. By having the film broken into 4 stories with the ‘Deliriant’ having a prologue and epilogue bookending it, I found myself enthralled by what was happening. The film tells the story of the ‘Deliriant’ by showcasing several stories through different genres of film. There is a noir story about a young man who is both reviled and revered because of his voice. There is a fable about a monk who defiles his old monastery and faces a spirit who tests him. My particular favourite was the third story about a pair of con artists, an older thug who uses a young girl to get money from a mobster.
It’s oddly sweet and sentimental, with tragedy laced through it. The final story of Resurrection was a bizarre one that ultimately helped me understand the film and its overall theme. The film is also a stunning piece of cinema, Bi Gan and cinematographer Dong Jingsong have crafted a beautiful multiverse. Seeing the multiple worlds within this film, each with their own distinct colour and mood is a treat. There are also several nods to films of the past, with the silent era of cinema starting off the film. Eagle-eyed fans of cinema will recognise these early on.
True escapism
The film is filled with talented actors, in particular Jackson Yee who plays several characters throughout the film. He has an incredible range and I appreciated him as the melancholic Qiu Moyun, as well as the rough and tumble romantic Apollo. I did brush up against the film’s “narrative” several times, however. With its dream premise, at times I felt lost, I would find my bearings eventually but getting on the same wavelength when entering a new section of Resurrection did take time some times.
Ultimately though, Resurrection is a brilliant film, one that reminds me of what can be achieved when an artist like Bi Gan is given a camera.
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