A Fool

In his first venture as a director, actor Chen Jianbin channels the spirit of films like A Touch of Sin, No Man’s Land, and Black Coal, Thin Ice, presenting a gritty mainland noir where compassion and brutality, insanity and logic, avarice and humanity vie for supremacy, and the true fool may not be who you expect. The standout element is Chen’s remarkable portrayal of Latioazi, a straightforward and somewhat rough-around-the-edges goat farmer with a son in prison. When a young man with mental disabilities follows him home one day, it sparks a series of events that starkly reveal China’s class disparities. This unintended act of hesitant kindness attracts a host of strangers and con artists, all eager to strip Latioazi of his meager possessions.