DEAD PIGS
Following the crisscrossing paths of several eccentric characters, this ensemble satire captures the outrageous showdown between tradition and modernity in rapidly developing Shanghai.
As a mysterious epidemic sweeps the nation’s porcine population, a parade of dead pigs floats down the Huangpu toward Shanghai. Already deep in debt to some unsavory characters, hapless pig farmer Old Wang (Yang Haoyu) turns to his sister Candy (Vivian Wu) when the epidemic leaves him with nothing. But Candy has plenty of her own problems. Put upon by greedy developers including ambitious American architect Sean (David Rysdahl), she’s determined to stay put in the family’s crumbling, ancestral home. Meanwhile, fabulously wealthy but disaffected socialite Xia Xia (Li Meng) falls for sensitive waiter Zhen (Mason Lee), but their starkly different backgrounds complicate their budding romance. With her feature debut, director Cathy Yan inventively interweaves these seemingly disparate stories, creating a complex, vibrant portrait of contemporary China in the process. Like the floating carcasses from which it gets its name, the film is a forceful reminder of the dangers that come with unchecked modernization. Boldly merging comedy, poignant drama, and thought-provoking satire, DEAD PIGS provides a deeply human perspective on life in one of China’s most bustling metropolises.
CAST: Vivian Wu, Mason Lee, Li Meng, Yang Haoyu
In Competition: Best Narrative Feature, First Feature Award
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