An absurdist comedy built on little more than a sketch premise that quickly loses its novelty, the Chinese film Free and Easy is set in a deserted, decaying town that once supported factory work, where a scattered group of crooks, imbeciles, worriers, and corrupt cops mill about and have odd encounters. Co-writer and director Geng Jun, working with nonprofessional actors, sets up a series of vignettes in which his slow-moving, laconic characters end up in awkward confrontations. A soap salesman asks people to smell his fragrant product, which renders them unconscious and allows him to rob them. An alleged Buddhist monk offers talismans at ridiculous prices. A man who works for road and bridge authorities frets over a missing tree. And so on. Geng adopts a somewhat formalist take in terms of studied composition, but the effort only underscores the artificiality of the ghost town backdrop. In the end, the film is a bit of a slog with a few funny moments, but never really comes together. Optional. (T. Keogh)
Free and Easy
FilmRise, 99 min., in Mandarin w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95 Volume 32, Issue 6
Free and Easy
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