A barbed satire of urban Chinese culture and bureaucratic indifference, Old Stone is a Kafka-esque nightmare presented as a social realist drama. Taxi driver Lao Shi (which translates to both "old stone" and "honest") tries to do the right thing after a drunken passenger causes his taxi to hit a motorcycle rider: Lao reports the accident to the police and drives the hurt man to the hospital. But he winds up becoming responsible for the medical bills (he failed to follow proper procedures with the insurance company) and loses his savings, his wife, and eventually his moral equilibrium. Canadian-Chinese filmmaker Johnny Ma directs this surreal journey in a realistic manner, with Lao an honorable man in a callous society, although Ma also manufactures complications with inconsistent behavior, such as Lao not telling his wife until she notices their disappearing savings, and his neglecting to give key evidence to the police that could save him. Those inconsistencies aside, actor Chen Gang’s performance as Lao is quite affecting as he endures the indifference of the hospital, the insurance company, the police, and the wounded man’s family, who are all happy to let him shoulder the burden and want to wash their hands of any responsibility. It’s a compelling piece of social commentary, an effective psychological drama, a bitter comedy with a bleak punchline, and an interesting portrait of life in contemporary urban China, where everyone is looking for an angle. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Old Stone
Kino Lorber, 80 min., in Mandarin w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $34.99 Volume 33, Issue 3
Old Stone
Star Ratings
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