4.5/5
原影評發于Letterboxd:
Keep Cool is undoubtedly one of the most underrated films of "modern China"—a concept encapsulating the era of booming urban development and enriching cultural life following the "Reform and Opening-up" (改革開放) of 1978.
Zhang Yimou captures this frenetic energy of modern Beijingers through his shaky, handheld camera. The film is a time capsule of images and objects that shaped contemporary China: from the early days of computers, KTVs, nightclubs and a legal system (the police) that are still existing, to things that have since sort of vanished, such as street vendors recycling junk, the use of paper money, and the raw, public madness (crimes and "psychopaths" in this film).
The film is also intrinsically hilarious. The dialogue in Mandarin is a masterclass in puns and witty citations (引經據典) with depths. The theatrical drama of the film, particularly the restaurant scene in the latter half, is such a landmark moment in Chinese cinematic history. It’s also fascinating to see how this film could sit at the transition between the Fifth Generation (Huang Jianxin, Chen Kaige, Jiang Wen) and the Sixth Generation (Jia Zhangke, Feng Xiaogang, Lou Ye) of Chinesedirectors.