‘Resurrection' Review: Bi Gan's Dream Scenario Is The Perfect Cure For Insomnia
Bi Gan is certainly a stylist, and the film luxuriates in that, starting with a fabulous opening sequence that's rather let down by wordy, pretentious title cards that posit a world in which nobody dreams, and, as a result, they live forever. There are, however, holdouts; called 'fantasmers,' they refute the fakery of the 'real' world and prefer to live in fantasy, which leads to a short life expectancy (the film compares them to candles that do not burn and hence 'exist forever'). This is complicated by the introduction of 'The Big Others,' who police the fantasmers and 'keep time linear.' Yes, you read that correctly, no, it doesn't really make much sense, and, sadly, neither does it ever.
More from Deadline
Scarlett Johansson On Why The Script For Her Directorial Debut 'Eleanor The Great' Made Her Cry: 'It's About Forgiveness' – Cannes Cover Story
Cannes Film Festival 2025: Read All Of Deadline's Movie Reviews
Bi Gan's 'Resurrection' Hits Cannes With 7-Minute Ovation At World Premiere
The film begins with an extended prologue, in which a woman — named only as 'she,' and apparently a kind of Blade Runner figure — enters the dream realm in search of a fantasmer who lives in a what appears to be a spacious nuclear bunker. He looks like Nosferatu and is surrounded by other relics from silent cinema, like a big Georges Méliès moon. The woman captures him and releases him into the outside world with a very obvious refence to the Lumiere brothers' 1895 short The Sprinkler Sprinkled. From here, we're off to the races, with a series of extended tableaux that offer diminishing returns.
RELATED: CANNES HUB / Photos, Cannes Studio & More
The first is the most promising, a weird meta gangster/serial killer thriller, in which the fantasmer is chased by the police for a random murder. It involves mirrors, a theremin, the music of J.S. Bach and a suitcase that can end war. While completely baffling, it has an otherworldly charm that is utterly missing from the next sequence, in which a man clearing a temple comes face to face with his toothache ('The spirit of bitterness') that seems to have erupted from a stone Buddha. Next up is a con-man story, in which a card shark befriends an abandoned young girl and trains her in deception to fleece an old man. Finally, we have New Year's Eve 1999, and a young couple who are waiting for the end of the world. The girl might be a vampire, and — who knows? — she may well be.
RELATED: 'Sound Of Falling' Review: Mascha Schilinski's Superb Feature Is A Masterclass In Ethereal, Unnerving Brilliance – Cannes Film Festival
While the visuals are endlessly inventive, the narrative is simply just endless; none of these vignettes seem have any plot or resolution whatsoever, which is certainly cool as a concept but not so much fun to watch. Themes bubble up, but they almost instantly disappear; there are nods to film noir (including an explicit reference to Jean-Pierre Melville's The Samurai); the card-grift sequence seems to channel both Paper Moon and Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro; while the final stretch would appear to be an homage to Godard's famous maxim that 'all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun.'
This could all be pie in the sky, and it probably is, but it's likely that Bi Gan doesn't really have anything that specific in mind, since the film is constantly in dialogue with the viewer, talking to us directly. In that respect, Resurrection (whatever that title really means) is oddly liberating, being a film that — it would appear — operates on dream logic and leaves interpretation up to the individual. It would be nice, though, to be thrown a bone once in a while. Bi Gan seems to know this and rubs it in right at the end with a joke about the film's 155-minute running time, which seems to the fantasmer — as the narrator says — to last 100 years. As the old saying goes, many a true word…
Title: ResurrectionFestival: Cannes (Competition)Director-screenwriter: Bi GanCast: Yee Jackson, Shu Qi, Yan NanSales agent: Les Filmes Du LosangesRunning time: 2 hr 35 mins
Best of Deadline
Broadway's 2024-2025 Season: All Of Deadline's Reviews
Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Winners Through The Years
Deadline Studio At Sundance Film Festival Photo Gallery: Dylan O'Brien, Ayo Edebiri, Jennifer Lopez, Lily Gladstone, Benedict Cumberbatch & More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Elle
29 minutes ago
- Elle
Tina Knowles Writes Long Tribute to Beyoncé's ‘Talent and Hard Work'
THE RUNDOWN On Saturday, Tina Knowles shared a long tribute to her daughter, Beyoncé, posting some of her thoughts about the Renaissance singer's long career and how she reached her icon status. The caption accompanied a montage of Beyoncé's performances over the years from her childhood up to her recent Cowboy Carter tour. 'This is bittersweet! The reenactment of her speech and twirl,' Knowles wrote. 'Yes, her career has come full circle from that moment, when she won her first 'Peoples Workshop award' to her doing it on her sold out concert tour in Houston. She thanked her parents and Houston!' Knowles did not name any names, but as she continued, she seemed to allude to other stars of the industry who did not conduct themselves the way her daughter has in her eyes. 'As a Kid with big dreams, She made a commitment to work hard! Polish her craft, take vocal lessons, dance lessons, sacrifice, focus, train, and mind her own damn business and does not mess with anybody,' Knowles stated. 'She sticks close to her family. She never gossiped or put anybody else down, to make herself feel better.' She continued, 'She was inspired and respectful and paid homage to those great artists that came before her. She gave back to her community. She has never used someone else's name to get publicity or attention for herself. No one lives rent free in her head because she is obsessed with them or jealous of them.' The praise continued, with Knowles asserting that Beyoncé has always been supportive of others and unlikely to share negative comparisons or start feuds. 'She has also NEVER constantly criticized other's looks, talent, and character. Has never lied on, or started false rumors about others, has never started one-sided beefs with anyone, to get her name on mainstream media outlets or be relevant or in the current news,' Knowles added. 'She chose to rely on her talent and hard work and her own name. But if she has helped you stay relevant or to get your name in the press. I'm very happy she could help you. You're welcome! God bless You🙏🏽 Ps. if you haven't done any of these things, then this does not apply to you. But if the shoe fits, I'm sure we will be hearing from you.😆 10,9,8,7,6,5 ,4 ,3 ,2,1.'
Elle
an hour ago
- Elle
Zendaya and Tom Holland Share Sweet PDA on ‘Spider-Man' Set
THE RUNDOWN On Friday, pictures of Zendaya and Tom Holland in London on the set of Spider-Man: Brand New Day started circulating on social media, as the real-life couple enjoyed some time together in between takes. The photos showed the pair with their dog, Noon, walking together nearby the cemetery where Holland was filming a scene at the gravesite of Peter Parker's Aunt May, played by Marisa Tomei. Holland is wearing a number of different outfits, some of which appear to be costumes, but Zendaya was pictured in an off-white cardigan over a pale yellow button-down shirt. She paired it with wide-legged jeans and brown loafers. Her hair was in a loose updo with soft curls around her face. In some pictures, her five-carat engagement ring could be seen as she raised her hand to her face. In one photo, he appears to lean against her in a sweet moment of PDA. The two actors revealed their engagement in January at the 2025 Golden Globes when Zendaya could be seen wearing her ring. In addition to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Holland and Zendaya just worked on Christopher Nolan's upcoming film, The Odyssey. In a 2024 interview with Vanity Fair, Zendaya was asked about working alongside her future husband, and if it ever felt awkward. 'Not really,' she shared. 'It's actually strangely comfortable. It's like second nature, if anything. You feel extra safe with the person you're acting beside. I love working with him. He's so talented, and so passionate about what he does. He always gives things one thousand percent, even if he's absolutely worn down. I really appreciate that about him. It feels pretty normal. That's how we met. Literally, at a chemistry read.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jackie Chan Says New Hollywood Movies Lack Quality Because Studios Focus Too Much On Money: 'They're Not Filmmakers, They're Business Guys' — Locarno
Jackie Chan told a Q&A audience in Locarno that he believes the big Hollywood studios are stifling contemporary filmmaking with what he described as their obsession with money. 'I think the old movies are better than today,' Chan said. More from Deadline 'Nova '78' Review: William S. Burroughs Takes Center Stage In An Immersive, Arty New York Time Capsule - Locarno Film Festival Jackie Chan Fever Hits Locarno As Veteran Actor Accepts Honorary Award & Toasts To The Future: "I Can Still Fight" North And South Korea Are Reunified In Syeyoung Park's Locarno Competition Title 'The Fin' - First Trailer 'Right now, a lot of big studios, they're not filmmakers, they're business guys. They invest 40 million and think, 'How can I get it back?' And you can't go over. It's very difficult to make a good movie now.' Chan was speaking with Locarno head Giona Nazzaro this morning at a packed-out Q&A session, where he ran through his career credits, telling multiple lucid and highly entertaining stories about his start in the business, working in Hollywood, and how he completed many of his most dangerous stunts. The major throughline during the discussion was Chan's dedication to cinema craft, particularly how he worked to learn every role on a film's set, from stunt direction to acting and sound. Chan later joked that in Asian cinema, there were only two performers who had the same expansive skillset. 'In all of Asia, only two directors can do everything: the writing, directing, acting, stunt coordinating, stunt fighting, and editing. Only two,' he began. 'One is Sammo Hung, the second one is Jackie Chan.' The veteran Hong Kong actor later added: 'And I'm better because I know how to sing.' Chan continued to tell the audience in Locarno that he made a concerted effort to learn how to sing because he didn't see a future as only a stunt performer. Chan pointed specifically to his early appearances on late-night U.S. talk shows, where he was often asked to perform stunts or fight. 'I cannot do this forever. It's just so dangerous,' Chan recalled thinking. 'Whatever station I would go to, they ask me how to punch and kick. I thought, What should I do? I should learn how to sing. Then I started trying to learn how to sing.' Chan added that he quickly switched his professional goals to prioritize longevity and his working mantra was: 'I wanna be the Asian Robert De Niro.' However, Chan told the audience that in the early 2000s, he gave up on making Hollywood films because he was unable to connect with American audiences, and he disliked the quality of scripts he was being given. Chan added that he decided to try one more project before leaving the U.S. behind entirely, and it was his now-seminal buddy cop flick, Rush Hour. 'Rush Hour. It was the last try. If it doesn't succeed, then I finish,' Chan said, adding that the film's production wasn't perfect, with constraints on budget and smaller space for action sequences. But it was a start, he said. 'I think Rush Hour changed the culture,' Chan said. The veteran Hong Kong actor added that his career goal in Hollywood has always been to 'be a cross-cultural bridge between the US and China.' Chan was in Locarno this year to receive the festival's Pardo alla Carriera award for career achievement. His early directorial films, Project A and Police Story, screened at the festival. Locarno ends on August 16. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About Lady Gaga's 'Wednesday' Season 2 Role So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
