‘Resurrection' Review: Is This an Endurance Test or Imaginative, Boundary-Defying Cinema? You Decide!
It is brutally unfair that Thierry Frémaux programmed 'Resurrection' on day ten of the Cannes Film Festival when we, the remaining press foot soldiers on the ground, are holding onto our critical faculties by a hair. To say that this film is impenetrable is an understatement. It feels for long stretches like the fourth film by Chinese experimentalist Bi Gan has been designed to lock us out of our own brains, forcing us to wade through the treacly sludge of bored incomprehension amidst the nagging suspicion that we are not so cineliterate after all. The film opens in a playful and straightforward manner, before launching into a digressive metatextual sprawl that I cannot in good faith claim to have grasped. In the absence of being able to confidently frame this film, all I can do is describe it and hope for the best.Gan lulls us into a false sense of familiarity with an opening built on flamboyant silent cinema techniques. Dramatic piano chords are stuck alongside sepia title cards that are pleasantly full of exclamation marks. Like in a Guy Maddin film!! These title cards describe a parallel universe where nobody dreams any more except for the fantomes. Dreams turn fantomes into monsters because holding onto illusions makes reality too painful. One fascinated woman is seeking the fantome hiding in the forgotten past in order to bring him into the future. Sure, why not. You gotta try that at least once.Resembling a cross between Nosferatu and Uncle Fester, the monster first appears with a tray of poppies at an opium bar. The woman shows him how ugly he is by compelling him to look into the mirrored surface of her eye. (Mean!) He flees in shame and she takes off after him through a German Expressionist film set, all shadows and angles and puffs of smoke. So far, so caper-tastic. As will be his fate across all mediums and timelines, the monster becomes bloodied and vulnerable. Not a natural caregiver, the woman carefully loads 35mm film into his head. Now we're in a film noir and the monster is a beautiful, baffled young man contending with some nasty scratches across his torso. This is where plot particulars become over-involved and difficult to parse. The monster is under investigation because he hurt a man in self defence. A suitcase holds significance. The lead detective is out for the monster's blood. In the absence of discernible narrative tracks, there is always the image. These are blue tinged, rainy, full of smoke and mirrors. In a stand-out scene, the detective shoots at the monster in a roomful of mirrors and only succeeds in shattering his reflections. Is this a reference to Orson Welles' 'The Lady from Shanghai' or am I reaching for a reference to regain my lost sense of authority as a film writer?Well, it's about to happen again.There is a flavour of Mark Cousins' 'The Story of Film' and Jean Luc Godard's 'Histoire Du Cinema' to this portmanteau of film eras and styles — with a few crucial distinctions. There is no narrator to steer and soothe our souls. And instead of clips from existing films, Gan has shot new material for 'Resurrection' in the style of the era they mimic. Furthermore the sequences he unfolds are not clips but long, involved, stories hinting at unknowable worlds beyond. We are dropped into something without the means to orientate ourselves or know what we should be seeking to understand.Before one can grapple with why everyone is against the monster in this timeline, now, for some reason two men are having a long conversation in the snow and one man has bashed out his tooth because it contains the spirit of the other. Does that sound right? What does this have to do with fantomers? Who is that small boy wearing a blindfold?It is not easy to say whether the turgid arcs within each micro story is a choice or an oversight. Bi Gan proves himself review proof. If you can't identify a film's intention how can you review whether it pulled them off or not? Is Bi Gan forcing us to confront and interrogate the desire to emotionally connect with film characters? Or has he simply not thought any of this through.It continues — oh how it continues. After spending an interminably long time with several men in a film aesthetic too bland to be pinned to a genre, we're in a neon drenched vampire story. There's a whole new gang that the camera seems intimate with — can they really all be strangers? Are we supposed to know them from another timeline? Does any of this matter?Back to the image. Violence is a constant. Bloodshed is a constant. Smoke and rain and loose ends are a constant. The brain wants to situate the images in a structure or find an internal pattern but all there is is chaos and there is no reality to root for. Is this a life without dreams? Was this Bi Gan's point all along? Is this impressive, boundary-pushing, experimental cinema or an endurance test with no internal logic where the chief pleasure is leaving the theater afterwards? Could it be both?
'Resurrection' premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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The film follows a doctor after he treats a small-time Yakuza injured in a gunfight. It stars Takashi Shimura and longtime Kurosawa collaborator Toshiro Mifune. It is a dark film that examines Japan's underworld through the lenses of alcoholism, tuberculosis and domestic abuse. It captures much of the melancholy of postwar Japan, and is a difficult film to watch, but also deeply beautiful. Here's where you can find Drunken Angel. A poster for Robert Siodmak's 1946 film noir "The Killers." The Killers is another beautiful example of the film noir genre that dominated the 1940s. It follows an insurance adjuster's investigation into the death of a boxer by hired guns. The film stars Edmond O'Brien, Ava Gardner, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene and Burt Lancaster, in his debut film. The film was a critical success, earning four Oscar nominations. The Killers has been called 'the Citizen Kane of noir,' and director Robert Siodmak, 'a master of the genre.' The film was based on an Earnest Hemingway story of the same name. Hemingway famously said of the film, "It is a good picture and the only good picture ever made of a story of mine." Here's where you can find The Killers. French actors Jean-Louis Barrault and Arletty on the set of "Les Enfants du Paradis." Les Enfants du Paradis has been called the 'French Gone with the Wind.' It is an epic about an actress pursued by four suitors: an actor, a criminal, a count and a mime. Directed by Marcel Carné, the film stars Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur, Marcel Herrand and Pierre Renoir. French director François Truffaut once said of the film, "I would give up all my films to have directed Les Enfants du Paradis.' The film also had an extremely interesting production. It was produced under wartime conditions in Vichy France and Occupied France. Due to Nazi-era laws about the length of films that could be shown, the film had to be made in two parts, and Jewish members of the production team, including the composer and designer, had to work on the film in secret. Here's where you can find Les Enfants du Paradis. Humphrey Bogart and Elisha Cook, Jr. pose for a publicity still for the Warner Bros film "The ... More Maltese Falcon' in 1941." The Maltese Falcon is another iconic film noir from the 1940s and is sometimes even cited as the first 'film noir.' It follows a San Francisco private investigator on the hunt for a jewel-encrusted statue of a falcon. It was the first feature-length film directed by John Huston and stars Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick and Sydney Greenstreet (in his first film role). The film was especially important for Bogart's career, as he would be cast again and again as hard-boiled detective types ala his role in The Maltese Falcon. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and was one of the first 25 films selected for preservation at the Library of Congress. Here's where you can find The Maltese Falcon. A scene from Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope." While Alfred Hitchcock's best films are arguably from the 1950s and '60s, he was prolific in the 1940s with films like 1940's Rebecca and 1941's Suspicion. One of his best from the decade is 1948's Rope. Rope is based on the 1929 play of the same name (which was said to be inspired by a real-life murder committed by Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb). The film stars James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger. The film follows two young men who try to commit the perfect murder and hide the body in a large chest before a dinner party. It is the first of Hitchcock's Technicolor films and the second to happen in a limited setting. The film happens in real time with long takes, making it extremely tense. It is a surprisingly experimental film, considering it is a star-studded production from a major director. The film is also notable for its gay subtext, and many have speculated that both the writer Arthur Laurents and star Dall were homosexual. Granger was bisexual and the long-term partner of producer Robert Calhoun. Here's where you can find Rope. Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in the film "Double Indemnity," directed by Billy Wilder, 1944. ... More Double Indemnity is one of the best film noirs ever made. From director Billy Wilder, the film follows an insurance salesman who hatches a plot with a woman to kill her husband and take the life insurance payout. The film stars Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson. The film was initially met with generally positive reviews; however, its long runtime and controversial content were often cited as drawbacks. Since its release, it has become a tentpole of the film noir genre. It was also nominated for seven Oscars. Here's where you can find Double Indemnity. A poster for George Cukor's 1940 romantic comedy "The Philadelphia Story." The Philadelphia Story is a classic romantic comedy about an heiress whose wedding weekend is interrupted by her controlling ex-husband and a flirtatious newspaperman. Directed by George Cukor, the film stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. The 1930s and 1940s saw many rom-coms about divorced couples getting back together due to the Hays Code banning the depiction of affairs in Hollywood films. The Philadelphia Story is easily one of the best examples of these kinds of comedies. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two: Best Actor (for Stewart) and Best Adapted Screenplay. It has a great script that is elevated by performances from some of the best actors of the 1940s. It is a must-watch for those who haven't seen it. Here's where you can find The Philadelphia Story. John Payne, Maureen O'Hara, Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood in "Miracle on 34th Street." Miracle on 34th Street is another classic Christmas movie. It follows a career woman who hires the real Santa Claus to work as a department store Santa at Macy's in New York City. Directed by George Seaton, the film stars Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. Miracle on 34th Street effectively combines a magical Christmas story with a romantic comedy, an anti-commercialism message and a courtroom drama. Miracle on 34th Street won three Oscars but lost Best Picture to Gentleman's Agreement. Although the film has been colorized and remade over the years, the original can't be beat. Here's where you can find Miracle on 34th Street. Late Spring is the first part of legendary Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu's "Noriko trilogy." The trilogy also includes 1951's Early Summer and 1953's Tokyo Story. While the films are unconnected in plot, they each feature actress Setsuko Hara as an unmarried woman named Noriko and the theme of women's lives in postwar Japan. Late Spring follows a woman and her widowed father as her aunt hatches a match-making plot. The film is a classic shomin-geki, a Japanese genre that focuses on ordinary characters and their daily lives. It is a quietly heartbreaking film. Roger Ebert said of the film in 2005, 'Late Spring tells a story that becomes sadder the more you think about it. There is a tension in the film between Noriko's smile and her feelings.' Here's where you can find Late Spring. Alida Valli and Joseph Cotten in "The Third Man." The Third Man is another noir masterpiece. The film follows an American pulp writer who travels to early Cold War Vienna to visit a friend, only to discover that the friend died the day before under mysterious circumstances, prompting a twisting investigation. Directed by Carol Reed, the film stars Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles and Trevor Howard. The Third Man was nominated for three Oscars, winning Best Cinematography – Black and White. The film's score is also iconic and performed on a zither by Anton Karas. The Third Man is a great first watch for anyone hoping to dip their toes into film noir. It is a wonderfully acted and visually interesting film that captures so much of what makes the genre great. Here's where you can find The Third Man. "Rome, Open City" lobbycard, 1945. Roberto Rossellini's Rome, Open City is more than a war drama. It is an iconic film in the history of Italian cinema. The film follows a resistance leader who is pursued by a German intelligence officer who is dead set on exposing the underground during the Nazi Occupation of Rome in 1944. The film stars Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero and Anna Magnani. World War II had destroyed the Italian film industry, and Rome, Open City represents a new era in Italy and Italian cinema. It wasn't well received by contemporary Italian audiences, who were looking for escapism rather than the realism offered by the Italian neorealist movement. However, it gained popularity abroad, winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay. Since its release, it has been heralded as a classic of world cinema. Here's where you can find Rome, Open City.. Veronica Lee and Joel McCrea in "Sullivan's Travels." Sullivan's Travels feels a bit like a hidden gem, which feels odd to say about a film preserved in the Library of Congress. The film is wonderful satire about Hollywood and filmmaking. Directed by Preston Sturges, the film stars Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake. Sullivan's Travels follows a director known for light comedies who leaves his comfortable life in search of inspiration for his next project, a film about suffering called 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' The film has a great message and a lot of heart, but more than that, it is really funny. It has impressively dense and fast jokes that largely still work 80 years later. Here's where you can find Sullivan's Travels. James Stewart and Donna Reed "It's a Wonderful Life." 'What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word, and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down.' If you have ever had the TV on in December, there is a good chance you have seen at least part of It's a Wonderful Life. It is a Christmas classic about a man who considers jumping off a bridge on Christmas Eve and the angel who has been sent to stop him. Directed by Frank Capra, it stars Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Even those who haven't seen it will likely be familiar with It's a Wonderful Life, given how often it is referenced in other media. However, it is usually remembered for just the final 20 minutes or so, and there is a lot more in its over 2-hour runtime: anti-capitalism, war and the American dream. The movie was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. However, it received mixed reviews, and some, including the FBI, thought it was too communist in its messaging. Here's where you can find It's a Wonderful Life. Moira Shearer performs a macabre ballet sequence from the film "The Red Shoes." The Red Shoes is a beautifully colored tragedy about a ballerina torn between love and her career. It is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name. The film stars Moira Shearer in her film debut and features other well-established ballet dancers such as Robert Helpmann, Léonide Massine and Ludmilla Tchérina. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, The Red Shoes is perhaps best remembered for its 17-minute ballet sequence, which blends the narrative of the film with that of the ballet it centers on. It was nominated for five Academy Awards. The Red Shoes later received a digital restoration by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The restoration corrected significant damage to the original negatives and was screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Here's where you can find The Red Shoes. Orson Welles in "Citizen Kane," 1941. Citizen Kane really is that good. The film has received a lot of hype over the years, but it lives up to it all. Even those who haven't seen this film probably have seen references made to it. The sweeping biographical drama follows a reporter tasked with discovering the meaning of a wealthy man's dying words. Directed by and starring Orson Welles, the film was controversial upon its release. The film's plot was loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. Welles was highly protective of the pre-release of the film, knowing that Hearst would take action against it. Many theaters refused to show the film, leading to a small box office. MGM's Louis B. Mayer even offered to pay RKO $842,000 in cash if the studio would destroy the negative and all prints of Citizen Kane. However, the film was saved and even nominated for nine Academy Awards. The film has a wonderful plot and message, but it is also notable for its technical advances, especially the extended use of deep focus (a technique where the fore, mid and background are all in sharp focus). Here's where you can find Citizen Kane. "The Bicycle Thief" lobbycard. Bicycle Thieves is an Italian classic. The neorealist film follows an impoverished father and son as they track down a stolen bicycle in postwar Rome. Directed by Vittorio De Sica, it stars Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola. Like most Italian neorealist films, Bicycle Thieves used non-professional actors, and it was both Maggiorani's and Staiola's first film. The Italian name of the film was Ladri di biciclette; however, it is also sometimes called The Bicycle Thief after Bosley Crowther mistranslated the name in a 1949 New York Times article. Whatever name it goes by, it is a profoundly influential film that appears on many Best Film lists. The film predates the Best International Feature Film Oscar but was awarded an Academy Honorary Award. Here's where you can find Bicycle Thieves. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman on the set of "Casablanca," directed by Michael Curtiz. 'We'll always have Paris.' Casablanca is an endlessly quotable and iconic film, even if no one ever actually says, 'Play it again, Sam." The film follows Rick, a nightclub owner whose life is complicated when he decides to help a leader of the Czechoslovak Resistance, Victor Laszlo, escape Morocco and the Nazis even though Laszlo is traveling with an old flame of Rick's, Ilsa Lund. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Casablanca stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Roger Ebert said of Casablanca, 'This is a movie that has transcended the ordinary categories. It has outlived the Bogart cult, survived the revival circuit, shrugged off those who would deface it with colorization, leaped across time to win audiences who were born decades after it was made.' Here's where you can find Casablanca. Bottom Line Whether you are a dedicated noir scholar or brand new to the films of the 1940s, you can't go wrong with these classic films. What Are Great Movies From the 1930s? Just like the 1940s, the 1930s produced many iconic films. When it comes to comedies, 1934's It Happened One Night is a must-watch. The rom-com follows an heiress who makes a deal with a newspaperman to escape her overbearing father. Directed by Frank Capra, it stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Fred Astaire did much of his best work in the 1930s for musical lovers. 1935's Top Hat stars Astaire and Ginger Rogers and follows a tap dancer who hopes to win over a beautiful woman. For fans of horror, the Universal Monster movies are classics of the 1930s. 1935's Bride of Frankenstein and 1931's Dracula are especially not to be missed. What Are Great 1940s Christmas Movies? Several great Christmas movies made this list. The highest-ranked was 1946's It's a Wonderful Life. The film follows the life of a man in the lead-up to a suicide attempt on Christmas Eve. Directed by Frank Capra, it stars James Stewart and Donna Reed. While it came up just shy of this list, The Shop Around the Corner is another 1940's Christmas classic. Also starring Stewart, it follows two shop workers who don't like each other in person but fall in love as pen pals. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, The Shop Around the Corner also stars Margaret Sullavan and Frank Morgan. What Are Great Black And White Movies Of The '40s? While some 1940s films were shot in Technicolor, the vast majority of films from the 1940s were made in black and white. It wouldn't be until the late 1960s when more films would be made in color than in black and white. Some of the best black and white films of the 1940s include classics like Casablanca, Citizen Kane and Bicycle Thieves. Most film noirs of the 1940s were also shot in black and white. Some 1940s have notably been colorized (including Christmas films like It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street). However, colorization often takes some of the beauty away from these old films. What Are Great 1940s Romance Movies? The Philadelphia Story is a great place to start for anyone interested in 1940s romance films. The 1940 film follows an heiress, her ex-husband and two reporters over a messy wedding weekend. Directed by George Cukor, the film stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Ruth Hussey. If you are looking for something a little less 'com' and a little more 'rom,' 1945's Brief Encounter is a must-watch. It is a masterclass in yearning. Directed by David Lean, the film follows two married people who meet by chance at a train station. It stars Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey and Cyril Raymond.
