Yang Chao's 'Crosscurrent' Is Beautiful, Breathtaking And Dull [AFI Fest Review]

The old ship drifts along the Yangtze as poetry drifts through the air. From Shanghai to the Three Gorges Dam it goes, the surrounding world shrouded in cold blue mist and open sky. This is Yang Chao’s “Crosscurrent” —it’s beautiful; it’s breathtaking; it’s oh-so-dull.

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“Crosscurrent” took ten years to complete, and is no doubt a passion project for the filmmaker. But it’s a passion project strangely lacking in passion. Gao Chun (Qin Hao) inherits his late father’s cargo ship, and reluctantly steps into the family business. As he sets off to deliver his latest shipment, he discovers a book of poetry in the bowels of the ship, supposedly written by a previous member of the crew.

crosscurrentThroughout his journey, Chun reads achingly melancholy verse —lines like “I detest hard, cruel faith/ The picturesque Yangtze/ And all certain love”— and dreams, and remembers. Chun is never at home on the water, and only truly comes alive when he sets foot on dry land and wanders, both physically and mentally. He encounters and makes love to the mysterious An Lu (Xin Zhilei), who then proceeds to haunt him through the rest of his journey.

At every port stop, Chun finds An waiting for him with a different identity. According to press notes for the film, she also supposedly grows younger each time he crosses her path, though the film itself never makes this distinction noticeable. Is she a ghost? A goddess? A metaphor? The film dares you to stick around and find out.

crosscurrent-2016Like the poetry Chun reads, “Crosscurrent” is melancholy and rather lovely. Cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bin captures the look of the film with stunning clarity, to the point that nearly every single shot could be mistaken for a painting. The sumptuous imagery is accentuated by An Wei’s mournful, driving, cello-based score, resulting in a haunting, hypnotic experience. Everything is in place for a film of elegant beauty and quiet reflection.

Yet “Crosscurrent” never rises above general ennui. It’s a film comprised entirely of heavy-handed metaphor and unexplored characters. It wants you to embark on a life-changing journey, yet has no interest in giving you a map to navigate your route. As a visual love-letter to the Yangtze River, “Crosscurrent” takes your breath away. As a narrative film, it’s all washed up. [B-]