In the Heat of the Sun (1994)
Directed by Jiang Wen
Jiang Wen is perhaps one of the most notable actor-director auteurs working today, equally known for his roles ranging from Red Sorghum to Rogue One as he is for his directorial work, particularly his Cannes Grand Prix-winning film Devils on the Doorstep. His debut, In the Heat of the Sun, showing in a sorely needed restoration, is a rather intriguing affair. Operating almost in a poetic realism mood, it captures a summer and change in the life of a boy delinquent (who bears a marked resemblance to the director) as he makes trouble with his friends and becomes intensely fixated on a slightly older girl. But Jiang distinguishes his film with a firm sense of setting, in the early stages of the Cultural Revolution, and an almost playful sense of reflexivity that makes this coming-of-age story genuinely unexpected and exciting. Ryan Swen (May 5, 9, 7:30pm at BAM’s Jiang Wen retrospective)
