A commercial short film co-presented by FIRST Film Festival and Vivo, revolves around the protagonist Zhuang Shu in director's previous TV mini-series "Why Try to Change Me Now", focusing on the northwestern small city of Qingcheng in the 1990s, telling the story of the unexpected encounter between two pairs of fathers and sons on the Spring Festival. This brief reunion made the children grow up a little. "Whether facing family responsibilities or facing the challenges of life, we are still led by the universal desire of 'dreaming'. Dreams are the instinct of existence and also guide us to our truest self." Director Zhang Dalei explained the meaning of the title.
There were too many irrelevant parts that could have been shortened, and too many characters that didn't advance the plot. Either way, some things didn't add up. This was just another played out plot with little, if any, originality in it. By the end of the film, I wasn't happy that she finally got her freedom, I was happy that it was finally over.
It's good for your film viewing needs, but isn’t going to shake your world. Demonic is trippy sci-fi fun, and that’s about it. And that's pretty cool.
One of THE most frustrating trends in the mainstream film industry over the last several decades has been the onset of comedy efforts that seem SO focused on being crude and/or gross-out in all ways possible. That, at least for me, makes them no longer funny.
The Night Doctor achieves telling an original story in which the pace accelerates progressively while supported by dark aesthetics.
That gut-wrenching feeling you have while watching it is okay but needed, and you, the viewer, will be okay.
