There was a strong wave of independent and incredible arthouse cinema that came out of nowhere during the 2010s, primarily from an unexpected Mainland China. These films were focused on various aspects of life within China, often roaming around the industrial zones, within the chaotic small cities coated in snow and harsh rains. Perfect locations for crime dramas that explored broken characters within even more broken surroundings. I absolutely loved discovering these films, and that itch remains as it appears most of those directors simply disappeared. Some became propaganda pieces for the government and made Covid related films that showcased the strength of the nation during its difficult time, others just sort of fell off and haven't made anything since. Bi Gan coming back with Resurrection sometime this year after quite a hiatus from directing. Though Dong Yue is a director that came and went, again one of those propaganda pieces for the Chinese government after making quite a name for himself with The Looming Storm. And this film remains one of my favourites.
Primarily for its directing style, one that heavily influenced me and my photography pursuits. Finding fascination in unlikely settings to tell stories where otherwise they are neglected. Remote locations being the centrepiece for horrific crimes that go unsolved. Reminding me quite a bit of Korea's Memories of Murder film which remains one of the more powerful films of Asian cinema to this date. We tend to think of remote areas as generally safer, with cities being where the crime is. Dong Yue's directing relied on very wide angle focal lengths but still utilised depth within them, sometimes shooting a bit more wide open and having characters interact with the foreground and background. Other times, more depth within the shot to tell the story of the environment, one dark and polluted. A place that certainly would be compared with death and decay by the more natural means. Where large pipes and smoke stacks scatter across the landscape.
Its narrative is one that explores that rural anxiety, however. Where the suspicion arises given the clear evidence that the killer is someone within the area, likely working in one of the main factories. And through this the story explores a more obsessive protagonist as he begins to lose his own sanity constantly chasing people and seeing things in the heavy downpours that mask the small city both in night and day. Solving this killing spree also becoming his identity, and this is something that comes into question much earlier in the film when he meets a woman that directly asks him what his ambitions are, and whether he has any intent on doing something with his life; to his defence, claiming that he's content. Though clearly not. I liked that there's this hidden figure running around performing the killings, and we see very little of what's going on in that sense. To the point where our own protagonist chases someone through a factory, dressed almost identically as him throughout the film. No clear indications to signify someone that stands out.
Again, from a directing and cinematography perspective, everything is built around this depressing, dark landscape. Set in the late 1990s, the film really holds that look of tech slowly growing but the decay and economic struggles that come with constant attempts at industrialism. Where the victims aren't just those killed, but those struggling to survive in such an environment in the first place. And this is where we see what the film is truly about; not the killings and solving them. Not the developments of the protagonist himself, but more a film that speaks on the changing landscapes of China, and how those in such areas only know of the suffering. The killing being more a reason for our protagonist to end up in such an environment and start seeing it for himself.
It may be a bit of a confusing film in some regards. But it's one that is truly unique, and no surprise that there aren't a whole lot of films that came about after it in a similar style. After all, such films were still critical of the government and how things were performing even in the past. Some managed to skip by censors by only releasing abroad, others had big changes to their stories. But the main message still gets across. The Looming Storm really is about a looming storm, one that brings over socio-economic struggle. The changes of culture and ideology. The loss of colour in life in pursuit of something new.