Theater Whore: Ash Is Purest White

Ash Is Purest White 9/10

Last week I saw Ash Is Purest White with Cam. This movie was great. Filmed over seventeen years from 2001 to 2017 but has an actual story unlike Boyhood. I'll never forgive that movie for being such garbage. Anyhoot, the good movie we saw was at the AFI festival. It is about a mobster, or jianghu as they call it, and his lady. Zhao Tao stars as Qiao and she is loving the night life with her dude and he has dreams of more money and power. Liao Fan plays Bin her boyfriend.

She supports her father who is falling apart while drinking and gambling and wants her and her dude to move onto better things or get rich. One night after partying Bin gets into an incredible fight in the streets and she stops it by firing a gun into the air. Guns are super illegal. She never turns on her dude and is ultra mega down as fuck. She ends up going to prison for five years and while her father visited once Bin never comes. He only got one year in prison and she took the fall for him but his ass has vanished. Even the old crew doesn't have anything to do with her and when she is released she ends up getting her shit stolen on the boat ride home.

While she is traveling you get to see how much China has changed over the year. I have never been there and have no intentions of going but seeing these nice hills suddenly become entire cities and buildings is crazy. She goes to find out where Bin is and gets the runaround by everyone until his punk ass finally shows up and can't even fess up to the fact that he is dating someone new and has moved on. Qiao is like “Okay, fucker. Look what I can do!” and sets herself up and becomes successful doing what he used to do. Years pass by and Bin arrives again this time crippled from a stroke and needing her help but not even being able to ask for it.

This movie is less of a gangster film and more of a love story. It was crazy watching these same actors change over almost two decades but this movie was so much more than just that gimmick. Trying to watch someone who had a dream life put on hold and then having it crushed and trying to rebuild while still holding onto a past that had moved on or became toxic. I enjoyed the pacing of this long movie and never felt bored. The acting was good and I loved the way it looked. The way it was filmed gave a great sense of the reactions people had to situations. There are actual funny and awkward moments. One thing I have noticed from watching so many films from other countries is that the air is not always going to be crammed an filled with talking and noise. Things are allowed to breathe. See this movie when you get the chance.

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