This Chinese film doesn't quite fall into Tartovsky or even David Lynch territory ( actually it is more in keeping with Momento) but it is obtuse enough to even confound an arthouse crowd. For technical reasons, the german film Victoria also comes to mind, as it also is largely based on a single tracking shot.
The dream that winds around itself with constant references - in some respects it may be easier to follow with subtitles, as it is harder for text to slip by you - produces some very strong cinematography that is at first shot by shot, followed at the end by a single take from a very young director - but clearly experienced camera crew.
After returning home, a man searches for either a lover, or a friend, but we are already in a dream world either inhabiting the past, or reliving the past. People are often ciphers for other people in this mis-remembered past, where most objects reappear elsewhere almost like an adventure game. There isn't too much heavy metaphor - although a broken watch for being stuck in time is pretty silly - so like every film these days, you probably have to see it again to pick up on everything. Honey, apples, green things, red things, ping-pong, cells, tunnels, winter, summer, dilapidation, trucks - loads of things are connected to and through the past in a recurring dream that you know won't go anywhere.
The dream that winds around itself with constant references - in some respects it may be easier to follow with subtitles, as it is harder for text to slip by you - produces some very strong cinematography that is at first shot by shot, followed at the end by a single take from a very young director - but clearly experienced camera crew.
After returning home, a man searches for either a lover, or a friend, but we are already in a dream world either inhabiting the past, or reliving the past. People are often ciphers for other people in this mis-remembered past, where most objects reappear elsewhere almost like an adventure game. There isn't too much heavy metaphor - although a broken watch for being stuck in time is pretty silly - so like every film these days, you probably have to see it again to pick up on everything. Honey, apples, green things, red things, ping-pong, cells, tunnels, winter, summer, dilapidation, trucks - loads of things are connected to and through the past in a recurring dream that you know won't go anywhere.