The Orphan of Anyang

The Orphan of Anyang was one of the most pleasant surprises of the last Quinzaine des réalisateurs in Cannes. Practically from nowhere, with a film that was only completed at the last moment (in a Dutch film lab), Wang, the former assistant to Chen Kaige, is completely convincing with a gripping story.The film is set in the old Chinese city of Anyang in Henan province. A desperate prostitute from Manchuria in North East China leaves her newly born baby because she can no longer care for it. A factory worker who has just been sacked decides to look after the child, because of the few cents of child support that the mother promises him. Yet slowly something like a family emerges. A local pimp, who thinks he is probably the child’s father, displays an interest in the child when he hears that he himself has an incurable disease.Wang shot this realistic and moving story about the seamy side of Chinese society `in change’ according to the all too true cliché in beautiful long takes that are incredibly exciting. In his talent for composition, the use of amateur actors and the unusual soundtrack, Wang reveals his kinship to the cinema of Robert Bresson, Darezhan Omirbaev and Roberto Rossellini.