About
FILM INFORMATION
Film Title
Yu Zhen Tang
Year of Production
2021
Country of Production
China
Genre
Crime/Thriller/Drama
Keywords
Revenge/Fortune-telling/Chinese Aesthetics/Maiden Work
Running Time
10'56 min
Language
Chinese/English
Aspect Ratio
17:9
Shooting Format
Kinefinity MAVO LF, ProRes 4444XQ,
S35 4K 6:5 (4096×3432), 24.00fps
Sound Quality
5.1 Production
Screening Format
DCP
Production Company
RIYEL Production
SYNOPSIS
Logline
This is a film about revenge. A young lady is paranoid that a doctor at Yu Zhen Tang (a Chinese medical clinic) killed her mother and she embarks on a revenge plan to get the cowardly doctor into prison.
Long Synopsis
The superstitious story takes place in southern China in the late 20th century. Yu Zhen Tang is a famous local medical clinic. Anyone who visits the herb shop to get medicine seeks the prognosis of Mr. Wang (Jingwei He), as he is well-known for his ability to read people's fortunes accurately. Some people believe that if they follow his instructions, they can control their fate. However, one of his customers was reported dead on the night of the Lunar New Year. Yu Zhen Tang gets abrogated for being involved in a murder case.
On a dark and stormy night, when Mr. Wang is sitting in the shop during closed hours, a woman (Nanxi Song) knocks on the door and walks in. She asks Mr. Wang to read her fortune, but he declines. Her face reminds him of his deceased customer. The lady accuses him of driving her mother to death with the immortal herb he sold her. Mr. Wang denies her allegations. With a knife, she stabs herself in the chest. She reveals that she made a phone call before her visit. The police approach Yu Zhen Tang. Mr. Wang frantically hides her body in a storage room. A policeman (Wenchao Yu) enters and chases the alleged killer. The lady's vengeance succeeds as Mr. Wang gets arrested despite his attempt to run away.
DIRECTOR‘S STATEMENT
This short film is my first accomplishment as a director. Before this, I had been working as a producer in youth films. As I got deeper into producing, I have realized the greater importance of the director's mind. Therefore, I tried to approach filmmaking from a different perspective—for the short film Yu Zhen Tang I took a director's role for the first time. Throughout the spring of 2021, I fully committed myself to write the script. While revising the script, I built the team and the set for the film. After 13 versions within three months, the shooting began. This short film tells the story of a young woman who suspects that an elderly Chinese medicine doctor at the clinic Yu Zhen Tang murdered her mother and plans to take revenge by sending him to prison. I designed the film to be a pseudo-one-shot film with only three scenes. The first shot, 7 minutes long, spans the entire development of the story into climax. To ensure that the camera and the actors could move non-stop and accurately throughout the 7 minutes, I conducted many rehearsals with the actors and set cues for the camera. In the end, we were able to tell an exhilarating story through an experimentalist style.