''Journey to the West'' () is a 2014 French-Taiwanese film directed by
Tsai Ming-liang. The title is inspired by the
16th century Chinese literary classic of the same name. It had its world premiere at the ''Panorama'' section of the
64th Berlin International Film Festival
The 64th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 February 2014. Wes Anderson's film ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' opened the festival. British film director Ken Loach was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The Golden ...
in February 2014.
It is an entry in Tsai's "Walker series" of films.
Synopsis
The film content consists almost entirely of long, minimalist sequences showing a
Buddhist monk in
saffron robe walking very (almost imperceptibly) slowly — according to the
Zen ''kinhin'' (walking meditation) practice — through public spaces in
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, while passersby swarm around him. It begins, however, with a long, extreme closeup on the French actor
Denis Lavant
Denis Lavant (born 17 June 1961) is a French actor. He is known for his distinctive face and the physically demanding aspects of the roles he plays, which often involve slapstick, acrobatics or dance, as well as for his long-standing association w ...
, who is later seen again following behind the monk and matching his every move exactly.
Release
''Journey to the West'' is included among the "Extras" on the ''
Stray Dogs
A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of w ...
'' Blu-ray from
Cinema Guild.
References
External links
*
Films directed by Tsai Ming-liang
French drama films
Taiwanese drama films
2014 films
Films with screenplays by Tsai Ming-liang
2010s French films
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