One of Cannes’ buzziest titles––and by our count, among its best––is coming sooner than expected. Janus Films have set a December 12 theatrical premiere for Bi Gan’s Resurrection, which finds the director following Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey Into Night with a dizzyingly ambitious anthology starring Jackson Yee and Shu Qi. Ahead of this, a U.S. teaser has been unveiled.
As Zhuo-Ning Su said in our Cannes review, “With this collage-like format, Bi Gan is obviously breaking from the narrative structure of both Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. One could argue the impact of a continuous story is diffused by this change, but what he attempts to do here goes beyond building a single dreamscape; he’s also touching on the philosophical, existential subtext of dreams and treating the last 100 years of cinema as their chronicle. Through the film’s five parts (including prologue and epilogue), Bi showcases five distinct cinematic styles that confirm the silver screen has always been a portal for us to escape reality; and that, as creators and consumers of cinema, we are helping to keep the act of dreaming alive for our increasingly unimaginative species.”
Here’s the official synopsis: “In a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream, one creature remains entranced by the fading illusions of the dreamworld. This monster, adrift in reverie, clings to visions no one else can see—until a woman appears. Gifted with the rare power to perceive these illusions for what they truly are, she chooses to enter the monster’s dreams, determined to uncover the truth that lies hidden within.”
Watch the preview below: