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Stonewalling (film)

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Stonewalling
Theatrical release poster
Chinese name
Chinese石門
Literal meaningstone gate
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinshí mén
Directed by
  • Huang Ji
  • Ryuji Otsuka
Written by
  • Huang Ji
  • Ryuji Otsuka
Produced byRyuji Otsuka[1]
StarringYao Honggui
CinematographyRyuji Otsuka
Edited by
Music byNg Chor Guan[1]
Production
company
YGP-FILM LLC[1]
Release date
  • 1 September 2022 (2022-09-01) (Venice)
Running time
148 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
Languages

Stonewalling (Chinese: 石門, romanized: shí mén, lit. 'stone gate') is a 2022 Japanese independent drama film written and directed by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka.[2] Although shot in China, the film is classified as a Japanese production. It is the third and final film in a trilogy that includes Egg and Stone (2012) and The Foolish Bird (2017), films which depict young womanhood in contemporary China. The film stars Yao Honggui, who also appeared in the first two films, as a young Chinese woman struggling with an unexpected pregnancy.

It had its world premiere in the Giornate degli Autori section at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 1 September 2022. It won Best Narrative Feature at the 60th Golden Horse Awards.

Plot

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Lynn is a 20-year-old woman in Changsha, capital of Hunan province. While balancing English classes with a training course to become a flight attendant. she struggles to find meaningful work. She is forced to scrape by through odd jobs in China's unreliable gig economy, including modeling cheap clothing and jewelry. She lives in a hotel with her boyfriend Zhang, an aspiring influencer on TikTok who earns a living hosting parties and modeling. While Lynn appears at ease with her local setting, Zhang has larger ambitions to leave altogether and move to the United Kingdom.

Lynn is simultaneously forced to send what little money she has left to her parents, who live back in her hometown, to help them with their mounting debt. Her mother owns a small private women's clinic of an ethically dubious nature. However, her mother's attention increasingly turns to a pyramid selling scheme selling "Vital Cream". When a medical malpractice in their clinic results in a patient's miscarriage, the family runs into financial trouble. To help her parents pay off the victim's compensation, Lynn contemplates selling her eggs on the black market. She then visits an illegal fertility clinic, where she discovers she is pregnant. Zhang demands that she have an abortion, but Lynn resists and lies to him instead. Lynn then decides to pause her studies in Changsha and leave her boyfriend, returning home to live in her parents' cramped apartment. Lynn conceives a plan to give birth and sell the baby to the young woman who suffered a miscarriage in exchange for dropping her malpractice suit and clearing up her mother's debt.

Cast

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  • Yao Honggui as Lynn[2]
  • Liu Long as Zhang[2]
  • Zilong Xiao[1]
  • Xiaoxiong Huang[1]
  • Liu Gang[3]

Production

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Background and development

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Husband-and-wife duo Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji are filmmakers based in Japan.[4] Stonewalling is the third and final film in a trilogy that includes Egg and Stone (2012) and The Foolish Bird (2017), films which depict the hardships and sexuality of young women in contemporary China.[5][4] Stonewalling focuses on the passage of time and changes in the body and mind of a young woman as depicted through pregnancy.[5] The film began as an artistic answer to a question the duo's daughter asked Huang: "Why did you give birth to me?" The film evolved over time and the ending was completely changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] It was produced by Otsuka through their own company Yellow-Green Pi.[7]

The film stars Yao Honggui, who also appeared in the first two films, and was tailored to reflect Honggui's own bodily experiences during production.[8] At the time of production, Honggui had moved from her home in rural Hunan to study at a university in the provincial capital, Changsha. Huang and Otsuka interviewed several young women in Changsha who similarly had moved from rural Hunan to study at a university in Changsha. Their research focused on the students' lifestyle, including their spending habits, financial security and their part-time work situation. The students were also questioned about their relationship with their parents and intimate partners.[5] Huang and Otsuka wanted to examine contemporary social phenomena in urban China, including the increasing gig economy and grey markets, with a spotlight on influencer culture on platforms such as TikTok and viral news stories about egg donation and surrogacy.[1][5][9] Similar to Honggui, the entire cast is composed of nonprofessional actors.[9]

Huang has explained that their motivation with Stonewalling was to bring attention to "the plight of young women who have not been blessed with a good education" and "their struggles in finding their place in a rapidly changing society."[9]

The film's title in Chinese translates to "stone gate". The English title was suggested to the directors by one of their student interviewees. Otsuka explained that the original title "feels too hard and cold. The verb in present continuous – "walling" – made the title softer. It corresponds with Lynn's state of mind and heart as she goes through changes."[5]

Filming

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Stonewalling was primarily shot in a small town in Hunan, in the clinic of Huang Ji's parents, who appear in the film as Lynn's parents.[8] The pair also shot scenes in Changsha to reflect Lynn's "adult circumstances and need for work".[9] The film was shot a small budget,[4] with a crew consisting of three people. The film was shot between 2019 and 2020 over the course of 10 months, which was a conscious choice on behalf of the directors to mimic the gestation period of a pregnancy.[9][8] The film took a total of three years to complete and was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] Otsuka also served as director of photography and production designer.[4] Although shot in China, the film is classified as a Japanese production.[10] Post-production was conducted outside China.[5]

Release

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Stonewalling was selected to be screened in the Giornate degli Autori section at the 79th Venice International Film Festival,[11] where it had its world premiere on 1 September 2022.[12]

It was also selected to be screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival,[13] where the film had its North American premiere on 12 September 2022. It was also selected in the Main Slate of the 60th New York Film Festival.[14] In September 2022, KimStim acquired the North American distribution rights.[3] KimStim released the film in a limited theatrical release in the United States beginning on 10 March 2023 at the Film at Lincoln Center.[15]

World sales are handled by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Collection (HKIFF Collection).[3]

Reception

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Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 8 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[17] The film was named one of the best movies of 2023 by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times.[18]

Accolades

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Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Golden Horse Awards 25 November 2023 Best Narrative Feature Stonewalling Won [19]
Best Film Editing Liao Ching-sung and Ryuji Otsuka Won
Best Director Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka Nominated [20]
Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Hong Kong International Film Festival 10 April 2023 Firebird Award – Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) Stonewalling Won [21]
Best Actress – Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) Yao Honggui and Xiaoxiong Huang Won
FIPRESCI Prize Stonewalling Won
Jeonju International Film Festival 3 May 2023 NETPAC Award Won [22][23]
New Horizons Film Festival 30 July 2023 Grand Prix Nominated [24]
Tokyo FILMeX 6 November 2022 Grand Prize Nominated [25]
Venice Film Festival 10 September 2022 Europa Cinemas Label Award – Giornate degli Autori Nominated [26]
World Film Festival of Bangkok 12 December 2022 Lotus Award for Best Film Stonewalling Nominated [27]
Special Jury Prize for Best Screenplay Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Stonewalling". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Dargis, Manohla (9 March 2023). "'Stonewalling' Review: A Young Woman's Exchange Value". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Shackleton, Liz (16 September 2022). "KimStim Acquires All North American Rights To Venice Title 'Stonewalling'". Deadline. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Wong, Sylvia (26 November 2023). "'Stonewalling' wins top prize at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards". Screen International. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Korbecka, Maja (May 2023). "Family as a Film Collective: An interview with Huang Ji and Ryûji Otsuka". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  6. ^ Saito, Stephen (9 March 2023). "Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka on Transcending Circumstances in "Stonewalling"". The Moveable Fest. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  7. ^ Shackleton, Liz (16 January 2018). "Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum unveils line-up of 25 projects". Screen International. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Korbecka, Maja (28 October 2022). "'Stonewalling' shows independent Chinese filmmaking is still kicking". The China Project. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Ma, Karen (25 May 2023). "Japan-China filmmaking duo captures the voices of the ignored". The Japan Times. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  10. ^ Shackleton, Liz (25 November 2023). "'Stonewalling' Wins Best Film At Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Venice 2022 preview: Critics' Week and Giornate Degli Autori highlights". Screen International. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  12. ^ "PROGRAMMA 2022". Giornate degli Autori. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  13. ^ Bergeson, Samantha (17 August 2022). "TIFF Unveils Contemporary World Cinema Lineup: 'Aftersun,' 'EO' Among Toronto Premieres". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. ^ Abbasov, Jasmine (9 August 2022). "60th New York Film Festival Main Slate Announced". Film at Lincoln Center. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Stonewalling". KimStim. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Stonewalling". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Stonewalling". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Best Movies of 2023". The New York Times. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  19. ^ Frater, Patrick (25 November 2023). "'Stonewalling' and 'Old Fox' Take Honors at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  20. ^ "台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival". Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  21. ^ Rosser, Michael (9 April 2023). "'Stonewalling', 'Totem' win top Hong Kong Firebird Awards". Screen International. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  22. ^ Wong, Silvia. "'There Is A Stone', 'From You' win top prizes at Jeonju film festival". Screen International. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema | 24th Jeonju International Film Festival – Korea : Festival Reports". Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  24. ^ "About the programme | mBank New Horizons". New Horizons International Film Festival. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Stonewalling". Tokyo FILMeX. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  26. ^ "STONEWALLING". Giornate degli Autori. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  27. ^ "15th World Film Festival of Bangkok wraps up with Apichatpong bagging Victor Award". The Nation Thailand. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
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