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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Blind Shaft
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 15 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 4 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama | Foreign
Written by: Li Yang
Directed by: Li Yang
Release Date:
Theatrical: February 4, 2004
DVD: August 17, 2004
Running Time: 92 minutes, Color
Origin: China / Germany / Hong Kong
Language(s): Mandarin (with English subtitles)
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Li Yixiang, Wang Shuangbao, Wang Baoqiang, An Jing, Bao Zhenjiang, Sun Wei, Zhao Junzhi, and Wang Yining
This film tells the story of two itinerant Chinese miners who risk their lives under dangerous working conditions and develop questionable morals in order to survive. (Kino International)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site Film Forum Profile
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Village Voice J. Hoberman
Blind Shaft means to leave the viewer dazed, and it does.
Read Full Review >The New York Times A.O. Scott
Deftly swings to a spartan, engrossing climax, and the final twists spell out what the murderers are made of and the setting responsible for creating them. It is a true piece of film magic.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
A brilliantly spare and poignant tragicomedy that projects such savage self-criticism of China's "economic miracle" that the film has been banned at home.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
Powerful stuff from writer-director Li Yang that's both an uncompromising indictment of the human cost of China's evolving market economy and an nail-bitingly suspenseful thriller.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Blind Shaft, a well-acted and well-produced film, is a quiet though searing indictment of contemporary China.
Read Full Review >Variety Derek Elley
Has a low-key power that comes as much from its off-handed approach to the dark material as from any manipulative techniques.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Ellen Fox
The lead actors, Li Yixiang and Wang Shuangbao, are completely believable, sucking us into their casually cruel world.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Variously been described as a thriller, a muckraking exposé and even a satire -- and its refusal to fit neatly into a genre is only part of why it's so utterly disturbing.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Less striking for its storyline than for the world it presents -- a rural moonscape of coal-dust, casual environmental disaster, and atavistic behavior.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Set in the blue gray gloom of industrial China, this cunning noir focuses on two ruthless coal miners.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Slow going, but it provides an absorbing glimpse of a rarely seen side of Chinese life.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
A little slow for a crime story, and a little obvious with its anti-capitalism message.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mei gave it a 6:
Blind Shaft is in some ways a swipe at the wrenching changes taking place in China. But it doesn't go half way as far as it could and should. The focus on the criminal behaviour of two miners who kill to fraudulently obtain compensation from mine bosses arguably distracts from the real culprits: the owners of thousands of illegal mines in China with lax safety standards, and the local governments who are in cahoots with them. The real criminals in China are not poor miners trying to make a buck, but the exploitative miner owners who have been reported to cover up deaths caused by preventable accidents, and corrupt local officials preventing the truth to emerge. No one really thinks that miners typically murder unsuspecting colleagues, but it remains to be exposed to what extent the coal mining industry - which produces 70% of China's energy - is run by mafia gangs and local government crooks. Nevertheless, Blind Shaft is a cleverly made and at times funny film that ought to provide an insight into Chinese industry and provoke greater discussion.
Sylvia W. gave it a 7:
Disturbing. Well crafted. Interesting to see something realistic about China.
