Review | Berlin 2023: The Shadowless Tower movie review – Chinese director Zhang Lu’s midlife drama is a gentle story of soul-searching
- Xin Baiqing stars as Gu Wentong, a middle-aged food critic and divorcee in a relationship with a photographer who is younger than him in Zhang Lu’s film
- Gu, who is estranged from his father after a shameful incident in their past, has to decide whether he wants to reunite in this slow-moving tale
3/5 stars
In a quiet corner of Beijing, a white pagoda looms large in the latest film from veteran Chinese director Zhang Lu (Yanagawa).
As the title hints, it casts no shadow whatever the time of day, and it’s frequently to be found in the background of the frames of this contemporary story about love, forgiveness, and parenthood. What does it symbolise? That isn’t obvious in a rather opaque film that only gradually reveals itself.
Unveiled in competition at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, The Shadowless Tower centres on Gu Wentong (Xin Baiqing), a middle-aged food critic who is divorced from the mother of his young daughter.
The lively child, Smiley, now lives with Gu’s sister and her husband. Gu, meanwhile, has become romantically involved with Ouyang (Huang Yao), a spirited – and much younger – photographer.
As this quirky relationship unfolds, we slowly learn more about the characters, in particular Gu’s aged father (Tian Zhuangzhuang), whom he hasn’t seen for years. There’s a shameful incident from the past that’s driven them apart.
