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      Blind Shaft

      Released Mar 6, 2004 1 hr. 32 min. Drama List
      95% 40 Reviews Tomatometer 86% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score Song Jinming (Qiang Li) and Tang Zhaoyang (Wang Shuangbao) work for low wages in rural China's desolate and claustrophobic mines. They've concocted a scheme to make extra money, though: They pretend a fellow employee is their family member, murder him, then pass the death off as an accident and run away with the settlement. Their next target is green teenage boy Yuan Fengming (Wang Baoqiang), who is eager to tag along. However, Song becomes close with Yuan, and the operation is jeopardized. Read More Read Less
      Blind Shaft

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      Critics Consensus

      A taut, biting critique on the new economic conditions in China.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member outstanding realistic movie, telling a grisly money make story in developing China, which is my hometown. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member The last great Chinese movie I saw. Very funny and realistic depiction of modern China, with that hilarious line, "Okay, we'll first get him laid, then we'll kill him." Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Part a jarring depiction of harsh realities of modern-day China, part a thriller, this movie is very effective in its minimalist style. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member This morality tale flows with good speed and characterizations leading to a conclusion that seems appropriate. Great story telling. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member I thought this film was a very dramatic and shocking social drama! In Northwest China, there are many mining facilities and some of the most shocking things in the world occur there! What happened in the film was one of them! I enjoyed this film even though it had no soundtrack! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review razvan p characters are underdeveloped , other than that its great Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Blind Shaft

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      Critics Reviews

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      J. R. Jones Chicago Reader This cunning noir focuses on two ruthless coal miners who drift from one illegal mine to another, working the perfect scam... Jun 29, 2022 Full Review Neil Norman London Evening Standard The twisted tale, told with black and bitter humour and robust language, reaches a conclusion of tortured and wholly satisfying irony. Jan 11, 2018 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 4/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Mang jing is not the end-all and be-all of filmmaking, but it is a sharp-eyed, truthful work done with compassion. Where is the European, North American, Japanese or Australian equivalent? Feb 16, 2021 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) As a thriller, it's a pretty solid affair -- and there's no getting away from how unsettling the tone is. Rated: 4/5 May 12, 2010 Full Review Maria Garcia Film Journal International An auspicious first feature; although relentlessly benighted, it is nevertheless beautifully filmed and well-acted. Mar 1, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Song Jinming (Qiang Li) and Tang Zhaoyang (Wang Shuangbao) work for low wages in rural China's desolate and claustrophobic mines. They've concocted a scheme to make extra money, though: They pretend a fellow employee is their family member, murder him, then pass the death off as an accident and run away with the settlement. Their next target is green teenage boy Yuan Fengming (Wang Baoqiang), who is eager to tag along. However, Song becomes close with Yuan, and the operation is jeopardized.
      Director
      Yang Li
      Screenwriter
      Yang Li
      Distributor
      Kino Pictures
      Production Co
      Tag Spledour and Films Limited
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      Chinese
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Mar 6, 2004, Wide
      Release Date (DVD)
      Jun 11, 2007
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $33.3K