The Shadowless Tower
2023 [CHINESE]
Action / Drama

Plot summary
Gu Wentong learns the whereabouts of his father, who lost contact with him more than 40 years ago. Encouraged by new friend, photographer Ouyang Wenhui, Gu Wentong decides to face his father and rebuild the long-lost father-son relationship.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB.x265Movie Reviews
Depressing tone, cliche characters
I liked it
I have seen two other movies by Zhang Lu, set in Korea, with Korean actors, and I felt dissatisfied to some extent with both of them. This is the one I liked best. I guess I resonate much more with the Chinese-ness of the characters. They are more relatable in a way, they make much more sense to me. I also liked the locales, the old houses and streets. It is a bloated movie, there are scenes that could've been cut, maybe a good half hour of it. But this resonated with me, I found myself interested and drawn to some of the characters and their stories. I liked Ouyang Wenhui the least probably, unlike Park So-dam's character in Ode to the Goose. But the rest of them I wanted to know more about. Even Gu's poor renter has a pretty good scene. His sister, daughter, brother-in-law, his ex, his old school friends, his dad, his mom. I wanted more time with them instead of semi-dreamscape passages but it's ok. I'm glad I had the patience for it.