Popular reviews

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  Review by Jay D 's Watching ★★★

  high school dance team as universal struggle, gentle and heartbreaking

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  Review by Alfonso Morgan-Terrero ★★★★

  Mastery of the short form. Another superb character piece from Qiu Yang. We are grounded in her headspace during every single second. Nothing is wasteful. Everything is purposeful and there are no easy directorial choices here. This kind of filmmaking is very, very difficult to pull off and he does so marvelously.

  The meticulous, convicted direction conditions the viewer to take in all that is repressed within the stillness. It’s amazing how directly linked the character’s emotions and circumstances are to the pervading stillness of the camera in this film. If Hills Like White Elephants were to be adapted into a film, Qiu Yang should be entrusted with the job. We’d feel that iceberg for sure.

  Thanks for the rec James 🙏🏽

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  Review by Zach Nabors ★★★

  It’s a really good short film. I have just become so burned out on the pacing, framing and editing that Western European art house film festivals have made so pervasive over the past 20 years.

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  Review by Willy

  the closeup of her grandma clutching her hand as she tries to pull away during a serious convo.. am i the only one who has a mental checklist of stuff they tick off that's intimately relateable IRL, but you've never seen in film before?

  and speaking of never seen, glossy academy aspect ratio. chinese short.

  a young girl desperately tries anything she can think of to leave her acrobatic club. no one will let her. don't think i need to spell it out. though ontop of that the feminist message too. the actress is a unique face

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  Review by Matt Kingcroft 6

  Framing, pacing, and staging, oh my! Get this guy funding for a feature.

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  Review by jay sun ★★★★★

  “She Runs”, an exceptional short film directed by Cannes winner Qiu Yang. The layered script is thought-provoking itself and as it gradually built up to the core of the story, it creates a certain kind of atmosphere and tranquility that allows audience to feel straightforwardly. Very effective as a short.

  The close-up scene of the girl’s grandmother clutching the girl’s hand (and the girl retreated) is powerful and memorable.

  Mise-en-scene is masterful. It is as well cinematically charming and skilfully directed. Not to be missed.

  Why do we have to pay price for not doing something we don’t feel like doing?

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  Review by Darin R 🎬 🎥 ★★★

  I can relate, this was me with youth soccer. Let kids find their own passions.

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  Review by Sven ★★★★

  I wasn’t very convinced while watching Some Rain Must Fall at the Berlinale 2024. While I admired the formalism in Qiu Yang’s direction, I felt the narrative structure and pacing were too thin to hold up, leaving me thinking it might have worked better as a short. Fast forward almost a year later, where I finally have the chance to watch She Runs, one of his three shorts, which screened at Cannes in 2019. Here, we get another glimpse of Qiu Yang’s undeniable talent behind the camera.

  IMO, contemporary Chinese cinema is a shining example of formalism and how it’s used to paint a portrait of Chinese society. Qiu Yang fits squarely into this tradition. There’s no doubt he knows…

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  Review by sethbgvt ★★★★

  This short film along with another short film titled  A Gentle Night shows that director Qui Yang needs to make a feature length film. The stuff that is packed into both of these from an emotional, dramatic and cinematic standpoint clearly shows Yang’s talent.

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  Review by Luv ★★★★

  restrained storytelling

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  Review by jared ★★★★★

  She certainly ran

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  Review by Billie Badi

  Qiu Yang doesn't miss.