The Breaking Ice
Khoi Vinh

Review by Khoi Vinh Patron

The Breaking Ice 2023

★★★

Watched 12 May 2024

I liked this movie though in truth there's nothing in here that we haven’t seen many times before in many other expressions of mid-20s ennui. The clichés are all present: listless, vaguely suicidal singles who aren't particularly enthralled by their career prospects wander an unsympathetic town looking for cheap thrills and free flowing liquor. They even have a quasi-spiritual encounter with nature, though what it means, and whether it's really inspired or not, is open to question. Wait maybe I didn't like this movie very much after all? Or maybe I just liked the three leads, all of whom are extremely good looking—again, another cliché of the form. Actually probably what's most interesting about this movie is the way it surveys the contemporary landscape of northern China and particularly how it blends with its neighbors in North Korea.

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