Rent Blind Shaft (2003)
3.6 of 5 from 101 ratings
1h 29min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- The multiple award-winning thriller Blind Shaft was banned in its native China because of its scathing critique of the country's rural poverty. A fascinating tale of greed, murder and corrupted innocence, Blind Shaft is set in the illegal coal mines of Northern China, and tells the story of Song Jinming and Tang Zhaoyang, two conmen who plot the murder of a 16 year-old peasant boy who they befriend and take to work at the mine. Pretending the boy is a relative, they count on extorting money from the mine owner after the boy's "accidental" death. But the boy's innocence creates tension and unexpected twists in the pair's murderous scheme.
- Actors:
- Qiang Li, Baoqiang Wang, Shuangbao Wang, Jing Ai, Zhenjiang Bao, Sun Wei, Jun Zhao, Yining Wang, Li Cao, Yang Cao, Zhimei Dong, Changwen Jan, Yan Li, Zhenji Liu, Yongan Mao, Walhua Nie, Haiying Sun, Qincen Sun, Haiman Wu, Xin Xu
- Directors:
- Yang Li
- Writers:
- Yang Li
- Aka:
- Mang jing
- Studio:
- Optimum
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- Countries:
- China
- Awards:
2003 Berlinale Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution
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Reviews (1) of Blind Shaft
A unique take on serial killers. - Blind Shaft review by CP Customer
The plot of 'Blind Shaft' revolves around two Chinese conmen named Song and Yuan who come up with a murderous scam in which they recruit underprivileged young men to go and work with them as miners. They persuade a young man to pretend that he is related to them, and then while working in the mine kill him and make it look like an industrial mining accident. Threatening to report industrial negligence they then demand compensation from the boss of the mine in return for their silence. The two men then are free to head off to spend their ill-gotten gains, and then it's back to find a new recruit and a new mine. What separates 'Blind Shaft' from so many other serial killer stories is that Song and Yuan are not portrayed as blood thirsty psychopaths who are out for the thrill of the kill. These two killers simply view their acts of murder as part of their business and treat each death in the most matter of fact businesslike way imaginable and it's their utter disregard and indifference for human life that make them and their story so believable and disturbing.
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