Saturday Fiction

Friday, April 22 - Thursday, May 19, 2022

The incomparable Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern) gives a mesmerizing, take-no-prisoners performance in SATURDAY FICTION, a slow-burn spy thriller set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai on the cusp of World War II. She plays acclaimed actress Jean Yu, who has returned to Shanghai after a long absence. Jean Yu is in rehearsals for a play to be directed by a former lover (Mark Chao), but she seems to have ulterior motives, functioning as a double agent and gathering intelligence for the Allies, including the fateful realization of Japan’s imminent attack on Pearl Harbor. Shooting in evocative black-and-white, director Lou Ye (Spring Fever, Suzhou River) has created here a gripping thriller that builds to a nerve-wracking climax, and which never loses sight of the human beings caught up in the gears of history.

“With bitter irony seething in his blend of kinetic camerawork and silky black-and-white tones, Lou borrows the form of historical drama to expose the corruption and the terror of a modern surveillance state.” – Richard Brody, New Yorker

• Country China
• Language In Mandarin, Japanese and French with English subtitles
• Year 2019
• Running Time 127 minutes
• Distributor Strand Releasing
• Director Lou Ye
• Cast Gong Li, Mark Chao, Joe Adagiri, Pascal Greggory, Tom Wlaschiha
• Accessibility Assistive Listening, T-Coil

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.