Li Congxi’s Typical Vibe
2 films — measured, dark, intense, layered, gritty

Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Li Congxi has 2 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 2000s through the 2010s. 1 ranks in the Top 10%, led by Devils on the Doorstep.

During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?
Dir. Jiang Wen · With Jiang Wen, Jiang Hongbo, Teruyuki Kagawa

In the northern Chinese city of Manzhouli, they say there is an elephant that simply sits and ignores the world. Manzhouli becomes an obsession for the protagonists of this film, a longed-for escape from the downward spiral in which they find themselves.
Dir. Hu Bo · With Peng Yuchang, Wang Yuwen, Zhang Yu