The Pluto Moment

Dir. Zhang Ming. China. 2017, 110 mins. In Chinese with English subtitles. Original-language title: Ming Wang Xing Shi Re. With Wang Xuebing, Liu Dan, Zeng Meihuizi, Miya. Wang Zhun is a respected filmmaker who is struggling to finance projects that are not sure-fire hits in the mainstream marketplace. Buoyed by the possibility of governmental support, he travels from Shanghai to the deep mountains to start pre-production on the film The Pluto Moment, collecting folk songs with his savvy producer, a handsome young actor, a cinematographer, and a fixer. Strange dynamics start to take shape the deeper they travel into the woods, and the less certain they feel about the direction and purpose of their mission. Zhang Ming’s sleeper standout from Cannes Directors’ Fortnight is a consistently entertaining and deft piece of storytelling, critiquing the artistic process on macro and micro levels while remaining true to its complex characters. North American premiere.

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