Dislocation (1986)
Dir. Huang Jianxin
Lei-Lei Cinema presents Huang Jianxin’s Dislocation (1986), the first science fiction comedy filmed in China and a milestone of contemporary Chinese cinema. Serving as the second installment of Huang's "Avant-garde Trilogy" and a sister piece to The Black Cannon Incident, the film is a sharp, surrealist satire of 1980s bureaucracy and an eerily prescient exploration of artificial intelligence.
The story follows Zhao Shuxin (Lin Zifeng), a former engineer recently promoted to an executive role at a large corporation. Exasperated by an endless daily grind of soul-crushing paperwork, committees, and tedious meetings that keep him from his scientific research and personal life, Zhao decides to build a robot that perfectly clones his appearance and thoughts to attend meetings on his behalf. However, unexpected and comic events unfold when the robot begins to feel the exact same existential boredom as its creator and decides to rebel.
Relying purely on the creators' advanced imagination rather than dazzling special effects, Dislocation poses the ultimate question: will artificial intelligence replace humans? The film's bold visual style leaves a lasting impression, utilizing heavy black, white, red, and blue color blocking to construct a hyper-stylized, pop-modern world that reflects the contradictions and alienation of its characters.
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