Luxury Car (Jiang cheng xia ri) (2006)

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(136 ratings)

A father searching for his long lost son in central China discovers that his daughter's glamorous lifestyle masks a dark secret that may provide clues to her elusive brother's whereabouts in this director Wang Chow's subdued tale of broken dreams and pensive yearning. Yan Hong (Tian Yuan) is a… More A father searching for his long lost son in central China discovers that his daughter's glamorous lifestyle masks a dark secret that may provide clues to her elusive brother's whereabouts in this director Wang Chow's subdued tale of broken dreams and pensive yearning. Yan Hong (Tian Yuan) is a pretty girl from rural China who has set out to seek her fortune in the bustling streets of Wuhan. When her father Li Qiming (Wu Youcai) arrives with word that his wife is suffering from uterine cancer and would like to see her son Xueqin once more before she dies, Yan Hong agrees to offers to put him up in an apartment she shares with local prostitute A Li (Li Li). Though her hectic schedule will not permit Yan Hong to assist her father in his search for Xueqin, the ageing schoolteacher eventually receives help from an ageing cop (Li Yiqing) who is in the waning days of a long career on the force. When Li discovers that Yan Hong is currently working as an escort at a local karaoke club, the impact of the saddening revelation is soon offset by the arrival of news that his son may now be residing in Shenzhen. Though Yan Hong's criminal boss He (Huang He) - who has recently impregnated the young escort - gracefully poses as her boyfriend in a bid to pay proper respect to the girl's soft spoken father, another local gangster (Wang Guoqiang) isn't so pleased that someone has come looking for Xueqin, and soon sets into motion a plan to ensure that the unsuspecting Li not live long enough to learn of his son's decidedly grim fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.
Directed By: Chao Wang
Written By: Chao Wang
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Nov 11, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Nov 17, 2009
Studio: Celluloid Dreams

Critic Reviews

Derek Elley, Variety
[Director] Wang Chao finally attains an almost perfect balance between style and content in Luxury Car, a tightly written and beautifully played drama centered on a karaoke bar escort girl and her elderly father who visits from the sticks.
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter
Predictable and narratively uninspired, this Un Certain Regard entrant is unlikely to generate interest beyond its homeland.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Among the crop of new market economy cinema in China, that tends to dwell not only on the journey across life, but through a damaged and baffling world as well.
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Among the crop of new market economy cinema in China, that tends to dwell not only on the journey across life, but through a damaged and baffling world as well.