A young widow working as a prison guard who also helps in the execution of female prisoners – a job she does with absolute dispassion – takes the night train to a neighboring town to a dating club to find a companion. She does find one, but what she does not know is that the man happens to be the husband of a prisoner who has been executed with her help for killing her rapist, seeking revenge...
This minimalist, atmospheric drama eschews the tropes of a thriller which it could have easily become to remark on the alienating conditions of Chinese citizens living under a repressive regime that does not hesitate to charge the relatives of executed victims for the expenses incurred during execution. NIGHT TRAIN (2007) is Dia Yi’nan’s second feature film and marks him out among the most outstanding directors to emerge from China in recent years with cult films like BLACK COAL, THIN ICE (2014), and THE WILD GOOSE LAKE (2019).
You can look up NIGHT TRAIN (2007, China) on MUBI.
Ranjan Das is a Mumbai based filmmaker & faculty.