Cities of last things - Movie Review

The story of a broken man going on a downward spiral. This movie starts at the lowest point in the life of Zhang Dong-ling an individual full of resentment that has decided to finally tie some lose ends on what we can barely call his life.

Did I liked the movie? No, Yes and Yes

Overall score: 6/10

From now on, there might be some spoilers on this post, if you don't care or if you have seen the movie you can keep reading.

This movies is divided on 3 main "Acts" or short stories, the same main character across the most important events of his life.

The first story we are presented with is a futuristic dystopia, one single night that is the culmination of a life full of resentment and regrets. This is my least favorite part, the character lacks depth to it's personality, mostly because the way this movie was built but mainly because this story is set in stone, there is no growth, we can only what what Zhang Dong-ling does and we don't really know why and he doesn't seem to care much either. The first episode could have been more meaningful if it were presented at the end of the movie but it would have been a very boring ending. The writer decided to put the worst part first and then move on.

The second story happens when the career of Zhang Dong-ling is just starting, full of hope and driven by what seems to be a strong moral code until things go south for him. Here he dies, or at least he wished he did.

The third and last episode is when he is just 17, things are hard and he needs money but at the bottom is still just a kid. Here he finds something he thought lost for so long just to lose it again.

The second and third story are the strongest ones, you can feel the focus in on the main character and his personal journey. The first episode feels rushed, and even after watching all the other two still feels like it's acting for no reason. He is cold and executed his plan carefully without hesitation, yet he is dominated by his rage a few times, which doesn't match at all.

If only we could delete the first 30 minutes of this movie, this would have been a very good movie.

The way the story is told reminded me of Cloud Atlas, but on smaller scale.