Dead Pigs

Dead Pigs presents a vibrantly sprawling socio-comic tableau in modern day Shanghai. The film interweaves the stories of five disparate characters who are all tied together by a strange and symbolic incident where thousands of dead pigs are found floating in the Huangpu River of Shanghai.

Among our cast of characters is an American architect named Sean Landry, played by David Rysdahl, who is trying to build a replica of a Spanish city in China and struggling to reconcile his ideals with the realities of real estate development in a foreign land. There's also Zazie Beetz, known for her roles in high-profile projects like Deadpool 2 and Atlanta, playing Angie, a Californian woman who moves to Shanghai and ends up working for a shady real estate company, oblivious to the locals' resentment towards land-grabbing developers.

We also meet Wang Zhen (Mason Lee), a pig farmer in the outskirts of Shanghai who is rocked by the sudden death of his entire stock of pigs. Zhen’s sister, Candy Wang (Vivian Wu) runs a fervently upheld old house salon scheduled for demolition as it sits on prime property. In between her salon appointments, Candy fights with the real estate developers, refusing to let go of her stubborn attachment to the building. Add Meng Li into the mix as Xia Xia, a spoiled rich girl who, following a car accident, finds herself on a soul-searching journey and winds up in the company of a busboy with dreams of becoming a star.

These seemingly disconnected characters provide different views of Shanghai’s changing landscape where old values are fast being wiped out by newly gained riches and rapid urbanization. These main characters interact in a swift blend of believability and dramatic metaphors, switching between emotional arcs and comic relief moments, beautifully reflecting the absurdity of life.

Director Cathy Yan uses these storylines to look at a rapidly changing, increasingly globalized Shanghai, carefully mirroring the city's concerns about its relationship with the past while developing toward the future, just as the characters struggle with their own identity issues amidst dramatic changes in their lives.

Through her deft abstract storytelling, Director Yan presents an intelligent, bittersweet, and sometimes comical dissertation of contemporary issues in Shanghai such as gentrification, the widening wealth gap, cultural assimilation, and modernization. All these themes are brought to life by a stellar cast who give thoroughly human and grounded performances.

A chat with the director revealed that her inspiration came from a real-life incident in 2013, of pigs found floating in the river which led her to interrogate the source, symbolisms, and consequences of this event. The floating pigs become an allegorical device, a symbol of rampant consumerism, and unregulated development, which Yan effectively uses to draw lines between her characters' lives.

The cinematography is beyond impressive, highlighting the natural beauty and grandeur of the Chinese landscape as well as the stark contrasts that come with development. Not to mention, wealthy Shanghai district districts full of newly erected skyscrapers contrasted with the old, almost dilapidated huts where rural characters live. Dead Pigs offers a panoramic view of Shanghai's transformation; at times awe-inspiring, at times melancholy and reflective.

The filmmaker's storytelling approach effectively conveys the enormity of the topic, successfully blending these stories with a balance of pathos and humour, tragedy, and farce. In conclusion, Dead Pigs is not just a story about a few people in a city, it's a metaphor for a changing world where development and globalization influence not only ways of living, but also ways of thinking and of being.

The movie is intriguing, thought-provoking, and visually gorgeous, making it an unmissable member within the catalog of contemporary world cinema. It's a testament to the undeniable talent and the bright future of director Cathy Yan. Dead Pigs captures the bizarre, messy and vivacious spirit of change, making it a highly enjoyable and exceptional watch.