“Taut, topical and terrifying. Wu is a tour de force in the title role…Florian Zinke’s slow-moving camerawork and Lim Giong’s haunting soundtrack help build the suspense that makes seeing Nina Wu a gripping experience.”
— Clarence Tsui, South China Morning Post
“Ke-Xi Wu turns in a rivetingly brittle, vulnerable performance, navigating
her own co-written script with absolute conviction, while Midi Z, formerly best known for works of social realism, luxuriates in ornamenting this psychodrama with hyperstylized noir flourishes. DP Florian Zinke’s color-blocked camerawork is sinuous and prowling….”
— Jessica Kiang, Variety
“The star of this psychological thriller, Ke-Xi Wu, is also the screenwriter…It’s clearly a personal work: Wu has drawn upon her own experiences as a young and vulnerable actress within the film and television industries for a story which gives a powerful account of the post-traumatic stress suffered
by the victims of powerful and unscrupulous industry insiders. “
Wendy Ide, Screen Daily
SYNOPSIS
After toiling for years in bit-parts, aspiring actress Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu, who also co-wrote the script based on her own personal experiences) finally gets her big break with a leading role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. The part, which calls for nudity and explicit sex scenes, is made all the more challenging thanks to the director’s unending belittlements. While seemingly on the brink of professional triumph, Nina’s psychological resolve begins to crack under the pressure. As she rushes to her childhood home following a family emergency, Nina begins suffering paranoid fantasies that a mysterious woman is stalking and attacking her. As Nina clings to memories of happier times, it seems that there is one crucial memory that she is repressing…
This sumptuous, stylized thriller, reminiscent of Mulholland Drive, Black Swan and other poison pen letters to the entertainment industry, is a “a vividly disorientating #metoo themed drama” (Screen Daily) anchored by Wu’s “ferocious, driven performance” (The Hollywood Reporter). It premiered at Cannes 2019 in the Un Certain Regard Competition.
This sumptuous, stylized thriller, reminiscent of Mulholland Drive, Black Swan and other poison pen letters to the entertainment industry, is a “a vividly disorientating #metoo themed drama” (Screen Daily) anchored by Wu’s “ferocious, driven performance” (The Hollywood Reporter). It premiered at Cannes 2019 in the Un Certain Regard Competition.
NINA WU (2019)
Directed by: Midi Z
Written by: Ke-Xi Wu, Midi Z
Screenplay by: Leslie Lee
Cast: Ke-Xi Wu, Yu-Hua Sung, Yu-Chiao Hsia, Ming-Shuai Shih
Produced by: Sheng-Wen Lin, Molly Fang, Claudia Tseng, Andi Lim
Director of Photography: Florian J.E. Sinke (BVK)
Genre: Thriller/Drama
RT: 103 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35: 1
Sound: Surround 5.1
Language: Taiwanese, Mandarin with English Subtitles
