Bus 44
Bus 44 (simplified Chinese: 车四十四; traditional Chinese: 車四十四; pinyin: Chē Sì Shí Sì), written and directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng in 2001, is a short film starring Chinese actress Gong Beibi and Wu Chao. The film won awards at Venice Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and was invited to Cannes Film Festival; the first time a Chinese short film won in all three festivals' history.
Bus 44 | |
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Directed by | Dayyan Eng |
Written by | Dayyan Eng |
Starring | Gong Beibi Wu Chao Li Yixiang |
Cinematography | Sam Koa |
Edited by | Dayyan Eng |
Release date | 2001 |
Running time | Short: 11 min. |
Country | Hong Kong / U.S. |
Language | Mandarin |
Based on a true story, Bus 44 takes place on the outskirts of a small town and tells the story of a bus driver (Gong) and her passengers' encounter with highway robbers. "Bus 44" carries a universal theme that travels across all boundaries and societies, trespassing the dark side and bright side of human behavior. The film is adapted from a true story. The short film introduces a female driver driving a bus on a remote mountain road. A young man came up on the way. The two people had a good impression during the conversation. Encountered two gangsters on the bus. They got on the bus and robbed all the passengers' belongings. However, the gangsters did not stop for this, and they also pulled the female driver under the car and raped her. At the critical moment, all the passengers in the car thought "more is worse than less" and chose to remain indifferent. Only the guy went down to rescue the female driver, but he was also stabbed in the leg with a knife and beaten by the culprit. After that, the two gangsters drove away, and the traumatized female driver returned to the car, but drove the young man out of the bus and took the other passengers on the road. The young man had to get in another car to move on. Later, he found that there were many policemen in front of him. After asking, he learned that the female driver drove the bus down the cliff, and neither she nor the other passengers were spared.
Awards
- Special Jury Award - 2001 Venice Film Festival
- Jury Honorable Mention - 2002 Sundance Film Festival
- Directors' Fortnight - 2002 Cannes Film Festival
- Grand Jury Award - 2002 Florida Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2003 New York Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2002 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2002 Hong Kong International Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2002 Seattle International Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2002 Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2002 Edinburgh International Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2001 Pusan International Film Festival
- Official Selection - 2001 Gijon International Film Festival
External links
- Official website
- Che Si Shi Si at IMDb
- (in Chinese) Bus 44 Colordance page at the Wayback Machine
- Official "Bus 44" Site
- Dayyan Eng Biography & Filmography
- (in Chinese) Gong Beibi's Official Site