Our Lady of the Chinese Shop (2022)

Original title

Nossa Senhora da Loja do Chinês

Directed by

Ery Claver

Genre

drama film

Country

Angola

Runtime

1h 38m

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 3 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

The film follows a Chinese merchant in Luanda amid Angola's postcolonial landscape. It depicts everyday interactions that reveal subtle tensions around religion, imperialism, and national unease. The story mostly unfolds without dialogue, relying on images and quiet observation.

slow-burncerebralsomberpoeticdocumentary-styleunderstatedvisually strikingreserved

What happens

Our Lady of the Chinese Shop is a 2022 Angolan drama film written and directed by Ery Claver on his directorial feature film debut. The film was set in the backdrop of Luanda. The film storyline is based on the colonialism, imperialism, religion and national malaise. The film largely portrayed novice actors who were largely unknown in film fraternity but were praised for their authentic performances despite lack of interaction throughout the film. The director of the film decided to take a subtle dig at China's gawing influence over Angola through this film by portraying the story of a Chinese merchant's opportunism. The film was produced by Geração 80. However, the film was criticised for its slow phased screenplay, obscure plots and lack of dialogues but was praised for its visual storytelling and poetic narration with some critics calling the film similar to a documentary version. The film was screened as part of the First Feature Competition at the 2022 London Film Festival in October 2022. It was also screened in Red Sea Film Festival and at the Film Festival Gent. According to The Africa Report, it was ranked among top ten most notable African films of 2022. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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