There is also Ma’s infusion of cinematic poetry throughout the story, with these gorgeous soft images of kites and nature over spoken verses in English that soothe your nerves. When you see the Tian and Song f*****g for the first time, it is part of a scenic landscape with them in a corner partially hidden by reeds. It pokes you in the eye yet seems to fit with the rest of the nature that they are a part of.
The detail of artistic imagery also applies to how the explicit sex scenes are composed. You get some highly unusual angles that subvert the expected frames for onscreen dalliance. It is similar to how Cassavettes used unconventional camera setups to shatter the movie mannerisms that are usually adhered to. Ma takes us into new tingly territory as she fully explores the high art of desire fulfilled in oh so many ways. White River is the sexual everything bagel with extra sexy cream cheese.
“…the sexual everything bagel with extra sexy cream cheese.”
Xu, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ma, takes his role of Fang, the husband, into the far reaches of intensity. Out of all of the characters, he is the most outwardly emotional in this turmoil. This is mainly because Fang keeps hidden, with only his privacy allowing him to express himself fully. Xu goes masochistic primal right in front of you, and it is fantastic. Song is the ultimate cool cat who strolls around acting like they could care less. It is this hard exterior shell that is part of what makes him so desirable to get down with. The way Song uses this emotional distance to express himself without dialogue is reminiscent of other great silent performances in film, just with less clothing.
Tian’s performance is beyond brave, sculpting raw emotion from her body and bringing the house down. She leads the audience to places they have never felt before, never loosening her grip. Tian wraps herself around your nervous system and gallops off with it. There are several close-ups of Tian’s reactions during the parade of intimacy that resonant like thunderclaps. By the clever plot structure that twins government repression with sexual repression, Tian breaks through both in spectacular fashion. White River echoes the taboo-breaking art films of the 1970s and is easily in the same class. In her first feature, Ma strikes a unique tone with a movie as beautiful and fragile as an orchid that will also f**k your breath away.
"…echoes the taboo breaking art films of the 1970s and is easily in the same class"
