Walking on the Wild Side – Lai Xiao Zi (2006)

Directed by: Han Jie | 89 minutes | drama, crime | Actors: Bai Paijiang, Guo Qiang, Hou Jing, Zhang Xingxing, Lu Jie, Tian Zhaoting

Director Han Jie drew inspiration from his own childhood memories for his first film. He always looked up to the big boys who dared everything he didn’t: playing mischief, getting drunk and hitting on girls. Han Jie also took the background against which this story is set from his own childhood: the almost anarchistic conditions at school, partly due to the desolate conditions in the Chinese mining regions. Mining companies spring up like mushrooms, but also disappear just as quickly, sometimes literally because they collapse because safety regulations are completely ignored.

In those circumstances, as a young student you have to meet the requirements for the ‘survival of the fittest’ at an early stage. At least Xiping, Liuliu and Erbao don’t seem to have a problem with that. They are at the top of the ‘food chain’ and if this threatens to be tampered with, they take the necessary measures. Likewise when Liuliu, a rather fat boy, is robbed of his truck and beaten up by a gang of boys led by one Xiaosi. After drinking courage, the three comrades set out in search of Xiaosi, in order to take revenge. The fact that Xiaosi is eventually ravaged in the school building is typical of the anarchic conditions that are also visible in Chinese society.

Once sober, the three boys realize that they have to (temporarily) run away, and they head for the city. During the journey, however, their friendship is put to the test, and all three are eventually left alone and destitute.
This makes ‘Walking on the Wild Side’ a pessimistic film, but above all a film that holds up a mirror to Chinese society. The consequences of the economic changes are not only positive: harsh and dangerous conditions in the mines and extreme poverty for families have their negative consequences for social relations: at school, in the family and in friendships and love. These things are shown in an unvarnished way in ‘Walking on the Wild Side’.

The fact that the film was made on a limited budget does not detract from this in general. On the contrary: the grayness of the region and the existence there are thus strikingly captured. ‘Walking on the Wild Side’ is an authentic movie.
One big downside is that the role of Liuliu is played by two actors. In some scenes, the fat boy is suddenly very skinny and can only be recognized by the same leather jacket. The sometimes somewhat mediocre acting also makes it clear that the film is somewhat amateurish. The role of Xiping, after all, the leading role, is excellently portrayed.

That ‘Walking on the Wild Side’ has won one of the Tiger Awards at the Rotterdam film festival in 2006 can be called surprising. It seems to be a (justified) reward for the daring and personal way in which director and screenwriter Han Jie has exposed sensitive aspects of Chinese society.