Che si shi si (2001)

Director:

Dayyan Eng

Writer:

Dayyan Eng (written by)

Genre:

Short | Drama

Plot:

On the outskirts of a small town, a bus driver and her passengers encounter highway robbers. |

Plot Keywords:

Bus Driver | Bus | Passenger | Robbery | Based On True Story

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Beibi Gong	...	The Bus Driver
Chao Wu	...	The Young Man
Qiang Li	...	Short Bandit
Kui Zhou	...	Tall Bandit
Qing Sun	...	Policeman #1
Jianxin Zhang	...	Policeman #2

Also Known As:

Bus 44 (International: English title)

Runtime:

11 min

Country:

Hong Kong | USA

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Company:

Colordance Pictures

Trivia:

"Bus 44" was the first Chinese short film to win an award in the history of Venice Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. "Bus 44" was the first-ever Chinese short film to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival Directors' Fortnight.

A powerful (if predictable) rant against the bystander culture

A young man waits for a bus by the side of the road for 2 hours. He is picked up by a full bus being driven by a young woman. As he boards the bus he tries to hit on the driver without success and eventually sits down. The next stop sees the bus boarded by two bandits who will test the character of everyone on the bus.

Based on a true story – that legend makes this short all the more chilling for the fact that it may be partly true. The film looks at the bystander culture in society where we'll all stand by and not help someone who needs help. This is a warning that our lack of action may carry harsher consequences than actually trying to help.

The film starts all bright and breezy and takes a dark turn that is surprisingly brutal. The bystander approach is shocking but deep down I knew that part of me (and many others) may act the same way – self preservation and all that. This element makes it more of a fable than a story and adds to it's power. The ending is pretty predictable (I bet you can guess it from reading this) but it doesn't take away from the power of the tale.

The cast are all good whether the lead man and woman or the bus full of shut eyes and ears. The film looks good despite being written and made in a very short period of time in China. Overall this is powerful and gripping despite the short running time. While it may not go anywhere you don't expect it is still worth a watch and it carries a punch that will have you not only thinking but actually looking at yourself.