A striking debut from China’s Qiu Sheng, Suburban Birds is a tantalizing mystery and a bittersweet coming-of-age story rolled into one.
Hao is part of a team of young engineers called in to investigate a mysterious series of craters that have opened up on the edge of the city. Meanwhile, another story is taking place in the same suburban landscape. A younger boy, also named Hao, spends long afternoons playing with friends and making mischief until one-by-one, his playmates start to disappear.
China | 118 min
Coming Soon: ASH IS PUREST WHITE At once a smart rumination on love and a 21st century, feminist take on the gangster film, written and directed by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke
Critics Pick! Qiu shows remarkable facility as he patiently adds layer upon layer to a mystery that wants to stay one. This is not a puzzle film, but its ends are elusive. Its observations on the expanding cityscapes of China recall the work of Jia Zhangke (Ash Is Purest White), while its near-mystical quietude has accents one recognizes in the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul. But Sheng is also very clearly his own artist, and this movie is an assured debut. -The New York Times
Suburban Birds feels like an arthouse “Stand By Me,” doubling as a cultural fever dream. -The Playlist
Friday May 31
Suburban Birds – 5:30 IU Fine Arts Theater
3 Faces – 7pm IU Global & International
Wedding in Galilee – 8pm IU Fine Arts Theater
Sat, June 1
Suburban Birds – 5:30 IU Fine Arts Theater – Upstairs
3 Faces – 7pm IU Fine Arts Downstairs
Wedding in Galilee – 8pm IU Fine Arts Theater – Upstairs
Sunday, June 2 at Bear’s Place
Suburban Birds – 5:15 – Last Chance!
Wedding in Galilee – 7:45 – Last Chance!