Journey to the West

Details

This special limited edition spot gloss and embossed slipcover is limited to 2,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

Named after Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made, tatami-level, crab-like tripod, Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the understanding of Asian cinema in North America. Focused on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon, bolster up-and-coming filmmakers and reintroduce repertory classics in context. Vinegar Syndrome’s sister company, OCN Distribution, is thrilled to be representing this diverse and unique home video line!

The years have worn out Tang Zhijun (Yang Haoyu, Dead Pigs), the editor-in-chief of the foremost space exploration magazine in China. His entire life is now a paean to a space age long gone. When he hears of a collective UFO sighting in a remote village called Burning Nest, he glimpses a possibility for redemption. Flanked by a cynical staffer, a drunk and an insomniac groupie, he journeys westward to the Daliang Mountains of Sichuan to face the truth about the universe and himself!

Journey to the West transposes the classical tale referenced by its title to a group of new-age eccentrics fit for the times: seen here going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of their own convictions. Unfolding in the great tradition of the workplace mockumentary, Kong’s film is a delightfully deadpan road movie and a bold counterpoint to the recent blockbuster films of Frant Gwo (Wandering Earth I & II) – who serves here as an executive producer.

directed by: Kong Dashan
starrring: Yang Haoyu, Ailiya, Roy Wang, Qi Ming Jiang
2021 / 117 min / 1.85:1 / Chinese DTS-HD MA 2.0

Additional info:

• Region A Blu-ray
• High Definition Presentation
• Director’s Introduction
• Interview with Kong Dashan (2023, 24min)
• Trailers & Promotional Videos
• Booklet with stills and posters
• English subtitles