125. Have A Nice Day (Hao jile); movie review

HAVE A NICE DAY (HAO JIE)
Cert 15
78 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, violence

I am lucky enough to be sent private screening links to many, mainly independent movies, so that I don't spend literally every minute of the day driving around the UK to watch films.
This gives the added benefit of being able to flick back over a movie if I feel as if I have missed something.
Such was definitely the case with Liu Jian's animation, Have A Nice Day, which required me to replay scenes three or four times to enable me to digest the plot fully.
Of course, I appreciate that most viewers will only have the opportunity to see it in one go - in which case, I wish you good luck and hope you are brighter than me.
Anyway, Jian's film's springboard is a robbery by a construction company driver Xiao Zhiang (voiced by Changlong Zhu) to pay for his fiancee's plastic surgery.
News of the robbery spreads fast across a small town in south China and everyone begins looking for him and the money.
Have A Nice Day is a dark film on several levels - there is much violence and in some scenes it is difficult to see what is going on because of the deliberately poor lighting and incessant rain.
It also flicks very quickly from scene to scene without much character exploration.
This meant that I was struggling to understand exactly what was going on or the relationship between those involved.
For example, it begins with the torture of a former friend by a gangland boss and his sidekick. How this fits with the robbery plank remains a mystery to me.
However, perseverance did pay off to an extent with a finale which brings all of the remaining, apparently disparate, strands together.
Indeed, if the rest of the movie had been as focused as the final 15 minutes, I would have enjoyed it much more.

Reasons to watch: An unusually gritty animation
Reasons to avoid: It really is tricky to follow for 30 minutes or so

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Director quote - Liu Jian: "Money is the most direct and real form of expressing desire. Have a Nice Day uses money as a theme to depict people in different situations seeking their desires and encouraging thinking about humanity itself."

The big question - Why are people so motivated by greed?

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