So, it’s nearing the end of the year, which means it’s screener season! I’ve been playing catch up with some movies I’ve missed, and writing about the ones I think are worth seeking out, especially ones that are gunning for awards. I’ve already written about films like Let The Corpses Tan and What Will People Say, and I’ll have more on the way in the coming weeks, along with reviews for the regular releases.
Today, I wanted to tell you about a little Chinese animated film called Have A Nice Day from writer/director, Liu Jian. It’s a neo-noir that follows several colorful characters who connect through happenstance in often violent ways, and it’s all centered around/triggered by Xiao Zhang (Changlong Zhu) making the decision/mistake of stealing a million yuan, so he can run away with his girlfriend to South Korea. The money belongs to a crime boss, Uncle Liu (Yang Siming), who is not happy about what has happened, so he sends a hitman, Skinny (Ma Xiaofeng) to track down the money. But things get complicated as multiple people begin to get involved.
The film clearly wears its influences on its sleeve. There’s echoes of Pulp Fiction, No Country For Old Men, and a dash of After Hours-esque “one night of mayhem” style escalation. The film plays with a lot of classic hardboiled and film noir tropes with a very sleek and well realized sense of place. Its Chinese identity is rooted heavily in the story, and while I might miss some nuances, it’s not too hard to pick up on some of its themes, especially that of the empty promises of capitalism. The characters we see are practically all dirt poor, each wanting the money for their own reasons, and the film even brings up economic disparity at a couple points.
The animation is very interesting. It’s not something that I would immediately call “good.” It’s a bit static, with the mouths of characters often being the only thing that moves during dialogue scenes. The backgrounds are detailed very well, but seemingly lifeless. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Liu Jian is working with limited resources. However, this particular style works very well with this kind of story. It’s a scrappy film about scrappy characters, and it is smart to not paint a pretty picture of the environment that these characters reside in. Even if the animation style bothers you, you get used to it pretty quickly, and the film knows to work to that style’s strengths.
Unlike other imitators of stuff like Pulp Fiction, this film doesn’t feel the need to project a sense of edginess. It’s fairly toned down compared to a lot of movies like this. There is plenty of violence, but it’s never gratuitous, it actually happens off-screen for the most part, only cutting back after it’s done, so we can see the damage. It’s also a funny film, though it is dry, and subtle, and – again – very much rooted in the kind of cultural anxieties that these characters experience. It’s still a really good time even if you might not catch some of these insights, but I’m sure it will prove more rewarding if you are.
Have A Nice Day is not only a really cool film, it’s a very assured film. It’s crafted with confidence in its style and story. It’s very political, but it’s not interested in spoon-feeding you its messages. It’s bleak, but it allows itself to have a ton of fun, especially with its characters. And to top it all off, it accomplishes all this in only 75 minutes. It’s a fairly quick sit, and it’s effortlessly engaging the entire way through. It’s a treat not just for animation fans, but genre fans as well. I’m really impressed with what Liu Jian has made here. He has a solid voice, he has something to say, and if this film is any indication, he’s got one hell of a future ahead of him.