Top 20 Alternative Picks for TIFF 2013: Wang Bing’s Til Madness Do Us Part

Til Madness Do Us Part – Wang Bing

Section: Wavelengths
Dates: Saturday 7th, Monday 9th, Sunday 15th

Buzz: Outside of film programmers I don’t know of many fans of this Chinese documentarian and this is perhaps due to thee fact that a Wang Bing film typically never makes it to a theatrical release. Clocking in at almost 4 hours (which is only about less than half the length of his epic 2003 West of the Tracks) it’ll be a treat to see how his unobtrusive, intimate style will be tested in a place where human warmth is a luxury item. Following 2012’s Three Sisters, this is his third straight double dip trip from Venice directly to TIFF.

The Gist: In an isolated asylum live all year long fifty men. They spend their days locked in one floor. The men have little contact with the outside world, even with the medical team. Each of them has been committed for different reason: they have mental problems, killed someone or upset some local officials. Once inside, they share the same empty daily life. They walk along the same iron wire fence corridor and try to look for human warmth among their fellow-sufferer.