Overview
A haunting journey through memory and time unfolds in a mystical landscape.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Glacial
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- None
- dreamy
- melancholic
- eerie
- quiet evening
- reflective weekend
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a visually extraordinary and formally ambitious work of Chinese art cinema, especially praising its immersive long take and dreamlike treatment of time.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Chen Sheng enters Dang Mai, where time appears to move forward and backward and his past and future become interwoven.
The journey through Dang Mai is presented as an extended wandering passage that links characters, spaces, and temporal impressions.
The subtropical Guizhou county, fogbound clinic, train route, and mysterious Dang Mai give the landscape an uncanny narrative agency.
Chen Sheng searches for his abandoned nephew while confronting his brother's failure and his own conflicted decision not to intervene.
Films like Kaili Blues, and why
The Mirror
dreamlike mystery, temporal dislocation, and contemplative examination of memory
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
poetic rural landscapes, enigmatic storytelling, and meditative treatment of time
Last Year at Marienbad
nonlinear temporal experience, melancholic atmosphere, and elusive personal identity
The Turin Horse
long-take formal experimentation, provincial isolation, and reflective family drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Bi Gan
- Release Date
- 2016-03-23
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (153)
Cast
- Chen Yongzhong
- Daqing Zhao
- Feiyang Luo
- Xie Lixun
- Shuai Zeng
- Qin Guangqian
- Shixue Yu
- Guo Yue
- Linyan Liu
- Zhuohua Yang
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Metrograph
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Kaili Blues about?
- A lonely doctor’s journey through misty Guizhou becomes a hypnotic passage across memory, family absence, and uncertain time.
- What is Kaili Blues like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Kaili Blues as glacial, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Kaili Blues violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Kaili Blues.
- What did critics think of Kaili Blues?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a visually extraordinary and formally ambitious work of Chinese art cinema, especially praising its immersive long take and dreamlike treatment of time.
- Which films are like Kaili Blues?
- Films with a similar feel include The Mirror, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Last Year at Marienbad, and The Turin Horse.
- How long is Kaili Blues?
- Kaili Blues runs 113 minutes.
- Where can I watch Kaili Blues?
- In United States, Kaili Blues streams on Metrograph.
