The Shadowless Tower

Zhang Lu's 2023 Chinese film follows Gu Wentong, a food writer in Beijing. He learns where the father he has not seen in more than forty years is living and is caught between going to see him and staying away. The city itself is at the centre. The old quarters around the White Pagoda, the cafés and the riverside are constantly in frame; the narrative advances through walks more than through events, and place is what carries the memory. Gu meets Ouyang, a young photographer, and that friendship sets him moving. The narrative does not define the relationship. The director Tian Zhuangzhuang plays the father; the acting is quiet and the pace low. Who it's for: those who like contemporary Chinese cinema and slow city narratives. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a family story that resolves; the film leaves most things unsaid.