The Breaking Ice

“Raw and lingeringly sensitive… The Breaking Ice sticks with you because it doesn’t lead its characters out of the maze, it just melts down the walls between them.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

In cold wintry Yanji, a city on China’s northern border, young urbanite Haofeng, visiting from Shanghai, feels lost and adrift. By chance, he goes on a tour led by Nana, a charming tour guide who instantly fascinates him. She introduces him to Xiao, a personable but frustrated restaurant worker. The three bond quickly over a drunken weekend. Confronting their individual traumas, their frozen desires slowly thaw as they seek to liberate themselves from an icy world.

Written & directed by Anthony Chen. Starring Dongyu Zhou, Haoran Liu & Chuxiao Qu.

“Its interweaving of powerful performances and spiritual complexity, eventually melded with local folklore, is nothing short of beautiful.” – The Playlist

“Paints a rich picture of full lives using little more than pauses, glances and a frozen landscape that says volumes without speaking.” – The Wrap

“Rich in feeling yet never emotionally emphatic, The Breaking Ice has an uncluttered narrative simplicity that’s mirrored in the shooting style and nicely offset by the nuanced complexity of the relationships. The closing notes of hope and renewal are lovely.” – The Hollywood Reporter