I just came back from this film at the Vancouver International Film Festival, impressed by the images photographed through Sony High Def cameras. This is a near future (science fiction) film set in a China ruled by an apocalyptic sect. It contained some truly resonant images, framed by the stark, broken up and decaying Mongolian towns and industrial crap-scape existing today. Hong Kong director Yu Lik Wai explained later that he used HD because the film required heavy post-production. The existing city and countryside were affected to add smoke effects, war destruction and also color grading to give it all an apocalyptic sheen. I loved it. He also groused about how the film transfer didn't measure up to the digital projection at Cannes (of course). For him, the film transfer was a degradation, a 2nd generation version, whereas the HD projection was its natural look. Still, it was a beautiful film and any layperson would not be able to tell it was anything but originally film.

My creative review of this film.

http://forums.delphiforums.com/theemporium/messages?msg=989.28

Is this movie based off William Gibson's (Neuromancer, Idoru) book of the same name? Regardless, it sounds really cool, and I'll want to check it out. Is it getting any kind of distribution? Or is it just in the festival circuit right now?

No, it is not based on the Gibson book. The director takes all his titles from songs.

It's currently doing the festival circuit but is distributed by Celluloid Dreams (http://www.celluloid-dreams.com/), the same people who distribute Russian Ark, Zatoichi, Swimming Pool and a bunch of other familiar indies throughout the years.

This film excited me more creatively as a director than any other movie at the festival so far so I recommend it to all other filmmakers interested in new craft and style.