Kinamand
Encyclopedia
Kinamand is a bitter comedy/drama film made in 2005 in China
and Denmark
. The film deals with the Chinese immigrant experience in Denmark and marriage of convenience
.
Keld sells all of his and Rie's furniture and lives in the empty apartment. When the food in the fridge runs out, Keld starts eating every night at a Chinese restaurant across the street from his apartment. The pipes in the restaurant explode and Keld agrees to fix them in exchange for his meals. After about a month, the owner of the restaurant, Feng (Lin Kun Wu), offers Keld DKK 24,000 (US $4,000) to marry his sister, Ling (Vivian Wu), so that she can get a visa. Keld initially refuses, but when faced with the divorce settlement, Keld goes back to Feng and asks for DKK 8,000 (US $1,333). Feng agrees.
After a lavish wedding, Ling moves into Keld's apartment which is set up to fool the immigration service. Ling and Keld learn to live with each other despite the language barrier. Keld freely tells his wife and son that the marriage is purely "pro forma". Keld is concerned about Ling's health but Feng assures him she's perfectly fine. Ling's influence gradually lifts Keld up out of his apathy.
Rie attempts to reconcile with Keld. When that fails, Rie threatens to call the cops on Keld and Ling's marriage unless she gets her money immediately. Keld goes to Feng to get his money, but Feng says the wedding cost too much and he doesn't have the cash.
Angry, Keld storms home and has a fight with Ling, despite neither of them being able to understand the other.
Keld goes over to Feng's restaurant looking for Ling. A fellow patron of Feng's restaurant advises Keld that love must be professed. Feng comes through with the money, so Keld pays Rie and crushes any hope of reconciliation between them because he is in love with Ling. When bringing his lunch, Ling overhears Keld practicing saying "I love you" in Chinese. That evening, washing the dishes as Ling waits for Keld to get up the nerve to say it, Ling collapses. Keld takes her to the hospital but it's too late. Feng confesses he knew Ling had a genetic heart defect, the reason why he had wanted her to live in Denmark. Ling is cremated and Keld flies to China to scatter her ashes in the ancestral river.
.
customers to rent. The English language subtitle
s are burned in (can't be taken off with DVD controls), they translate most of the Danish dialogue and the more basic Chinese dialogue.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The film deals with the Chinese immigrant experience in Denmark and marriage of convenience
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
.
Plot
A plumber, Keld (Bjarne Henriksen), is bored with his job and his life. Rie (Charlotte Fich), Keld's wife, tries to interest him in a vacation or dance classes. When this last-ditch attempt fails, Rie, tired of Keld's apathy, divorces him. Keld continues in his downward spiral, ignoring his customers and closing his business indefinitely.Keld sells all of his and Rie's furniture and lives in the empty apartment. When the food in the fridge runs out, Keld starts eating every night at a Chinese restaurant across the street from his apartment. The pipes in the restaurant explode and Keld agrees to fix them in exchange for his meals. After about a month, the owner of the restaurant, Feng (Lin Kun Wu), offers Keld DKK 24,000 (US $4,000) to marry his sister, Ling (Vivian Wu), so that she can get a visa. Keld initially refuses, but when faced with the divorce settlement, Keld goes back to Feng and asks for DKK 8,000 (US $1,333). Feng agrees.
After a lavish wedding, Ling moves into Keld's apartment which is set up to fool the immigration service. Ling and Keld learn to live with each other despite the language barrier. Keld freely tells his wife and son that the marriage is purely "pro forma". Keld is concerned about Ling's health but Feng assures him she's perfectly fine. Ling's influence gradually lifts Keld up out of his apathy.
Rie attempts to reconcile with Keld. When that fails, Rie threatens to call the cops on Keld and Ling's marriage unless she gets her money immediately. Keld goes to Feng to get his money, but Feng says the wedding cost too much and he doesn't have the cash.
Angry, Keld storms home and has a fight with Ling, despite neither of them being able to understand the other.
Keld goes over to Feng's restaurant looking for Ling. A fellow patron of Feng's restaurant advises Keld that love must be professed. Feng comes through with the money, so Keld pays Rie and crushes any hope of reconciliation between them because he is in love with Ling. When bringing his lunch, Ling overhears Keld practicing saying "I love you" in Chinese. That evening, washing the dishes as Ling waits for Keld to get up the nerve to say it, Ling collapses. Keld takes her to the hospital but it's too late. Feng confesses he knew Ling had a genetic heart defect, the reason why he had wanted her to live in Denmark. Ling is cremated and Keld flies to China to scatter her ashes in the ancestral river.
Awards
Kinamand won the Award of Ecumenical Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalKarlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
.
DVD release
The region 1 DVD release came out on May 23, 2006 and was made available to NetflixNetflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
customers to rent. The English language subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
s are burned in (can't be taken off with DVD controls), they translate most of the Danish dialogue and the more basic Chinese dialogue.