11岁

　　Eleven,whichplayedatthe2001VeniceFilmFestival,isthefirstshortfilmofdirectorZhangLu.Heisaforty-year-oldwriterwhoseworksengagewithissuesofculturaldifferencestemmingfromhisownbackgroundasamemberoftheKoreanculturalminorityinChina.Elevenisafourteen-minutelongvignette,virtuallysilent,ofaneleven-year-oldboy'sencounterwithagroupofsoccerplayershisownage.Setinanarid,post-industriallyuglywastelanddominatedbyavastslagheap,thefilmopenswiththeboyandanolderman,whomightbehisfather,emergingfromarailwaytunnelandarrivingnearasmallhut.Themanreplacesalightbulb(showninextremeclose-up),settleshimselfintoachairoutside,andseemstofallasleep.Theboysetsupafewrocksasgoalposts,andwatchesagroupofkidsappearwithasoccerball.Theypractice;hefetchestheball.Hewatchesfromtheslagheap.Theycallhimtoplaygoaltender.Hestands,oddlypassive,astheyscorethroughhislegs.Theyyellathim;hekickstheballthroughhisowngoal.Theypileontopofhimandseemtobeathim.Atnight,hedigsahole,andputstheballinit..Theman,nowawake,arriveswithamassivebulldozer,andfillsthewholewithdirt.Creditsroll.　　Thereisnodialogue:justshoutingboys,andoccasionalscrapsofquietlyeffectiveatonalmusiconthesoundtrack.Thecamerabarelymoves:mostscenesarefilmedinasinglelongtake,atasubstantialdistancefromtheaction.Thedirector'seyeandsenseoftimingfeelmasterful:framing,oftinyfiguresagainstgrim,uglyindustrialbackgrounds,managestobestarkly,almostclassicallybeautiful.Scenesarecuttoanidiosyncraticrhythmthatisprovocativelyslow,yetfeelsabsolutelyright.ThereissomethingherereminiscentofChenKaige'sKingoftheChildren(Haiziwang,1987):amonumental,iconicuseofvisualsymbolism,andanappreciationofthepowerofsilenceandemptinessthatcan,paradoxically,fillascreenwithasenseofpoetry