Review: Li Yuhe’s ABSURD ACCIDENT Is A Lively Expedition Into Haphazard Adulting

Culminating an intricately woven plot from debut writer/director Li Yuhe, Absurd Accident has plenty going for itself in the unimaginable, silly and darkly comedic as intended. The story itself uses the zig-zag routine, challenging you to follow along with each chapter as it unfolds with each terrible decision, plot twist and point of calamity.

The peculiar events that occur here are set in a small rural town, and begin within the confines of a small scale hotel owned by Baiwan (Chen Xuxi), and his wife, Lilian (Gao Ye). Baiwan has been seeing a Chinese medicinal doctor to help regain his male vitality, but all it does is cause him to have dreams.

His latest dream, however, opens the flood gates to a nightmare scenario gone haywire when he begins suspecting that his wife has been cheating. Taking the word of his doctor, Jianxiao (Cao Rui), Baiwan follows the canard to the ramblings of a gamer and his mute friend who seemingly confirm his utmost fears.

After a verbal row with Lilian, Baiwan is so enraged that seeks private counsel with Jianxiao to try and orchestrate Lilian’s murder. Ultimately, the plan backfires with Lilian none the wiser, and with a cadre of unwitting players now factoring into the mayhem, including a pair of would-be jewel thieves, an arcade slacker looking to score, and a veteran police officer on his last day of patrol.

Perhaps the most outstanding above all for the characters we observe in Absurd Accident is the fact that nearly none of these people are worth rooting for. The terrible choices begin almost instantaneously and only ever pile onto themselves, and the film’s concomitant curveball assault begins about forty minutes.

The very core of this particular story, however, does lend a humanistic side to things a bit. The underlying moral aspect of Li’s Absurd Accident is never preachy, but always present in elucidating the “Murphy’s Law” effect when letting false preconceptions and bad faith dictate your behavior and your actions.

Chen’s Baiwan sits dead center at this culmination – a man tormented by a lurid side affect of treatment he bought only to please Lilian. Simultaneously, Lilian has her own convictions, but that’s not to suggest that she doesn’t care about his well-being.

Nearly everyone else in the seedy, unsettling milleu of Absurd Accident is all but entirely out for themselves and their own interests. It’s only a matter of time before everyone gets their just dues in Absurd Accident, perhaps one of the zaniest, outlandish and well-acted oddball romps you’ll ever see.

ABSURD ACCIDENT arrives on Amazon Prime Video and Vimeo on Demand on July 18 from Cheng Cheng Films.

Lee B. Golden III

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Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!