The Great Hypnotist 催眠大师 2014- China

Directed by Leste Chen, The Great Hypnotist 催眠大师, is a Chinese mystery/thriller film released in 2014. I was able to see this film at the annual Dallas Asian Film Festival in 2015. If you live in the area, definitely check it out this coming year. For Asian movie lovers, they always have a ton of great films every year. 

Now back to the review! The Great Hypnotist wasn't an award winning film, or a top grossing film for China, unlike other films Lights, Camera, Asia has recently reviewed, however, this film is still a very intriguing and interesting film with very beautiful sets. It definitely will hold your attention, however, If you are really good at guessing the endings of films (like myself), you will most likely figure out the big plot twist at the end. At least it tried!

The Great Hypnotist is a film about a well known psychologist, Xu Ruining, who is very experienced in hypnotism. Xu Zheng (Lost in Thailand, Lost in Hong Kong), took on the leading role, as well as the position of executive producer on the film. The film opens with Xu Ruining lecturing to a large class about the technicalities of hypnotism and a way to do it correctly every time. He seems to be a pro in his field. Soon after, he is asked by his academic mentor, to help with a patient's case that has stumped all other psychologist. Enter Ren Xiaoyan, played by Karen Mok (Journey to the West). Xu finds himself, for once, having trouble cracking a patient's case with his hypnotism skills. 

Things began to become a little crazy, as the battle to successfully hypnotize Ren slowly starts to work. Or so he thinks. Director Chen gives the audience wonderful mis-en scene, and haunting atmospheres. Since the Chinese film bureau has restrictions on how films can represent supernatural elements, this is the most horror or scary like elements the film has to offer. 

In the end, the film seems to have pulled plot line inspiration from the 1999 American film, Sixth Sense. I will not ruin the end of the film, as it does keep have a tendency to shock many. I really enjoyed this film though. The way scenes were set up, lighting casted, and beautiful shot locations that were selected, made it just enjoyable to watch. Even though I was not surprised, I still was very interested in the film's storyline from beginning to the end. 

CHECK OUT THE TRAILER FOR THE GREAT HYPNOTIST BELOW!

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❥W