Program Note
In 1995, a bank robbery orchestrated by five armed assailants occurred in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province. The unprecedented crime resulted in the disappearance of 15 million dollars in cash and the deaths of three security guards. To solve this case, a special investigation team led by Wang Shouyue and He Lan was formed. While tracking the armed assailants, the team discovered that local construction magnate Chen Xinwen and his cousin Chen Xinnian stand behind the crime. However, the two escaped Qingyuan and vanished into thin air. Twenty-one years later, the retired Wang Shouyue found a clue that could lead him to Chen Xinwen and resumed his pursuit. Jonathan LI's second feature, Dust to Dust, reconstructs the events of the actual bank robbery over a span of 20 years. The film maintains the suspense of a crime drama while providing deep insights into human nature, exploring themes such as desire, betrayal, survival, and guilt. Delicately portraying the socio-cultural conditions of China during the tumultuous end of the century, marked by poverty, development, social control, and migration, the film is further enriched by the powerful performances of its actors. (Jin PARK)