‘Oxhide II’ a study of hands and bodies in movement, of intimate space
Liu Jiayin, only in her early thirties and with two features films, has already become a darling of the art house cinema crowd — her work traveling the festival circuits, winning awards, and establishing her name among the ranks of Tarr and Benning as well as drawing comparisons to Bresson and Ozu. However, the awards and name-dropping come with the territory of making a niche film, partially tailored to a mentality of extreme minimalism including long takes, little action, and much experimentation. If not already alienating, her second film, Oxhide II, is a mere nine shots, each in 45 degree increments around a work table in a cramped living space featuring only the director and her parents (!) as actors and the preparation and eating of dumplings as the only action