Night Train: the landscape of Diao Yinan’s film informs its mood and story: the places may be monumental, but what truly stays is that they are cold, dry, and solitude-inducing. The plot follows a widowed prison guard looking for a relationship in her spare time. The protagonist is a bit of a cipher because while her main goal is clear, it’s hard to reconcile her actions with it. Acting is almost morose: Liu Dan plays the protagonist with her emotions very close to the chest, making it even harder to figure the character out. Qi Dao, who plays the husband of one of the protagonist’s prisoners, is slightly better. The true star of the film is cinematographer Dong Jingsong, who beautifully captures the images with very precise framing and attractive and colorful lighting, being responsible for the somber mood of the film.