Martial arts maestro Song Yang plays a mute bruiser who returns to his home, a remote farming village, following the disappearance of his son. A lack of tongue is no handicap to picking fights for this man and he soon finds himself in some thrillingly choreographed brawls with local heavies. They’re henchmen in the service of a meat-obsessed gangster kingpin (A Touch of Sin’s Jiang Wu clearly relishing his baddy role). In a landscape scarred by rapacious mining and with quarry explosions pounding ominously in the distance, the human cost of the theft of the village’s mineral resources is gradually revealed. Channeling the narrative arc of a Spaghetti Western, this sophisticated arthouse thriller features stunning choreographed violence and compelling social commentary. With tight plotting, memorable characters and an unforgettable climax, director Xin Yukun establishes himself as a new international filmmaker you need to know. Make Wrath of Silence your festival discovery.

Kate Taylor