'A Touch of Sin' draws mixed response at MFF

Touted to be one of the most anticipated films at the ongoing Mumbai Film Festival, Chinese crime-drama "A Touch of Sin", which was screened here Wednesday, opened to mixed response from audiences.

A modern take on how economic China is being slowly eroded by violence, the film by filmmaker Jia Zhangke is extremely brutal. "A Touch of Sin" was nominated for Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival this year and won best screenplay award.

It links multiple stories and characters to form an erratic screenplay, making it difficult for viewers to keep track of the main story.

For festival patron Ravi Kambli, the extremely slow narrative of the film was a turn off.

"I didn't have a problem with the film's narrative style, but its pace was a concern. It was extremely slow and I had to force myself to sit through it. I have followed the work of the director, but this one turned out to be a damp squib," Ravi told IANS.

The film was screened at the 736-seater Liberty cinema. A good percentage of the audience left midway through the film.

Priya Rathore, a regular at MFF, said every year there are some over hyped films such as this.

"I have been coming to MFF for four years now and I have always come across over hyped films. Some films which were critically acclaimed by the press in the west, turned out to be a bore at the fest. This film has a touch of brilliance, but it couldn't impress me," added Priya.

But for blogger and film critic Anshuman, it was a masterpiece.

"I haven't seen a better film that could justify violence as brilliantly as this film did. It is slow because it's not an action film and people need to understand and appreciate it. I have seen other films of the director, and this one stands out. It's definitely a masterpiece," said Anshuman.