“Sexy” and “sensual” are not the kinds of words that are typically employed to describe human rights films, but they are more than apt in conveying the atmospheric allure of Chongqing at night in director David Verbeek’s stylistically silky Trapped in the City of a Thousand Mountains. Although surveillance cameras make it difficult for residents — especially young, heavily tattooed rap artists — to engage in what the Chinese government calls “morally suspect” behavior, the underground club scene provides an avenue for the city’s subculture to flourish (despite persistent threats of censorship). This film, making its North American debut, gives us a rare glimpse into that artistically dynamic yet constantly endangered world.
Written by David Scott Diffrient