Uniform (2003/China)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C+     Feature: B

 

 

So many films have come from China that have even been banned for political reasons or set in the past to avoid conflict that a film like Diao Yinan’s Uniform (2003) seems like something of a rare event at this time.  Set in the present, a young man who is in trouble needing to pay serious family medical bills and make a life for himself somehow has no edge against this.  That is until he finds the title clothing that belongs to a policeman.

 

He decides to impersonate one and use the authoritative power (made even more twisted by the role of such a figure in China) to extort money, be pushy and sneak around shaking things up.  He also wants to impress a sexy young woman, but he gets so distracted with his sudden new-found power that there are parts of playing this role that become a trap.  The conclusion does not examine all the angles or go further into any character study that was available.  What it does do is show a raw side of China that could also be anywhere and sometimes humorously show human nature all around.  That comes from a certain energy throughout that makes this worth a look and a key work from China.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on video of some kind and has detail limits throughout, plus obvious color limits and video white turning slightly yellow.  The camera is still used well.  The Dolby Digital Mandarin 2.0 sound is stereo at best, if not always great.  It is recorded well under the circumstances.  Extras include materials about other Global Lens releases (text & trailer), DVD-ROM discussion guide, stills, text director’s introduction & biography and an on-camera interview with director Yinan.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo