“Resurrection”
Detroit Film Theatre
Jan. 23, 2026
How close can a movie make you feel like you're in someone else’s dream?
“Resurrection” is the closest I’ve seen.
It’s a gigantic epic of a movie from visionary Chinese director Bi Gan. I mean, everything about this movie is massive, from the sci-fi concept of people ditching their dreams to live longer to the cinematography, where the scope and scale of every shot absorb the audience.
It’s a tough narrative to follow but one of the most gorgeous films I’ve ever seen. And honestly, letting go of traditional Westernized storytelling to dive into something a bit more artsy and avant garde feels just right following the recent list of Oscar nominations reminding us of the homogenized nature of American filmmaking.
Across five chapters, we follow our protagonist (wonderfully portrayed by Jackson Yee) through different decades, different spaces and ultimately different altered states of mind. Bi Gan’s focus here is to pair a compelling story with a qualified actor, but also to make repeated nods to the art of moviemaking itself. Throughout “Resurrection,” there’s a feeling of being behind the scenes of how it’s made, from radical shifts in perspectives (you’ll feel like you’re actually behind the camera at certain points in this film, including a stunning one-take shot towards that end that is astonishing) to genre-jumping across each vignette (we’re in a war-torn film noir at one point; now we’re following a pair of vampire lovers straight out of a young adult novel).
While many directors spend their careers trying to figure out their own style, Bi Gan has emerged as someone so confident in their own abilities that they can lovingly mimic other styles with authority (and pair it with a killer, immersive soundtrack from French group M83).
For those looking for straight-ahead narrative storytelling, “Resurrection” might frustrate you.
If you’re looking to step into a dream state for over two hours, however, you won’t ever want this movie to end.
