When Night Falls

WHEN NIGHT FALLS is not a movie the Chinese government wants you to see. Based on the true story of a young man executed for murders he was never proven to have committed, the film is a scathing look into China's corrupt legal system. It follows the mother of the accused, as she suffers through the experience, and deals with her own issues with the law. After her son is taken into custody, she's shipped off to a mental hospital, forced to sign documents without a lawyer, and then held for 143 days. After her release, she desperately fights for her son's release, gaining interest from activists. Her son's only previous crime was riding an unlicensed bicycle – hardly a logical basis for his conviction. She bravely confronts the court, condemning the hearings as a sham. But her admirable efforts are thwarted by a system uninterested with facts or justice. Actress Nai An gives an incredible performance as a determined mother achingly rendered defenseless in the beautifully shot WHEN NIGHT FALLS. (In Mandarin with subtitles) – E.F.