Black Mountain

A decrepit temple on a wild mountainside sets the stage for elemental power plays between a lone woman and six aggressive brothers in a tale illuminating the struggles between mankind and nature in wartime China.

Set around the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, the tale opens with a twilight shot of the haggard temple. Built by a foreign monk--who was ultimately burned alive inside by the villagers for having brought bad luck--it now serves as an inn for travelers. It is run by a young woman (Ailiya) who has only her vicious dog Luo to protect her. When six hungry peasant porters, all brothers, arrive, the woman feeds them and carves the black calluses off their feet w...