If by Book You Were Deceived

Ka Ling Ng

Chine / 2024 / Fiction / 14’40”I2601137

If by Book You Were Deceived
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SYNOPSIS

[EN] A mountain hike fractures into two opposing tales. In the first half, a detached narrator methodically describes Xiaojuan and Mary’s ascent – routine exchanges charged with unspoken friction, supplies vanishing without explanation, and a relationship framed as a quiet battle of wills. The narration cuts off sharply as they descend, leaving the audience with only "half the story." The second half replays the hike verbatim but silent: identical paths, identical missing supplies, yet the absence of narration reveals an unexpected harmony. Without guiding commentary, their gestures and glances rewrite the meaning of every action. By the end, the film’s mirrored structure forces viewers to confront: Is truth shaped by the voice telling it, or the eyes witnessing it?

GÉNÉRIQUE