Jigme Trinley treats audiences to guns, poachers, police, and more in a Tibetan film like you’ve never seen before…

Here comes a Tibetan film like you’ve never seen before. No mystical rites, no spiritual contemplation, no existential reflection – at least not explicitly. Instead, young writer-director Jigme Trinley’s feature debut One and Four treats us to guns, poacher(s), police, and a car chase, set in a wooden cabin on a snowy mountain.

Heavily hungover forest ranger Sanggye (the Tibetan actor Jinpa) wakes up in his dilapidated cabin after an uneasy night to an impending blizzard. While jotting down in his work journal the fragments of last night’s events and his dreams, he is interrupted by a knock on his door. A blood-covered self-proclaimed forestry police officer (Wang Zheng) barges in and says that he’s chasing after a poacher and that he’s lost his partner in a car crash. But Sanggye has his doubts.

Then, the two are joined by Kunbo (Kunde), Sanggye’s drinking partner and bearer of bad news from last night, as well as another man with identical attire as the forestry officer (Darggye Tenzin). And then there were four (five, if you include a deer that appears in two suggestive scenes). They are compelled to wait out the coming blizzard inside Sanggye’s dwelling, which serves as the film’s nearly singular set. Meanwhile, another more imminent storm brews in the cabin as they try to unravel the botched poaching and reveal its suspect(s). The tension shoots through the roof as the audience remains as confused and anxious as our mild-mannered forest ranger.

Inevitably, comparisons to Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight have been made. Sure, the setting evokes the bloody chamber drama full of bang, but the setup, with the quartet’s mutual malice and mistrust, remains more reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs with the philosophy of Rashomon. But Jigme is no wannabe Tarantino. For one thing, he doesn’t rely nearly as much on dramatised dialogue or monologue or speech in general. For another, indulgent violence and profanities are not his vice (or virtue?), but that’s virtually impossible to pull off in the mainland Chinese context anyway.

The influences abound, but this 88-minute lean production is undoubtedly its own thing in its own right. Jigme allows the script and the character’s inner world to unfold on a visual level with impressive command. In this effort, he’s helped by the versatile camerawork of Lv Songye, collaborator of Tibetan cinema big names such as Pema Tseden (Tharlo) and Lhapal Gyal. Lv effectively combines a fast-paced car chase with close-quarters fish-eyed closeups, contrasting the rugged north-western landscape with Sanggye’s groggy senses. These latter indoor scenes are heightened by the dry, cold lighting as well as Ding Ke’s foreboding, cacophonic score.

The 25-year-old director also refrains from the Tarantinoesque macho exhibitionism of bravado and blasphemy. In fact, the most moving scene of One and Four sees two of the men bonding, no matter how briefly, over their shared vulnerability when standing in the face of nature. One adequacy of the movie, however, lies with its characters: the three uninvited guests don’t come off as dangerous. Sure, they have rifles and pistols but their gentle demeanour undermines the high stakes and intensity that we expect to be looming heavy in the air. The powder keg simply feels only half full.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be a typical crime thriller, or a full-on environmental drama (the issue on the table is poaching, after all), or a convoluted whodunnit. But that begs the question, “What is it then?” Jigme’s freshman outing, produced by his father and Tibetan New Wave representative Pema Tseden, can be interpreted on different levels, but its subtext remains too, well, sub. It tries hard to retain meaning outside the immediate events and characters – most of who remain at a psychological remove – but doesn’t have many new takes to offer. Nevertheless, it is certainly exciting to see more variation in Tibetan cinema. Although still not released at home, One and Four has made rounds on the international festival competitions from Tokyo to Fantasia. Whether it’ll win anything remains to be seen at the New York Asian Film Festival and the FIRST International Film Festival in China.

Overall, One and Four proves to be an impressive debut that is at the same time a savvy audition piece. And it is quite a successful audition that certainly puts Jigme Trinley on the map.

One and Four screened as part of the 20th New York Asian Film Festival 2022, the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival, and the 16th FIRST International Film Festival 2022.

Originally published on easternKicks.