Writer and Director: Lilly Hu
It’s hard to know what to make of Lilly Hu’s vicious tale of obsession set in Changsha, China. The first few minutes suggest that orange-haired Tong Tong and the plainer Yin Jia are in love, finding joy in shoplifting and throwing oranges at cars, but soon we discover that the relationship is toxic and cruelly co-dependent.
Tong Tong needs somewhere to stay, so she has crashed with Yin Jia in her ramshackle flat; they sleep closely together at nighttime. However, Yin Jia wants more than friendship and pesters Tong Tong while she sleeps. She also pesters Tong Tong during the day, following her around as she meets her friends, a group of lively girls who like their drugs. As Tong Tong laughs with her mates, Yin Jia looks on, scowling.
Jealousy sharpens for Yin Jia when Tong Tong hooks up with a male drug dealer with kiwi-coloured hair who tempts her with stories of moving to America. Yin Jia realises that desperate times call for desperate measures, striking a deal with Tong Tong’s new admirer. The film moves into darker territory.
We find out at the end of the film that Yin Jia is 19, and presumably Tong Tong is that age too, and so it’s a surprise that they know so little about sex. The drug dealer takes full advantage of their inexperience, and these scenes of sexual assault, graphically filmed, are upsetting. But surely for the narrative to really work, the girls should be younger, or an explanation provided for their lack of knowledge.
Based on real life, writer/ director Lilly Hu’s film has a certain unapologetic style, and perhaps she pushes the boundaries more than a male director would. Hu plays Tong Tong, but it is Xuanyu Chen’s Yin Jia who is the more interesting character. Tong Tong just seems a little silly while Yin Jia is full of desperate malice.
Without greater attention to the characters’ histories, this snapshot of life in China lacks weight, and the viewer can only look on horrified. There’s perhaps a discussion to be made about how, despite exterior appearances, young women lack knowledge about their bodies and sexual activity. But the other questions 1 Girl Infinite wants to ask, perhaps get lost in the closed-off relationship between its two protagonists that rarely looks outwards.
1 Girl Infinite is screening at the Rio Cinema on 3 May for QueerEast Festival 2025.
The Reviews Hub Score
A cruel summer
