Escape from the 21st Century
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Polish premiereTheatrical Screenings
Kinomuzeum
Kinomuzeum
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Film description
In 1999, on Planet K, three friends, the leader Chengyong, the neurotic Wang Zha, and the good-natured Paopao, fall into a sea polluted with chemicals during a fight. As a result, they gain the ability to travel through time, sneezing their way twenty years into the future. However, their lives have not turned out as they once imagined. Chengyong has become a thug, Wang Zha works as a reporter, and Paopao is now fit and dating the girl they all adored back in school. As the friends slowly adapt to their new roles, they find themselves responsible for saving the world.
“Escape from the 21st Century” features themes familiar from Li Yang’s earlier work: male friendship, disillusionment with adult life, and the inability to live up to expectations. The director combines science fiction and bromantic comedy with elements of animation, creating a style reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. The story echoes classics of science fiction cinema, from Tarkovsky’s Solaris (the language of Planet K sounds strikingly like Russian) to the campy The Toxic Avenger. Above all, Escape from the 21st Century is a must-see for anyone nostalgic for their high school days.
text:
Maja Korbecka
Li Yang
Born in 1981, Li Yang loved anime and video games from an early age. His parents sent him to Germany to study computer science, but he eventually dropped out. In 2004, he enrolled in the directing programme at the Animation Department of the Beijing Film Academy. In 2009, he completed his 20-minute debut film ”The Adventures of Li Xianji”, made for a competition at the academy. The winner that year was Jiaozi (Yang Yu), who, a decade late, re-created the Chinese box-office hit Ne Zha. Li Yang uploaded his short film to the streaming platform Tudou, where it was viewed by over 10 million people and won Best Animation at the Tudou Film Festival in 2010. In 2013, Li Yang completed his second short film, “Bad Future”, produced by Tudou, and a live-action version of The Adventures of Li Xianji, co-directed with Frant Gwo, the director of the blockbuster The Wandering Earth. Escape from the 21st Century is Li Yang’s first feature film.
2009 Li Xianji lijianji / The Adventures of Li Xianji
2011 Li Xianji lijianji / Lee's Adventure (kr. m. współreżyserowany z Frantem Gwo)
2013 Huai weilai / Bad Future
2018 Qi pa Duoduo / Nuts (współreżyserowany z Li Xin)
2024 Ucieczka z XXI wieku / Cong 21 shiji anquan sali / Escape from the 21st Century
