If I were to describe Corpse Fishing, I would simply say that the film was beautifully bleak. I finished watching this short film, and it just left me lying there, processing how I feel, and in this modern world, few films can do that.

To sum up what this film is about:

“Set in southern China, this enigmatic short follows a despairing girl named Yan as she strikes a deal with a stranger to go fishing for bodies in a desperate attempt to find her missing father. This incredible story is inspired by Wei Xinpeng, a real ‘corpse fisherman’, who scans the river looking for cadavers, which he then sells back to grieving families.”

Like I said, this one’s bleak. It shows us a pallid and isolating world. But in this isolation, there is hope and the chance at finding someone you can connect with. These things are possibly small and insignificant, at least in the grand scale of things, but in the small moments, the ones that matter, it can mean everything.

Adding to the isolating feeling of this film is the fact that we only really spend time with two people. Yan and the Fisherman. The chemistry here really pays off. Together, they exude an air of loneliness and isolation that is hard to pull off as a duo.

To enhance the feel of the movie, both actors are clothed in muted tones, and all photography avoids anywhere “busy.” Leaving the audience feeling secluded.

To top it all off, though, I’ve used the word “bleak” repeatedly. The film is beautifully shot, it makes great use of angles and though it could be gruesome the director chooses to let our imagination do all the heavy lifting. Once you start watching, you will not want to stop.It is to see why this film has qualified for the 2025 Oscars.