Review: Corpse Fishing (2024)
Would you pay someone to find and return the corpse of your missing loved one?
A shocking question that a few will earnestly answer in the affirmative. In Corpse Fishing, this question can be answered by a lone man who spends his time searching the river for corpses. His operation is very simple. Once a body is found, anxious family members will have the chance to pay a small fee to look at the body. If they wish to claim the body, a larger fee is required. It’s a brutally dark and humble business that must operate for the grieving family members. For members that have waited days, months, years for news of where their loved ones have went, paying that fee for an answer is well worth it’s value.
It’s that deep need for closure that is the heart in Corpse Fishing. This short film begins with a young woman hustling a karaoke and balloon business along a river in China. The arrival of a boat reeking of decay catches her attention. She meets a lone fisherman who reluctantly agrees to have her accompany him in a macabre ride-along. It’s not curiosity that propels the young woman to calmly sit by a pile of bloated bodies. She’s hoping to find her lost father among those found bodies
It’s one of those shorts that audiences will find themselves completely engrossed. The beautiful and calm visuals of the shorts soothes away most discomfort from the strange and depressing movie subject. It’s so sad but so entertaining.
How does one say, “I saw the most fascinating short about someone who fishes for dead people?” without the other person raising eyebrows before turning to run? Even more interesting is how can this story be so wholesome? There’s so many complex ideas within the story that addresses mourning and finding closure. On a shallow level, it’s pretty much a day in the life story’s of a job that is needed but no one wants. It’s completely essential as body dishing delvers mental and emotional relief. Just like sewage repair people. Gross but definitely a part of life.
Another interesting thought that pops up after watching this short is how does body fishing work within Chinese religion and traditions? There are many superstations and stories about warding off death but what happens when a person willingly chooses to be in the business of death?
Then there’s the most heartbreaking question of all: do we wish the young woman to find her fathers body? There must be unimaginable trauma upon seeing the rotting remains of a father but would the relief of knowing the answer override the horror?
Yet even with the growing number of dark questions, the audience is not left feeling deep sadness or disgust. Many may feel a sense of love and hope. For knowing that even after the act of death, no matter the method that death was entered, there can be people who still care and honor
This short film was part of the official selection of Indeed’s Rising Voices Program during 2024 Hollyshorts Film Festival. Indeed is more than a just a job search website. The company also funds this cinematic program as an initiative to discover, invest in and share stories created by BIPOC filmmakers and storytellers
The filmmaker that brought this short of death and hope is Jean Liu. Her films have been featured ay SXSW, Slamdance, BB, and NOWNESS.
