Sojourn to Shangri-La (2024)

-Written by John Cajio. 

Sojourn to Shangri-La is a film that mostly does not suck. Written and directed by Yihan Lin, Sojourn to Shangri-La is a gorgeous monochromatic film marred by performances probably best described as perfunctory.  

An expensive and elaborate fashion shoot goes wrong when the massive backdrop disappears, presumably swallowed by the sea. Cal (Yunfei Fu), an assistant to the art director (Jun Kang), tries to fix this problem after getting an earful from the on-site executive producer (Jonathan Mulcahy).

Sojourn to Shangri-La’s nineteen minute runtime is effectively divided into two parts. Part one serves as a meta commentary of the unexpected issues, oftentimes at great cost, that arise during a shoot. Part two is where the film really takes flight and becomes something unique and interesting. 

During part one, Cal is forced to run around and ask for help. No one wants to help her though: they blame her for the delay in the shoot and expect her to simply fix it. At one point, she approaches the shoot’s director of photography as he and his assistant (Li Lu) are setting up a drone to capture some extra B-roll footage of the surrounding region for the shoot. Cal asks to borrow the drone to get a clear overhead look at the sea. She is rebuffed hard.

Later on, while sharing a meal with her boss, the DP’s assistant approaches her and offers her time with the drone. Cue part two. Part two visually consists of sweeping panoramic drone shots of the sea and surrounding lands, underscored by a lovely conversation between Cal and the nameless drone operator. This is the best part of the film. Even an obviously inconsistent frame rate as the drone sweeps across vast swathes of the lands and seas does little to mar the sheer fantastic beauty the viewer is presented with. 

This is a film that relies heavily on its visual presentation to carry the day. The performances from the actors, except for Fu and Lu, range from subpar to perfunctory. At the end of the day, Sojourn to Shangri-La is an interesting film that is visually captivating. But weak performances and some questionable filmmaking decisions (an entire conversation between two human beings is presented in the form of whistles and groans) leave a lot to be desired.

Written & Directed by Yihan Lin.

Starring Yunfei Fu, Jun Kang, Jonathan Mulcahy, Li Lu, Zi Wang, Shixian Tan, and Qingui Yu.

5.5/10 = WORTH THE RISK, BUT YOU’VE BEEN WARNED