Movie

The Ditch

2011 · 112 min

A slow, numbing trudge through cold and starvation that leaves you hollowed out rather than entertained.

Overview: The film focuses on the suffering of Chinese who were imprisoned in a forced labor camp called Jiabiangou in the Gobi Desert in winter 1960 under Mao Zedong on the grounds that they were "rightist elements". The film tells of the harsh life of these men, who coped with physical exhaustion, extreme cold, starvation and death on a daily basis.
How it feels: Bleak, dark, melancholic and earnest. Slow-burning and demanding.
About: Survival, death, isolation, power
Content: Strong violence. Mild gore and language. No sexual content.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Add to a list: The Ditch

In the USNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

In your watch list

More like this

Like The Ditch, but

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: survival
death
isolation
power
guilt
Places: wilderness
prison
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: true story
single location
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex none

All scales, 0 to 10

No streaming, rental or purchase options are known in the US.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Genres: drama
Directed by: Wang Bing
Written by: Wang Bing
Starring: Cheng Zhengwu, Niansong Jing, Xiangnian Li, Renjun Lian, Ye Lu, Yang Haoyu, Jieleu Wan, Li Daguang
Cinematography: Lu Sheng
Runtime: 112 min
Country: Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Netherlands, South Korea
Languages: Mandarin