Ready for a big game of “Two Truths and a Lie?” Or, in the case of One and Four, maybe it’s 47 truths and 33 lies. Hard to tell. Just know that by the end of the film, there will have been a lot o’ truthin’ and a lot o’ lyin’. And you get to guess which is which.
So imagine the set of The Hateful Eight, cuz while this film was shot on the other side of the world, it may as well have been the same neighborhood. Remote cabin winter, lost to time and place. This one is set in a forest, but, really, it could be just over the hill from Hateful Eight and no one would be the wiser.
We’d be forgiven for mistaking Sanggye (Jinpa) for a yak herder. He looks like a yak herder. He moves like a yak herder. He smells like a yak herder (probably). He’s large and rustic and furry. And we are in Tibet, where yak herdin’ happens. Yet, he does not keep yaks; he keeps the cabin, And the cabin’s log. Big furry 
non-yak herdin’ guy is some sort of local government official, is he? And the cabin is out of food, so Sanggye doesn’t have much to offer the two guests he’ll get today, Tall Guy (Wang Zheng) and Kunbo (Kunde) … and maybe the ghost of forests past when those guys are done.
Some distance away from the cabin there has been an accident. The accident was the result of a chase. A police chase. This forest is big on poaching, but soft on enforcement. Now everybody has weapons and a story to tell, but at least one of these guys ain’t tellin’ the truth. Fun, huh?
One and Four doesn’t offer much; there’s not much set or cast or action in the film. But what it does offer kinda rocks. The cinematography magnificently frames the starkness in interior, exterior, and tone. One and Four is big on tension and intrigue. It’s very much like if you simplified The Hateful Eight to three characters and said, “Roll film!” Is this a good thing? I thought so. But if you haven’t seen this film, I doubt you ever will. How many Tibetan winter warrior films find English language speakers do you suppose?
There once was a forest cabin keeper
Who welcomed a strange foreign creeper
He broke the silence
With tales of violence
Was he the fuzz or a drop-in grim reaper?
Not Rated, 88 Minutes
Director: Jigme Trinley
Writer: Jigme Trinley
Genre: Who’s the liar?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of psychology
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Fans of civilization
