This review originally ran at Liz's regular home REEL NEWS DAILY
Undoubtedly one of the most visually spectacular short films at Tribeca 2024, Tian Xu’s THE HONGFU HOTEL finds a father and son on the eve of the demolition of their family hotel in New York City. Feng arrives to check in on his father, Chan, the proprietor of their generations-old Chinatown hotel. Sold and marked for destruction to make way for a new road, Chan’s mission to see the spirits of the hotel’s old inhabitants reincarnated has seemingly failed. He plans to return to China and wishes to sign over the hotel and the profits to Feng.
Feng battles demons past and present as he agrees to bid farewell to the upper floors one last time. What he finds has little impact on him but transfixes the audience with the lush production design. The set is intricate from ceiling to floor. Without spoiling the magic of THE HONGFU HOTEL, the film delves into Chinese mythology and religion in a mesmerizing way, challenging the viewer to open their minds to intergenerational trauma and the things we cannot see.
Tian Xu and the entire HONGFU HOTEL crew have something indisputably special on their hands. I would be incredibly interested in an expanded universe here. The possibilities are endless. THE HONGFU HOTEL is spellbinding.
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