Dark Matter (film)
| Dark Matter | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Chen Shi-zheng |
| Produced by |
Janet Yang Mary Salter Andrea Miller |
| Written by | Billy Shebar |
| Starring |
Liu Ye Aidan Quinn Meryl Streep |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Dark Matter is a 2007 American drama film and the first feature film by opera director Chen Shi-zheng, starring Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn and Meryl Streep. It won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
Liu Ye plays a young scientist whose rising star must confront the dark forces of politics, ego, and cultural insensitivity. The film is based on the University of Iowa shooting.
The film is inspired by the true story of Gang Lu, a former graduate student who killed four faculty members and one student at the University of Iowa. However, the story has substantial differences in plot and character motivation.
Liu Xing (Liu Ye) is a humble but brilliant Chinese student who arrives at Valley State University and makes a bumpy transition into American life with the help of Joanna Silver (Meryl Streep). Silver is a wealthy university patron who has a fascination with Chinese culture and takes a liking to Liu Xing. Xing joins a select cosmology group under the direction of his hero, the famous cosmologist Professor Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn). The group is working to create a model of the origins of the universe, based on Reiser's theory. Xing's enormous talent leads him quickly to become Reiser's protégé, and it seems that only hard work stands between him and a bright future in science.
Xing is obsessed with the study of dark matter, an unseen substance that he believes shapes the universe, and a theory that conflicts with the Reiser model. Xing makes scientific breakthroughs of his own which improve the Reiser model. Without Professor Reiser's approval, Liu Xing proposes to research dark matter for his doctoral dissertation. Reiser explains to Xing that this type of research is too complicated and suggests that he should pick a simpler dissertation topic.
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