91 minutes / Color
English; Mandarin / English subtitles
Release: 2010
Copyright: 2010
In this acclaimed absurdist comedy, bored teenagers and disillusioned adults rage at each other and the emptiness of life in frost-bitten northern China.
It's the last day of winter vacation in Inner Mongolia. Four aimless adolescents enjoy their last hours of freedom drifting between the barren spaces of their small town. They make surreal visits to homes of family and friends, including an unhappy little boy who dreams of becoming an orphan to escape the tyranny of his family.
A prevailing absurdity casts over their lives as they endure petty instances of bullying while arguing over the purpose of school, teenage love, and life in general. Eventually they return to the routines of school life, only to witness an epic meltdown from their teacher in the midst of a lesson. Winner of the Golden Leopard for Best Film at the Locarno Film Festival, the third film by poet-novelist Li Hongqi announces him as a major figure in China's independent cinema.
"No other director can touch poet-novelist LI Hongqi." —Tony Rayns, BFI
"At the forefront of independent Chinese cinema." —J. P. Sniadecki, CinemaScope
"Engrossing; bursts with absurdist wit." —Jonathan Wilson, Asian Movie Pulse
"Captivating!" —Bérénice Reynaud, Senses of Cinema
"There is not a single superfluous action nor unnecessary cut." —Thom Andersen, Film Comment
Select Accolades
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A brutally frank portrait of the social and environmental problems plaguing contemporary China.
YING Liang | 2012 | 111 minutes | Color | English | English subtitles
