the second feature from lola zhang’s yunnan new film project (10 features to be directed by young femme helmers from china, hk and taiwan is a lovely, tender debut by writer director yin lichuan.
a father appears uninvited and unannounced at his daughter’s home in regional big city on a mission to help her find a husband. he initially comes across as a strong-headed character with an ‘all-knowing air’, repeatedly telling his daughter he will clean the dishes as she ‘doesn’t know how to do them properly’. by the end of the film the daughter has broken through his facade to uncover a lonely loser clinging to an imagined grandiose history of his ‘prime’. there is a leveling of the playing field. both characters start off fronting, acting like they know what they’re doing with their lives. by the end there is a generous and loving, unspoken acceptance that neither one really knows anything.
jia and lichuan
the father’s aging loneliness (his wife is deceased, he lives alone) is partly what drives him to try to ‘save’ his daughter; spending hours at the local park meeting other parents prospecting brides and husbands for their offspring – a common practice in china. he wants to find a suitable partner for his daughter to grow old with. {aside- that seems to be one of marriages primary enduring attractions. i’d rather grow old unshackled and alone thank you very much}.
the film would resonate deeply with a middle eastern audience if dubbed or translated and if we had a cinema audience more accustomed to international fare. common themes such as the massive generational social chasms, changing ideas of marriage and relationships, dealing with modernity and urbanization and industrialization, aging parents’ place in society, and women’s radically shifting roles in society.
lichuan captures modern life in china beautifully. the incredible mix of tradition and hyper-modernity, fast and slow, political vs personal. all with an authentic subtlety that had me longing to go back soon. definitely a name to watch. li jia is stunning and gives a faultless performance.
find of the fest for me so far.