GRADE: 9.5
A lonely housewife finds her monotonous life altered when her childhood sweetheart returns to town.
Original Title: Xiao cheng zhi chun
Director: Mu Fei
Country: China
THOUGHTS:
A beautiful film that deals with complex human relationships without simplifying them into a morality play. The tenderness shown between all the characters calls to mind Truffaut’s Jules and Jim—there are no antagonists; only good people struggling with a difficult circumstance none of them chose. The movie is also an interesting look at a post-war landscape in China, with infrastructure crumbling and disappointment the dominant mood. Low-budget, but memorably and poetically shot and edited.