Qing hong (2005)

Director:

Xiaoshuai Wang

Writer:

Xiaoshuai Wang (writer)

Release Date:

3 June 2005 (China)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In the 1960's, encouraged by the government, a large number of families leave Chinese cities to settle in the poorer regions of the country...

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Yuanyuan Gao	...	Qinghong
Bin Li	...	Xiao Gen Er
Yang Tang	...	Zhou Meifen
Xueyang Wang	...	Xiao Zhen
Anlian Yao	...	Wu Zernin

Also Known As:

Shanghai Dreams (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:123 min

Country:

China

Language:

Mandarin | Shanghainese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:15

Company:

Debo Film Ltd.

Artistic in places, plodding in others

The conflict between authoritarian fathers, expecting respect, and their children is a common theme of contemporary Chinese movies; so are the political changes of the recent past (although don't expect to see a film about the Tiannanmen Square massacre). 'Shanghai Dreams' fits this pattern, and there are some highly effective scenes in it: one, a showdown in a factory, with the sound of the machines providing a hideous underscore to the threat of violence; another, where an attempted escape is followed entirely from within the back of a vehicle. But I'm not quite sure it deserved its Cannes prize; Goa Yuanyuan appears a little too old for her character, some of the dialogue is a little expository (at least in translation), and the sense of claustrophobia supposedly felt by its characters (exiles from Shanghai, stuck in a remote industrial town) is not entirely conveyed: I didn't feel that I was pining for Shanghai when watching this movie, and perhaps I should have done. And I didn't quite know what to make of the ending, which though shocking, has a slightly incidental feeling to it. This does not make this a bad movie; but I've seen other films (for example, 'The World'), which have offered more original insights into the fast-changing face of modern China