Kan shang qu hen mei (2006)

A young boy starting school for the first time struggles to fit in to a strictly regimented society in in post-revolutionary China.

Director:

Yuan Zhang

Writers:

Shuo Wang (novel), Dai Ning,

Stars:

Bowen Dong, Yuanyuan Ning, Chen Manyuan

4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bowen Dong	...	Fang Qiangqiang
Yuanyuan Ning	...	Yang Nanyan
Chen Manyuan	...	Yang Beiyan
Zhao Rui	...	Ms. Li
Xiaofeng Li	...	Ms. Tang
Yujia Sun	...	Dou
Ma Du	...	Fa
Runqiu Liu	...	Pang
Ziye Wang	...	Mao
Yanghao Zhang	...	Jin
Jiani Kang	...	Jia
Jiaheng Zhao	...	Hai
Lian Liu	...	Qian
Qing Yao	...	Ning
Huacheng Li	...	Long

Storyline

Qiang is a four-year-old little rebel, possessed of a pair of luminous eyes and a precociously indomitable will. His father deposits him at a well-appointed residential kindergarten in post-1949 Beijing, since his parents are often away. Life at the kindergarten appears rich and colourful, made up of a variety of cheerfully sunny rituals and games meant to train these children to be good members of society. But it's not so easy for Qiang to adapt to this kind of carefully organized, minutely scrutinized collective life. A fierce individualist in miniature, he tries but fails to conform to the model his teachers enforce. Yet he still craves the reward that the other students win: the little red flowers awarded each day as tokens for good behaviour. But Qiang doesn't win any flowers: he can't yet dress himself, and doesn't play together with the other kids. He even dares to talk back to the strict Teacher Li and Principal Kong when they try to impose some discipline on him. Gradually, ...

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Plot Keywords:

discipline | china | monster | children | school playground | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

China Italy

Language:

Mandarin

Release Date:

12 January 2007 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Czerwone kwiatki

Company Credits

Production Co:

Huakun Entertainment, Citic Culture and Sports Enterprises, Century Hero Film Investment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A lyrical film about childhood in Mao's China

I just watched this film on UK TV. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first but it did capture my attention - not least because I'm not familiar with the setting in a Mao generation kindergarten boarding school. I've no idea if any of the details are factual but it reminded me of a rather Dickensian idea of bringing up children - though kinder and more humane.

This is a "foreign film" and therefore there are no car chases, no murders and no serial killers. It's about real human beings - infants in this case. If anyone is upset about seeing little kids bottoms it's because you have had your mind poisoned by Anglo-Saxon attitudes and obsession with pedophiles. Obviously you must never have been around infants - toilet training is a big part of the day! Infants are basically sweet and innocent and these kids are mostly seen in that way. The approach in this film is affectionate and realistic - kids also have their evil little ways! I think the core message is that there is not much difference between the children's Kindergarten school routines and the adult society in Mao's China. The attitudes of the children will harden in the controlled society that exists outside when the games become real. The teachers, the educators will be replaced by other kinds of educators and wrong behaviour will be punished by re-education.When you watch the last 5 minutes you will see why I came to that conclusion (could be wrong!). Natural instincts become perverted by too much control. People are so regimented that they even have to poo and pee at he same time in a line in the same place!Something like that.

You have a delightful journey getting to that point. As stated elsewhere the children's performances are completely believable. Of course, it is fiction and some dramatic license is taken in regard to the freedom of movement the little boy protagonist has.