Kan shang qu hen mei (2006)

Director:

Yuan Zhang

Writers:

Shuo Wang (novel) and
Dai Ning (writer)

Release Date:

21 July 2006 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

China | Discipline | Children | Monster | Teacher Student Relationship

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bowen Dong	...	Fang Qiangqiang
Yuanyuan Ning	...	Yang Nanyan
Chen Manyuan	...	Yang Beiyan
Zhao Rui	...	Ms. Li
Xiaofeng Li	...	Ms. Tang

Also Known As:

La guerra dei fiori rossi (Italy)
Little Red Flowers (International: English title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

China | Italy

Language:

Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | UK:12A | Portugal:M/12

Company:

Beijing Century Good-Tidings Cultural Development Company

Kindergarten - even little flowers don't make it a rose garden.

Sometimes you are lucky enough to catch a little movie that, other than your own reaction to it, you feel rather inadequate to discuss in depth. This is one such movie for me, one I decided to catch on TV the other night and slowly found it gaining my adoration.

From director Yuan Zhang (who I am unfamiliar with), this film is all about young Fang Qiangqiang. Fang is placed into a kindergarten boarding school and soon finds that the ordered, organised system is something he is completely unused to and unable to grasp. He is unable to dress himself in the mornings, unable to go to the toilet at the correct times, unable to do a heck of a lot of things that the other children have already managed to achieve. Because of this he is constantly denied the symbol of reward given to the others, the little red flowers of the title. As Fang's frustration and fierce desire for independence grows so does his erratic and mischievous side, making him even more of a target to the teachers than he was in the first place.

Unfolding at a leisurely pace, this film never feels dull. In fact, much of the running time plays out like cinema verite, you feel as if you're spying on these children and their teachers because the performances are so unguarded and natural. Everyone plays their part brilliantly but the top prize, unreservedly, goes to little Bowen Dong who plays Fang. A perfect mix of fun, petulance, nerves, fearlessness and imagination, Dong's performance gives us one of the most perfectly-realised little boys I have ever seen on film. It helps that all of the other children are almost just as good while the adults all play their parts well, despite having to portray the "baddies" of the film.

A wonderful little movie that I encourage everyone to try and see, if only to remember those awkward moments from childhood that we've all gone through at one time or another.

See this if you like: My Life As A Dog, Etre et avoir, The Rugrats Movie.