Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Lin Cui | ... | Guo Liangui (as Cui Lin) |
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Bin Li | ... | Jian |
Xun Zhou | ... | Qin | |
Yuanyuan Gao | ... | Xiao | |
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Shuang Li | ... | Da Huan |
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Yiwei Zhao | ... | Father |
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Yan Pang | ... | Mother |
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Fangfei Zhou | ... | Rongrong |
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Jian Xie | ... | Manager |
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Yuhong Ma | ... | Accountant |
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Guancheng Liu | ... | Mantis (as Lei Liu) |
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Mengnan Li | ... | Qiu Sheng |
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Jian Li | ... | Jian's Classmate |
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Yang Zhang | ... | Jian's Classmate |
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Yuzhong Wang | ... | Jian's Classmate |
Beijing: young men in packs, machismo, class divisions, violence, and indifference. Guei arrives from the country: toothbrushes, hotel foyers, and Qin, a rich neighbor in high heels, dazzle him. He gets a job as a messenger. The company issues him a bike, which he must pay for out of his wages. When it is stolen, Guei hunts for it. A student, Jian, has it; for him, it's the key to teen society - with his pals and with Xiao, a girl he fancies. Guei finds the bike and stubbornly tries to reclaim it in the face of great odds. But for Jian to lose the bike would mean humiliation. The two young men - and the people around them - are swept up in the youths' desperation. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
A bit irritating at times and certainly not a regular fare even for those used to Asian movies. The story revolves around ideas of going up the social ladder... about how material goods can change your status, and what can happen due to greed.
The main character a peasant from the countryside finds himself in the "wild" urban enviroment and all its impersonal aggresiveness. The big city is unforgiving. The way the main characters tend to react to otherwise incredibly hard situations with silence sure is different from western standards.
Overall a beautiful movie with some very good scenes... still slow at times and could have been better 7 in 10.