11-year-old Wang lives with his family in a remote village in China. Life is tough, but they make the most of what little they have. When Wang is selected to lead his school's daily ...
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Deng is a stubborn retired widow who spends her days caring about her two grown up sons and her elderly mother, despite her family efforts to stop her. But her daily routine starts derailing when she keeps receiving anonymous calls..
In the 1980s, encouraged by the government, a large number of families leave Chinese cities to settle in the poorer regions of the country, in order to develop local industry. The film's ... See full summary »
A divorced couple learns that the way to possibly save daughter, who is suffering from blood cancer, is to have another child. Problem is: They're both already remarried.
Lin, a sea captain, returns from a 6 month journey when he is told that his 25-year-old son Lin Bo has been gunned down by the police. In his quest to understand what happened, he realizes ... See full summary »
The young adult life of Hong Yunsheng, nicknamed Little Brother, is seen as somewhat of a failure by those that know him. A Chinese national, he stowed away on a boat to the United States, ... See full summary »
Two young farm workers, who like millions of others, leave their village to seek their fortunes in the city. Each chose a vastly different path to make it and become embroiled in ... See full summary »
The Chief of Construction Committee leaps to his death from a tall building. Yang Jiadong, a rookie cop begins investigating it. Forced out of his job and to the safety of Hong Kong, he endeavors to discover the truth.
In a misguided effort to teach his brother independence, Zi Long introduces him to his delinquent gang. His decision throws them in to a violent world that will in different ways, imprison them both.
Factory and construction workers, farmers, commuters, miners, students. The director captures the state of his nation, by static filming one or more people in more or less motionless poses. No narrative, just portraits.
11-year-old Wang lives with his family in a remote village in China. Life is tough, but they make the most of what little they have. When Wang is selected to lead his school's daily gymnastics, his teacher recommends that he wear a new shirt, which forces his family to make a great sacrifice. Soon after, Wang encounters a wounded man on the run and their fates are intertwined.
The on-screen ending credits are listed in Chinese and in French. In French, two of the schoolboys are La Souris, which translates to English as Mouse, and La Teigne, which refers to moths or fungal infection but in reference to a child is an idiomatic expression for Pest. The English subtitles show "Mouse" in place of "La Souris" and "Louse" in place of "La Teigne". See more »
It is not untrue to say this film is about rape, murder and betrayal. But this could lead to the wrong conclusion. Eleven flowers is a very subdued, subtle movie in which no violence is shown at all. As in many Chinese films, not much is shown, but a great deal is implied.
The story is about 11-year old Wang Han, who accidentally encounters a murderer who has taken revenge for the rape of his 16-year old sister, a girl the boy secretly fancies. The murder is the talk of the town in the rural community, and leads to some unexpected developments.
But the murder story is only a vehicle for the director. He uses it to tell two other stories: the friendship between Wang Han and his school buddies, and the impact of the cultural revolution on the daily life of the ordinary Chinese in 1975.
The cultural revolution, a euphemism for the ruthless oppression by Mao Zedong, is the backdrop for the story. Already in one of the first scenes it becomes clear what the director wants to tell us. 'Why don't you work in the factory, like mother', the boy asks his father who leaves for work on Monday, only to return on Friday. 'Because we are not allowed to choose our own occupation', he tells his son. 'That's why I want you to become a painter. That way, you can really be free'.
One of the most dramatic scenes is the boy witnessing his father coming home, bleeding from his head. Against his will, the father got involved in a fight between the Red Guards en the conservatives, because he wanted to help an old man whose leg was broken by the Red Guards. It shows how devoid of any morality this regime was.
But there are also many light-hearted scenes in the film. One of the funnier ones is the boy's mother showing his stained underwear to his father. 'He is early, just like I was', says his father cheerfully, pinching his wife's bottom.
It is interesting to compare this film to 'Under the hawthorn tree', the recent film by Zhang Yimou which explores the same theme of everyday life against the backdrop of the cultural revolution. The difference is that Zhang made a love story and Wang a coming-of-age story. But the attention to small detail, the subdued way of storytelling and the focus on everyday life are quite similar. I liked Zhang's film better than Wang's, because the latter is sometimes a bit slow.
At the moment of writing, this film has been rated by 149 IMDb-users, which is an extremely low figure. Apparently, the film has only been released in France (which co-produced), the Netherlands and Belgium. It deserves a larger audience.
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It is not untrue to say this film is about rape, murder and betrayal. But this could lead to the wrong conclusion. Eleven flowers is a very subdued, subtle movie in which no violence is shown at all. As in many Chinese films, not much is shown, but a great deal is implied.
The story is about 11-year old Wang Han, who accidentally encounters a murderer who has taken revenge for the rape of his 16-year old sister, a girl the boy secretly fancies. The murder is the talk of the town in the rural community, and leads to some unexpected developments.
But the murder story is only a vehicle for the director. He uses it to tell two other stories: the friendship between Wang Han and his school buddies, and the impact of the cultural revolution on the daily life of the ordinary Chinese in 1975.
The cultural revolution, a euphemism for the ruthless oppression by Mao Zedong, is the backdrop for the story. Already in one of the first scenes it becomes clear what the director wants to tell us. 'Why don't you work in the factory, like mother', the boy asks his father who leaves for work on Monday, only to return on Friday. 'Because we are not allowed to choose our own occupation', he tells his son. 'That's why I want you to become a painter. That way, you can really be free'.
One of the most dramatic scenes is the boy witnessing his father coming home, bleeding from his head. Against his will, the father got involved in a fight between the Red Guards en the conservatives, because he wanted to help an old man whose leg was broken by the Red Guards. It shows how devoid of any morality this regime was.
But there are also many light-hearted scenes in the film. One of the funnier ones is the boy's mother showing his stained underwear to his father. 'He is early, just like I was', says his father cheerfully, pinching his wife's bottom.
It is interesting to compare this film to 'Under the hawthorn tree', the recent film by Zhang Yimou which explores the same theme of everyday life against the backdrop of the cultural revolution. The difference is that Zhang made a love story and Wang a coming-of-age story. But the attention to small detail, the subdued way of storytelling and the focus on everyday life are quite similar. I liked Zhang's film better than Wang's, because the latter is sometimes a bit slow.
At the moment of writing, this film has been rated by 149 IMDb-users, which is an extremely low figure. Apparently, the film has only been released in France (which co-produced), the Netherlands and Belgium. It deserves a larger audience.