Shot in stylish black-and-white, this three-act fable, set in wartime Chongqing, focuses on the indifferent rich, the head clerk on a farm, and some young intruders. Based on a 1943 short story, the film was directed by noted screenwriter Mei Feng.
This film expresses feeling in a highly obscure way. It presents a seemingly desultory time period to tell the story of two generations. A young girl who’s confused about what lies ahead is sent to England to receive education from childhood. She indulges herself in cyberlove and cannot get herself out of the hurtful affair. A middle-aged father who’s perplexed about death left his hometown for Beijing when he was young. He feels helpless about the status quo of the state-owned film studio. Tortured by terminal disease, he gives up the hope to live on.
A quiet physician from southern China masters martial arts to protect his son and stop a corrupt governor.
The movie is based on a real historic event. During French's invading war against China in 1885, the French army took over Zhengnan Guan located in the Guangxi Province. Wishing to protect their beloved country, the 70 years old General Feng Zicai and his two sons volunteered to join the battle. The general understood it would be a difficult battle to win as the French soldiers held much more advanced equipment, resources and weapons. To show his devotion and determination, he brought his own coffin alongside with him to the war zone. He also utilized his experience with the Zhangnan Guan terrain to pave out strategies, made weapons applicable to their situations. These actions bolstered the morale tremendously, and prepared them well for the war. As a result, although the Chinese soldiers sustained heavy losses, they turned the tide of the battle and won.
An old retired puppet master has his quiet life disrupted his 6-year-old American grandson, who barely speaks Chinese.
