The arranged marriage between the taciturn Ma and the lame and infertile Guiying gives rise to a relationship full of patience and thoughtfulness. Told without a trace of sentimentality, this charming film, set in a landscape of deep yellow corn fields and sand dunes, paints a portrait of modest rural life and reveals the unsustainability of the country idyll in a modernizing China.
At first, the arranged marriage between the taciturn Ma and the lame and infertile Guiying does not portend a joyous future. But their modest life together on a farm with a faithful donkey pushes the couple towards kindness and patience, towards each other and the land from which they make a living. Chinese director Ruijun Li presents a drama about love without a trace of unnecessary sentimentality. With the captivated eye of a careful observer, he shows that the resilience of living together does not necessarily depend on material wealth or on having a “complete,” happy family, but that it grows from everyday acts of consideration. A charming film set in a landscape of deep yellow corn fields and sand dunes that reveals the unsustainability of idyllic rural life in a modernizing China.
Ondřej Pavlík
131 min / Color, DCP
Director Ruijun Li
/ Screenplay Ruijun Li
/ Dir. of Photography Wang Weihua
/ Music Peyman Yazdanian
/ Sound Wang Changrui
/ Editor Ruijun Li
/ Art Director Ruijun Li, Han Dahai
/ Producer Zhang Min, Li Yan
/ Production Hucheng No.7 Films
/ Coproduction Qizi Films, Beijing J.Q. Spring Pictures, Dream Media, Aranya Pictures, ShangHai Shigu Film, Han Zhou QinZiZai
/ Cast Renlin Wu, Hai-Qing
/ Sales m-appeal world sales UG
/ Distributor Film Europe s.r.o.
Ruijun Li (1983, Gansu, China). Filmography: The Summer Solstice (2007), The Old Donkey (2010), Fly with the Crane (2012), River Road (2015), Walking Past the Future (2017), Return to Dust (Yin ru chen yan, 2022).
m-appeal world sales UG
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Film Europe s.r.o.
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