From acclaimed filmmaker Zhang Meng (Piano in a Factory), the Chinese remake of Giuseppe Tornatore's (Cinema Paradiso) emotionally stirring film follows a widower's visits to his four adult children who lead distinctly different lives in four Chinese cities.It takes an intimate look at the struggling young generation in a nation transitioning from a collective past to a materialist present.
Recently widowed and retired geologist Guan Zhiguo (Zhang Guoli) eagerly
anticipates the annual summer visit of his four children, but one after another,
they call to cancel. He decides to step outside his Beijing courtyard to check up
on his brood.
First Guan tries to look up his photographer son Hao (Chen He, Running Man),
who hasnt called in a while. When he arrives at Haos atelier in Tianjin, he finds
it long deserted. Next stop is Hanzhou, where eldest daughter Qing (Yao Chen,
Firestorm,) is a successful commercial director & is married to a successful
surgeon, but her absentee behavior towards their son suggests Guans own
parenting style. Guan then moves on to Shanghai to see his son Quan (Shawn
Dou, Wolf Totem), but is appalled to find hes left his day job and apartment to
launch a startup with other hipsters. Guan arrives in Macau to visit his youngest
daughter, Chu (Ye Qianyun), whom he and his wife groomed to be a ballerina
since childhood, but is evasive about both her dance career and her suggestive
relationship with a bosom friend (Zhang Xinyi, Uncle Victory). As Guans
relationships with his children appear to unfortunately divulge much of their true
nature, a secret the siblings are withholding may unveil the honesty and
compassion thats been missing from Guan and his children.
