Lichun (2007) Reviews

• How the reality destroys people's dream

  linm-12008-05-29

  Setting in a northern county of China in late 80s and early 90s of last century, this movie is about a few ordinary people who dreamed to become artists, who are stubborn enough to fight for their dreams, but eventually give in to the mundane life. This is a somehow identical theme appeared in the director's previous award-winning film "Peacock". Nevertheless, this is a totally different story. Well written and directed, this is one of the best movies of China of the year. What makes this movie magnificent is that although it's a sad story, the director was able to add in some delicate and somehow absurd humor, pushing you to the edge of breaking your heart. One thing worth to mention is that the leading actress, Wenli Jiang, is in fact the director's wife, who is very beautiful in reality but appeared to be ugly in the movie.

• A solid dark comedy

  TheBigSick2019-03-19

  The satirical tone throughout the film sets up this solid dark comedy. Almost every character in the film is hypercritical. The script is pretty sharp and the character development is quite successful. Wang Cailing is probably one of the most representative characters in modern China, thanks to the career-best performance from Jiang Wenli. This film gives deep depiction both about humanity and society.