Springtime in a Small Town
Screening: 7 February 2005
China 2002
Directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang
Leading players ~ Hu Jingfan, Wu Jun, Xin Bai Qing.
116 minutes (subtitles).
Synopsis
Essentially, the film revolves inside a narrative triangle, as wealthy homeowner Liyan (Wu Jun) is visited by his old college friend Zhang (Xin Bai Quing). Zhang turns out to be his wife’s first lover.The loveless marriage between Liyan and his wife Yuwen (Hu Jing Fan) strains at the visit and the drama becomes intensified and perfidious as Liyan is suspected of having TB and sets up an engagement between his old friend and his younger sister Xiu (Lu Si Si).
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Springtime in a Small Town is a beautifully composed film that tells the angst ridden and contemplative story of three peoples past lives. With much acclaim for its precisive use of camera, light and sound, some have seen this Venice prize-winner as an homage to Ozu. However, with the emphasis on both interior setting and introspective emotion this film perhaps owes more to the drama of Checkov.The accent is on stasis, for the four main characters little changes and the overarching sentiment is that everyone remains stuck in the same situation at the end.
