So Long, My Son

Wang Xiaoshuai’s (Red Amnesia, Festival 2015) unforgettable family portrait tackles the tragic implications of China’s one-child policy in epic form. It tells the story of two families from the 1970s to the present, revealing their trajectories through flashbacks that have a cumulative emotional power. The story hinges on a tragic drowning and a series of ensuing decisions that will have long-reaching ramifications. As the depredations of the Cultural Revolution sit alongside more daily concerns and challenges, the film builds to a remarkably poignant finale.

“So measured is the pacing, so sinuous the timeline, so understated the subtle ache of the performances that you don’t immediately realize that Wang Xiaoshuai’s exquisite three-hour drama has been performing the emotional equivalent of open-heart surgery on the audience since pretty much the first scene.” –Wendy Ide, The Guardian