About the Film

Often cited as the greatest Chinese film ever, “Spring in a Small Town” differs from other films of the era. In a time when most films were colored by the politics of the time, “Spring in a Small Town” is a story of a woman with a love dilemma. Few Mu’s film is based on a short story by Li Tianji, and was produced by the Wenhua Film Company.

Though its reputation suffered after 1949 in mainland China after the Communist revolution, within the last 20 years it had become known as one of the greatest Chinese films ever made.

Synopsis

Taking place in a ruined family compound after the Second Sino-Japanese War, the film tells the story of the once prosperous Dai family. The husband and patriarch, Dai Liyan is an invalid, and spends his days in the courtyard nostalgic for the past. His marriage to Zhou Yuwen has long been rendered loveless, though both still feel concern for the other. Liyan’s young teenage sister Dai Xiu, meanwhile, is too young to remember the past, and stays cheerful and playful in the ruins of her home.

Into this dreary but unchanging existence comes Liyan’s childhood friend Zhang Zhichen, a doctor from Shanghai and a former flame of Zhou Yuwen before she ever met her husband. The rest of the film details Zhou Yuwen’s conflicting emotions between her love for Zhang, and her loyalty to her husband and his family.

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