Ji quan bu ning

I haven't seen any work of this director before, yet I find this film rather great.

The story was about a traditional Yu Opera troupe found itself difficult to live in a modern world, and tried hard to find its way out in all the materialised lures.

The issue in this film is quite common in contemporary China. The Yu Opera is also commonly sung in my hometown, yet only people from the old generations are found to sing it. The twenty somethings are hardy drawn any interests by it, the younger kids don't even know its existence.

It's such a sweet film. The people are facing difficulties and struggle to make a better living. However, their strength and stamina made me deeply touched. Mixing humour with bitterness is such a effective way of expressing the mood of both nostalgia and longing.

It's a perfect Hollywood happy ending (since the director gained his film study degree in the US), but the storytelling made me feel more engaged with it than Hollywood blockbusters. China need more filmmakers like this: Small Budget, Big Story.