Often cited as China’s first independent feature film, this low-budget drama, filmed largely in the director’s Beijing apartment, depicts the life of a single mother (a topic considered taboo at the time) caring for her mentally challenged son. Shot with a documentary aesthetic that includes interviews with families of mentally challenged persons, the film helped kick-start the Sixth Generation of filmmakers (including Wang Xiaoshuai and Jia Zhangke) and their ethos of employing documentary realism to depict the true conditions of contemporary China.
Xia Zhenglan is a young beautiful ballerina, and bride. On her wedding night, her husband dies oddly which causes her to become mentally deranged. The police become suspicious of her actions which forces her to be drawn into the fight for her life.
