Pusan

Lan

Women tian shang jian (China)

By DEREK ELLEY

A Beijing Asian Union Culture & Media Investment Co. production. (International sales: Asia Union, Beijing.) Produced by Dong Ping, Jiang Wenli. Executive producer, Liu Xiaolin. Directed, written by Jiang Wenli.
 
With: Zhu Xu, Yao Jun, Zhu Yinuo, Ma Sichun, Hu Qiuyan, Liu Ye.
(Mandarin dialogue)
 

At age 40, mainland Chinese actress Jiang Wenli ("And the Spring Comes," "Lost Indulgence") makes a smooth segue behind the camera with autobiographical coming-of-ager "Lan." Cultural Revolution-set tale of a young girl, whose dream of becoming a champion gymnast is scuppered by the realities of everyday life and family background, is handled with grace and feeling, and is notably light on the political cliches besetting stories of the era. The audience-award winner at this year's Pusan fest, this unabashedly old-school movie (in the best sense) is ripe for festival and Euro TV exposure, with some limited theatrical potential as well.

Stylistically, the film is like a less arty version of "Peacock," directed by Jiang's husband, lenser-helmer Gu Changwei. But that takes nothing away from Jiang's accomplishments here: Every setup is beautifully composed and lit, never pushed beyond an average viewer's patience, and the movie has a refined sensibility that doesn't shy away from emotion or occasional flights of fancy. It's a sure crowdpleaser at fests.

Jiang Xiaolan (Yao Jun) is a young girl in an unnamed railway town on the southern bank of the Huai River, the traditional dividing line between North and South China. Branded as "rightists," her parents have been sent to a labor camp in remote Xinjiang, so she's raised by her grandpa, Tang (Zhu Xu). Because of her family name (the same as that of KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek), she's teased by other schoolkids as a "bastard of counterrevolutionaries."

Though the politics of the Cultural Revolution are aways in the background, they're sensed rather than made explicit, and the pic is almost entirely free of the usual banner-waving scenes. Portrait of everyday life is remembered by the main character -- her childhood dreams, home life with grandpa, etc.

Grudgingly admitted into the local gymnastics club, she's kept apart from the official athletes but continues to be inspired by local champ Jiang Shaoyi and Romania's Nadia Comaneci. Meanwhile, her grandfather makes her a leotard like the other girls' and builds a bar in the garden for her to practice on.

The old man also keeps the fiction alive that her parents will one day return from their patriotic work "turning the desert into fertile land," and also entertains her with tales from his youth as a train driver. But as the Cultural Revolution nears its end in 1976, and Xiaolan (now played, seamlessly, by Zhu Yinuo) enters puberty, he succumbs to old age, with Xiaolan caring for him and taking on more adult duties.

Pic is full of memorable images that aren't especially new in Chinese cinema, but fit together into a beguiling portrait. A sequence in which Xiaolan imagines herself flying above the town sounds too cute on paper but plays absolutely right dramatically.

Jiang's controlled direction and the delicate, staccato score by Evgueni Galperine ("The Warrior and the Wolf") keep the movie free of sentimentality, as do the perfs by veteran Zhu (an old hand at such roles) and the two young Xiaolan thesps. Supporting players are equally well drawn, especially Ma Sichuan as Xiaolan's older neighbor and Hu Qiuyan as Xiaolan's mom. Mainland star Liu Ye cameos as Li's b.f.

Chinese title means "We'll Meet in Heaven." English subtitles on print caught badly need revising, including converting the names into Chinese style.

Camera (color), Lin Liangzhong; editors, Yang Hongyu, Liu Jiami; music, Evgueni Galperine; production designer, Feng Ligang; art director, Song Zhen; costume designer, Xiang Honghui; sound (Dolby Digital), An Wei, Ye Dan, Li Shuo, Shen Jianqin; special effects, Wang Hongli; visual effects, China Film Post; visual effects supervisors, Xu Xin, Li Liping; assistant director, Qi Dagang. Reviewed at Pusan Film Festival (New Currents), Oct. 10, 2009. Running time: 89 MIN.