Xiang ri kui

Set in Mao's China, Zhang Yang's "Sunflower" is a tender and touching family drama that spans five decades, from 1967 to 2000. Xiangyang is only a baby when his father, Gengnian, an aspiring artist, is thrown into a "re-education camp" on a trumped-up charge of disloyalty to the state. When Gengnian is finally released and sent back to his family, Xiangyang is a nine-year-old boy with no memory of his dad and no interest in following in the old man's footsteps as a painter. This sets up an ongoing conflict between father and son that extends well into Xiangyang's early adulthood.

"Sunflower" is a subtle, thoughtful, deliberately paced look at just how much influence a parent can reasonably be expected to have over the life of a child, as Xiangyang comes to realize that until he can get out from under the thumb of his father, he has no real hope of ever becoming a fully independent man in his own right. For Gengnian, it's a matter of learning that he can't simply transfer all the thwarted and unfulfilled dreams he once had for his own life onto his son without eventually robbing the young man of his independence and breaking his spirit.

The screenplay is scrupulously fair to all parties as it astutely explores the universal truths of filial relationships - with unmannered performances and self-effacing direction adding greatly to the naturalism of the piece.

It is so easy to see this film as a glimpse of China during a period of upheaval. We see the events of the era, notably Mao's death, the Gang of Four and their downfall, up to the era of small- and later large-scale capitalism. Focusing on changes in society and the impact on families, particularly one, in a small village causes us to lose sight of what this film is really about.

Torn from his family and sent to a reeducation camp, Gengnian is determined to make up for the time he lost (six years) as a father. Like many fathers, and I include my own among them, he feels the need to be firm and instill discipline in his son; to guide him in the direction he "should" go. In this case, it is painting. You see so many American fathers in Gengnian, especially those who are children of the depression. You also see those fathers that live vicariously though their children and push them to excel even without asking if this is what they really want.

The film gives us a glimpse of a changing China, but we also see family interaction in a way that we are not familiar with, and that alone makes it worthwhile. But, it is not a documentary; we should focus on our relationships with our fathers and sons, and we certainly will if we allow ourselves to be drawn into the film.

Yang Zhang has given us something to really think about. With brilliant cinematography by Jong Lin (Bend it Like Beckham, Eat drink Man Woman), and an amazingly good performance by Joan Chen as the materialistic mother, it was a real treat.

I was born in 80'S in China but love displayed in this film still moved me for the same experience of my past when I grew in my aunt's family and there something gap between me and my relatives. So it's a better reflection of real life even than the zenith sort of film.

Joan isn't dealt with Hollywood's A-budget films for her independent film spirits. And here Joan is precisely show her talent of acting for this mother's features even with her whole body and every organ sensitively though it's little pity her scenes are not that many.

It's too bad for me that I could not comment on it with words, and as Chinese I appreciate Joan Chen.I hope I can see more and more good films for us.

Yang Zhang's film 'Sunflower' explores the changing face of China over thirty years, seen through the prism of a stormy father-son relationship. The authority of family has always been important in traditional Chinese culture, so this is a believable conflict in a story of China entering the modern age. However, the movie is not especially subtle, the father figure does little more than assert that others should do what he asks them, and the use of Western music is disappointing, it doesn't feel like the soundtrack of these characters' lives. I still enjoyed the film, the story is never forced and it gives one a flavour of how one might imagine life in China to be. But at heart it's a conventional tale.

Since there are only eleven comments, so I felt the need to write another one.

The acting are pretty good, especially the mother and the father. The makeup is bad for Joan Chen when she was supposed to be an old woman. It was quite obvious that she was wearing a wig. And the wrinkles on her face looked bad, too. On the other hand, whoever did the makeup for the father did a good job. The father looked right about his age.

The ending was kind of strange. I don't see a reason for the father to disappear all of sudden with no particular reason.

This movie is over 2 hours long. It is just too long. During the 30 years, many major political events happened right in Beijing, this movie did not mention any of them. Of course, it is understandable because the Chinese "socialist" government has a strict censorship. When will the government gave up its strict control on artists' creativity? We can only imagine how many wonderful artworks, movies could have been presented to the world. Whether they tried to avoid those political events or simply didn't care to mention them, that directly affect the movie, it made it too flat. There was no major ups and downs. There was no single moment which make you want to cry or feel happy for them.