One Second

Anyone unfamiliar with the larger career arc of Yimou Zhang can be excused for underestimating this heartfelt film. If it is not a masterpiece, then it is at least a worthy example from a master. It is, of course, a takeoff on Cinéma Paradiso (1988). I infer that this film is vastly truer to Cultural Revolution China than that one was to early post-WWII Italy. I think it rings true. I hope that someone who was there "in the day" will comment.

"He finds an unlikely competitor in a young girl Liu Guinv (Liu Haocun), who wants some film to decorate a lampshade for reparation. After a series of mischiefs fighting for a reel of film, which finally reaches the regulated farm where the movie is due to be screened by the veteran film projector Fan Dianying (Fan Wei), Jiusheng's concealed identity is at risk of being discovered and his foe-to-friend bond with Guinv, who is more or less his daughter's age, takes a familiar but no less affecting father-daughter trajectory. And ONE SECOND hits the bull's eye with its ending, a tactical misunderstanding brings Jiusheng back to Guinv, and his ensuing disappointment soon changes into a philosophical sigh, he is accorded a second chance to be a father figure, whereas, the film footage, buried and gone, acts like a germane symbol of a bygone era."

read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks

Zhang Yimou, in general, is the director of the epical drammas. But all the while he manages to tell little stories with a certain cynicism and black humor. One second is one of these films that tells us a very cheerful story with touching tones of hearthwarming. The film is a kind of Chinese "Cinema Paradiso", which is full of love for cinema and for this seventh art. But Yimou not only speaks of love for cinema but also of a friendship and solidarity between a prisoner who has escaped from a concentration camp and a child that their friendship is in fact based on the roots about the interests of cinema. Despite all this good intention that the director wants to put forward, unfortunately the film is unable to end this brilliant idea with a decent final blow and leaves the spectator with a dry mouth disappointing and perplexed without giving the coup de grace that otherwise would have been a sensational ending. .

Very rare type of story that you don't normally see. It's unique because it has a simple and genuine storyline but beautifully executed and got carried away till the end. Highly recommended!!

After a long line of patriotic films, which won't resonate beyond China's borders, One Second was a very welcome film.

The film is about an escaped convict who wants to see his daughter in a newsreel, the reel of which becomes the focal point of the movie. Throughout the movie, the main protagonist chases an orphan girl who steals the newsreel featuring his daughter. At times absurb (reflecting the times and accompanying behavior), at others humourous, the movie is overall a warm, touching tale of how two complete strangers come together, filling a void in the other.

Zhang Yimou once again captures the beauty of the surrounding area, even if often nothing more than desert and a drab village. There wasn't a character out of place nor an actor who failed to deliver.

Highly recommend.