Xiang ri kui

The English Name for this movie is Sunflower. I saw this at the Toronto Film Festival.

This was a thoughtful piece of work and is definitely worth a look for an insightful dramatic tale in a Chinese setting -- with both family and society as key themes. I hope more movies like this get made!

The story takes us through the life of an urban Chinese family -- the father becomes the art teacher and disciplinarian for his 'want-to-have-fun-with-the-town-kids' son. In broad strokes, we see the clash of father-son wills as each tries to get his own way. But the conflict is born out of an emotional pain as father's hands were crushed purposefully during the cultural revolution -- to prevent him from drawing anymore. How much more awful can you get? As the movie fast-forwards through time, we see the broad strokes transform as both son and father grow and continue their journey through life -- more conflict, more of an interesting view on the life they're going through. The artwork in this movie speaks volumes. The Sunflower imagery is moving. I'm choking up as I write this.

FAMILY: The director was present and commented how society is based on family, and hence how looking at family relationships really allows you to examine society. For some reason, the close-up look at a family worked really well for me. Very nuanced writing and direction.

EVOCATIVE OF REALITY: The timing of the key story events rooted in recent history made this story really come alive for me. As society influenced the characters, the characters reacted to society. This really gave the story a fresh dose of reality and gave me what really felt like a true insider's perspective on a set of experiences growing up in China.

For me, this story made me reflect on my own family, my own life, and force me to examine some choices I've made in my past. It was a tad long, but still worth the time.

There are two scenes in Sunflower, a rare Chinese gem of a film, that genuinely made me feel that 'choke' you get when you're seeing something in a film that you know emotionally affects you in some way. The scenes are simple and seemingly unexciting on paper: a girl ice-skating as a male admirer sketches her and an apparent stray cat 'returning' to where it once lived. But to have two scenes that are indeed so simple on paper work so well in a film and be able to get that reaction, is a great achievement. Part of the reason you get this reaction is because of what Sunflower does in the preceding events leading up to these scenes.

I think to say this is the Chinese 'Forrest Gump' is a little too incorrect but immediately coming away from this film, it would be easy to label it so. Whereas Forrest Gump had a certain 'lack' of a father figure, it is the father figure that plays an important role in this film – mostly in the opening third but it has an effect on events thereafter. Sunflower splits its narrative up into three chapters; something it borrows from American cinema, for sure, but it has that theme of 'authority' running through it throughout. Often this authority is channelled toward Xiangyang (who is portrayed by three actors at different ages) but the mother will also exercise her anger and authority when the family are turned down a flat for themselves and the father in question spends several months away at a Communist run camp in the 1960s – a place where authority is rife and anger is taken out on its inhabitants. It is also because of this camp visit that makes the father so authoritarian toward his son as his artist 'living' is ruined and thus; wants his son to go down the route instead.

It would not surprise me if the film was loosely based on some real experiences that the screenwriter might have gone through. The opening chapter takes place in 1967 where the film revolves around a nine year old Xiangyang and his struggling relationship with his father. During this segment, Xiangyang experiences an earthquake; a military coup following the death of a communist leader and an actual gathering in the town square featuring all the kids as they watch a film projected onto a makeshift screen. Such authenticity, especially the last example, and attention to detail as we have the world in which these character inhabit pointed out to us –earthquakes and how they affect characters; the end of regimes and how the consequences of the celebrations can impact on them.

With these three segments set during different years, we really get the feeling that time has passed because with the attention to detail such as the examples above, the atmosphere that various different things happen at various different times that do not further the plot help in the progression of character relationships. The second segment happens in 1976 and sees the greatest progression in its characters. The ice-skating scene is, as I've mentioned, one of the more beautiful scenes in the film for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is the framing which gets closer and closer to the figure as they skate and Xiangyang draws – he is getting each detail he wants as we systematically see her in a closer fashion. What's more, the framing does not suggest he is watching her in a manner that represents the 'gaze' because it is impossible for a human being to see an item at one distance and then at a closer distance without physically moving – something Xiangyang doesn't do. The music and poetic movement of the skater aids in the effectiveness of the scene.

One of the more remarkable things about Sunflower is that it feels epic and this is without any cheap gimmicks or special effects. If the film has any sort of flaw, it is that the final chapter revolves around a domestic situation that is whether or not the couple that is Xiangyang and Xiuqing (Chen) should have a baby. This plot path feels a little familiar but it is supported very well by its constant theme of authority when the parents would like them to have a child. But, the disturbing undercurrent here is that they obviously are not able to realise their son is old enough to make decisions for himself. But the final third opens the eyes for other reasons: we are allowed out of the boundaries of the neighbourhood; we get glimpses of the big city and all the mise-en-scene that accompanies it such as motorways, skyscrapers and Xiangyang suddenly driving around in a jeep. It seems his artistic creativity has been furthered and a leak in a pipe adds to the series of outside agency events interfering with the character's lives. Sunflower is not your typical Far East production that relies on martial arts and beautiful cinematography like a Yimou Zhang film might – nor does it resemble a John Woo film. Instead, Yang Zhang directs a touching and straightforward film that touches and captivates whilst remaining entertaining.

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.

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.

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.