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So Long, My Son

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So Long, My Son
Festival poster
Traditional Chinese地久天長
Simplified Chinese地久天长
Literal meaninglong and enduring as the heavens and the earth
Hanyu Pinyindìjiǔtiāncháng
Jyutpingdei6gau2tin1coeng4
Directed byWang Xiaoshuai
Screenplay by
  • A Mei
  • Wang Xiaoshuai
Story byWang Xiaoshuai
Produced byLiu Xuan
Starring
CinematographyKim Hyun-seok
Edited byLee Chatametikool
Music byDong Yingda
Production
companies
  • Dongchun Films
  • WXS Production[1]
Release dates
  • 14 February 2019 (2019-02-14) (Berlin)[2]
  • 22 March 2019 (2019-03-22) (China)[2]
Running time
185 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin

So Long, My Son (Chinese: 地久天长, or Di Jiu Tian Chang[3]) is a 2019 Chinese drama film directed by Wang Xiaoshuai. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.[4][5] At the festival, the film won the two main acting awards, with Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei winning the Silver Bear for Best Actor and Actress, respectively.[6]

Plot

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The film tells the story of two families over about thirty years: Liu Yaojun, Wang Liyun and their son Liu Xing ('Xingxing') together with Shen Yingming, Li Haiyan and their son Shen Hao ('Haohao'). Haohao and Xingxing were born on the same day. Both families were originally close and worked in the same factory, but became estranged in the 1980s.

Following the death of Xingxing, who drowned while playing by a reservoir with Haohao and other children, Yaojun and Liyun moved to another province (Fujian) and adopted a 'new' boy who they rename 'Xingxing', who grows estranged from his foster parents and leaves them as a young teenager. Yingming and Haiyan make a fortune in real estate and Haohao becomes a doctor.

When Haiyan is about to die, she invites Yaojun and Liyun to come back to their home town, which they hardly recognise after so much urban development. At the end, Haohao tells Xingxing's parents that he had forced Xingxing to play in the reservoir because the other kids were laughing at him and he felt embarrassed. Following this revelation, Liu Yaojun and Wang Liyun receive a phone call from their estranged, adopted son to say he is returning to visit them and bringing his new girlfriend.

The film portrays the journey of the two families with non-chronological flashbacks explaining the course of their lives. It speaks of affection, getting married, having and raising children (with the one-child policy), collective dismissal because of economic reform, ups and downs in life, grief and many social changes in China, resulting in complicated life experiences.[7]

Cast

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Press conference of the film crew at the Berlin Film Festival 2019.
  • Wang Jingchun (as Liu Yaojun)
  • Yong Mei (as Wang Liyun)
  • Qi Xi (as Shen Moli, sister of Shen Yingming)
  • Roy Wang (as Liu Xing, son of Liu Yaojun and Wang Liyun)
  • Du Jiang (as Shen Hao, son of Shen Yingming and Li Haiyan)
  • Ai Liya (as Li Haiyan)
  • Xu Cheng (as Shen Yingming)
  • Li Jingjing (as Gao Meiyu, who become wife of Zhang Xinjian)
  • Zhao Yanguozhang (as Zhang Xinjian)

Critical response

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The film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 35 reviews, with an average score of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Intimate in focus yet epic in size and scope, So Long, My Son sets a heartbreaking saga of family tragedy against the changing face of modern China."[8]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result
2019 69th Berlin International Film Festival[9] Silver Bear for Best Actor Wang Jingchun Won
Silver Bear for Best Actress Yong Mei Won
Golden Bear So Long, My Son Nominated
67th San Sebastián International Film Festival[10] Audience Award Nominated
32nd Golden Rooster Awards[11] Best Picture So Long, My Son Nominated
Best Director Wang Xiaoshuai Nominated
Best Writing Wang Xiaoshuai and A Mei Won
Best Actor Wang Jingchun Won
Best Actress Yong Mei Won
Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF)[3] Grand Prix, International Competition So Long, My Son Won

References

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  1. ^ "Festival poster". The Match Factory. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Dìjiǔtiāncháng". Douban. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Awards 2019". BRIFF. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Selection for Competition and Berlinale Special Completed". berlinale. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Competition and Berlinale Special: Agnès Varda, Agnieszka Holland, Hans Petter Moland, Isabel Coixet and Wang Quan'an in the Competition Programme/Feature Film Debut of Chiwetel Ejiofor in the Berlinale Special". www.berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  6. ^ Meza, Ed (16 February 2019). "Berlin Film Festival 2019: Nadav Lapid's Synonyms Wins Golden Bear". Variety. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  7. ^ Shackleton, Liz (19 December 2017). "Wang Xiaoshuai wraps first instalment in 'Homeland trilogy'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  8. ^ "So Long, My Son (Di jiu tian chang)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. ^ Meza, Ed (16 February 2019). "Berlin Film Festival 2019: Nadav Lapid's Synonyms Wins Golden Bear". Variety. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Di jiu tian chang/So Long, My Son". San Sebastián International Film Festival. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  11. ^ "第32届金鸡奖完整获奖名单 《流浪地球》问鼎大奖_华语_电影网_1905.com". www.1905.com. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
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