Under the gloomy sky of a small town in northern China, several townspeople’s lives are intertwined in this lugubrious tale of nihilistic rage. To protect his friend, 16-year-old Wei Bu pushes the school bully down the staircase and escapes the scene. Wei’s neighbor, the 60-year-old Wang Jin, is estranged from his family and decides to join him. Huang Ling, Wei’s classmate, is bedeviled by an affair with a school official. Together, the desperate three decide to flee as the wounded bully’s hooligan brother, the school authorities and the parents all go on a cold-blooded hunt for Wei across town. The story links together the lives of a number of protagonists, narrating the course of one single, tension-filled day from dawn to dusk, and along the way, painting a portrait of a society marked by selfishness. Director Hu Bo released his debut film to critical acclaim and, shortly thereafter, took his life. This presentation is co-sponsored by University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center.
Dr. Kun Qian, Associate Professor of Chinese Literature and Film at the University of Pittsburgh, will introduce the film.