Zhang Weixing Movies

An unusual story with an idyllic village setting, this interesting drama by Huangjian Zhong tells of the life and hardships of a young woman, Xingxian. Her family has arranged an unusual marriage for her -- she is 18, and her husband Weiwei is 6. She treats him like a mother would treat a child and although she dutifully cares for him, she unfortunately falls in love with a married man. She begins a series of clandestine meetings with her lover, but circumstances conspire to change her life and the lives of those around her. The setting is 1948 and the Communists are soon to come to power. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A little boy raised by adoptive parents on a farm near a crane preserve is suddenly taken away from them when his real mother, exiled during the period of the Gang of Four (early to mid-1970s), comes back to claim her son and raise him in the city where he will have the value of a good education. The adoptive parents want what is best for the boy and so they tearfully agree to release him to his mother. Once in the city, the child dutifully practices the piano but longs so much for his beloved cranes that it is only a matter of time before he rebels and goes back to his roots on the farm. Good photography is mixed with the usual Chinese melodrama, to create an uneven story, at least for foreign audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi