“Yes, it’s four hours long, and Yes, it’s a brutally grim portrait of life in modern China, and Yes, the director killed himself so this is his first and only feature film. And No, I can’t quite put my finger on why this slow-moving drama still sits in my brain as one of the truly hypnotic experiences of the last year. Yet I know that in this I’m hardly alone. It’s one of those beautiful affirmations that Yes, Life and Art are often simply just mysterious.”—Brian Ackerman, Programming Director

Under the gloomy sky of a small town in northern China, different protagonists’ lives are intertwined in this furious tale of nihilistic rage. While protecting his friend from a dangerous school bully, 16-year-old Wei Bu pushes the tormentor down a staircase. Wei escapes the scene and later learns that the bully is hospitalized and gravely injured. Wei’s neighbor, the 60-year-old Wang Jin, is estranged from his family and, with nothing to lose, decides to join him. Later the pair is joined by Huang Ling, Wei’s classmate. She is bedeviled by a destructive affair with a married school official. Together, this unlikely and desperate trio, decide their only hope is to flee as the bully’s gangster brother, enraged parents, and vindictive school authorities all go on a cold-blooded hunt for Wei across town.

Please Note: This film runs 230 minutes with no intermission.