Spring comes, it's time for reality check
Set in a 10-year period from 1988, And the Spring Comes (Li Chun) is a story about dreams and reality. Wang Cailing (by Jiang Wenli), a 30-something woman in a small town called Baotou, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, dreams of being an opera singer. Her goal is to perform, one day, in the opera houses of Paris.
Her dream seems far-fetched to the people who know her and Wang is confronted by various misunderstandings and setbacks. The first man to enter her life is Zhou Yu, who tries to please her by pretending to be an art lover. Zhou's friend, Huang Sibao, a punk, helps Zhou court Wang and then discovers she has fallen in love with him. He does not reciprocate and instead leaves for the big city. Zhou loses his sight in one eye after fighting with some gang members.
There are two other women in the film, both foils to Wang, who lives in an unrealistic, spiritual world. These women are focused on the material benefits of life and never hesitate to show off their happiness to Wang. Finally, Wang succumbs to reality and gives up her dream of singing in France. Instead she becomes a business woman and leads a quiet life, just like the other middle-aged women in her town. The film is scheduled to screen in China early next year.
China Daily
(China Daily 11/21/2007 page18)
