He is back

Fifth-generation director Sun Zhou is back.

His latest spy thriller Qiu Xi, released on Wednesday, marks his return after a seven-year absence and is his first commercial flick ever since he entered the film industry in the 1980s. In this 45-million-yuan film, Sun uses his camera to tell a story set in Guangzhou before the country's liberation in 1949, capturing the lanes and traditional architecture of this southern city.

A young woman named Qui Xi, played by mainland actress Jiang Yiyan (The City of Life and Death), is a servant to Yan Haiqing, played by actor Guo Xiaodong (Summer Palace), a secret Communist agent who works in the ruling Kuomintang regime before liberation.