Coming Soon
Living the Land
Directed by
Huo Meng
In 1991, as China undergoes sweeping socio-economic changes that drive many to leave their rural villages in pursuit of work in the cities, 10-year-old Chuang, the third child of his family, must remain in the village due to family plans. Against the backdrop of modernization, as the advent of technology reshapes their traditional way of life, cycles of births, deaths, marriages, and funerals reveal the enduring weight of tradition and the pressures of balancing familial responsibilities with a rapidly changing world.
Director & Cast
- Director: Huo Meng
- Starring: Wang Shang
- Starring: Zhang Yanrong
- Starring: Zhang Chuwen
Where to Watch
Photos
Reviews
- "Told with an almost documentary realism, these small, interlaced stories are ordinary in themselves yet add up to something that feels grander, like an ultimate reflection on a disappearing way of life."
- "There’s a patient, plainspoken poetry... to “Living the Land,” a rolling rural drama that... feels wholly, organically observed, as if its storytelling were dictated by the rigors and challenges of seasons and soil. [I]mpressive."
- "From its very first scene... we know we’re in the hands of a skillful filmmaker. [A] richly detailed fresco reminiscent of a classic pastoral novel — think Thomas Hardy, Willa Cather or D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers — where life’s many hardships come and go with each new season, and where technology arrives without warning to change things forever."
- "[D]eeply poignant yet staunchly unsentimental... beautifully crafted...."
- "Epic in scope and yet intimate in its storytelling... a gorgeous-looking sprawling saga.... A simple masterpiece of Chinese filmmaking."
- "Throughout the entirety of this powerful drama, Meng weaves a finely tuned tableau of unconventional characters and challenging relationships that consistently refuse to adhere to expectations. [T]hose who allow themselves to fall gradually into Meng’s tactile portrayal of life in rural China will be quickly rewarded."
- "[A] rich, warm portrait... Huo’s lovely roving eye for composition and gentle hand with drama trace the challenges and enduring bonds among several hard-working generations of farmers."
- "Huo Meng’s extraordinary second feature about countryside and country on the precipice of change... [is] extremely handsome and involving...."
- "Huo’s second feature is a visually captivating, studiously structured and ceaselessly humane account of the anguish, anxiety and agitation sweeping rural China on the cusp of the country’s turbocharged plunge into market economics."
Winner
Silver Bear - Best Director
Berlin Int'l. Film Festival
Silver Bear - Best Director
Berlin Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated
Golden Bear - Best Film
Berlin Int'l. Film Festival
Golden Bear - Best Film
Berlin Int'l. Film Festival