Zhigen, an old Chinese farmer, has lived alone in Beijing for over 20 years
after moving to the city to allow his son Chongyi to attend university. He
decides to make the long journey from Beijing to Yangshuo to honour the promise
he made to his wife to bring back the bird that has been his only companion in
the city.
His daughter-in-law Qianing, a beautiful rich career woman, asks him to take
along his granddaughter Renxing, an only child brought up in the lap of luxury.
While grandfather and granddaughter set out on their journey – one travelling
back in time, the other discovering her roots – Chongyi and Qianing, ponder
the meaning of the life they have led in the sole pursuit of success
and money.
Subtitled.
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2015
Nominated – Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
RiverRun International Film Festival 2014
Won – Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature
Review by Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile:
“Simple but far from simplistic, The Nightingale sings its song with
gentle power, telling a story that is both affecting and effective as cinema.
The story threads gently bind together a small family's relationships and
chart the important changes with a light touch. The central relationship, around
which the story is built, concerns Zhigen (Bao Tian Li) and his young
granddaughter Renxing (Xin Yi Yang), separated not only age but by the
lifestyles with which they are familiar. He old school country, she spoilt brat
on iPad. Fate puts them together in the road movie aspect of the film, while
Renxing's parents are struggling with their marriage. The third relationship is
Zhigen's estrangement from his son Chongyi (Hao Qin), who is still angry with
his father for losing the little girl in a bird market four years earlier. But
the grandfather is not an irresponsible old fart – he had made a huge
sacrifice to leave his village in order to provide the support for his
son's university education, which is now paying off with a successful career in
architecture. Daughter in law Qianing (Xiao Ren Li) is also successful as a
businesswoman, and the little girl's contrasting environments are well accented
between the modern well-to-do couple and the rustic countryside. The latter
provides some spectacular landscapes which add greatly to the film's texture
and sense of place, while Armand Amar's sensitive, colour-rich score provides
support to the visuals as well as the drama. The film begins predictably enough
and falters here and there, but the complex themes and well observed characters
deepen and enrich the work as it progresses to a moving resolution and a
haunting resonance.”
