Once Upon A Time Proletarian
Synopsis
Personal stories unfold in an unexpected straightforwardness and with a striking sense of humour: an old peasant who has lost his land, a millionaire chatting with his mate in a stock exchange office, a young migrant who came to the city to wash cars, a weapon factory worker who wishes Mao was still alive, a successful hotel owner who praises the government’s liberal economy policies, and young kids whose dream is to become a famous western artist - all addressing contemporary issues that trespass borders and blur the socio-political lines into a globalised world of shared values and collective problems.
Details
- Year
- 2010
- Type of film
- Features
- Running time
- 76mins
- Director
-
Xiaolu Guo
- Producer
- Xiaolu Guo, Pamela Casey
- Screenwriter
- Xiaolu Guo
- Director of Photography
- Xiaolu Guo
Categories
Production Status
Page updates
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See also
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Five Men and a Caravaggio
Director: Xiaolu Guo
Year: 2018
This documentary is shaped around a large painting by Caravaggio (John in the Wilderness, aka John the Baptist). We view the painting through the question of reproduction. The story follows a copy of this painting made in Shenzhen that then goes to a poet in London, who personally struggles with the painting and the image he sees of himself in it. A group of his artist friends attempt to solve his problem. The events in London are paralleled with a slice of life depiction of a Chinese artisan’s family in Shenzhen, south China, reproducing 'John in the Wilderness'. <br /> Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2018 - Create Strand - World premiere
She, A Chinese
Director: Xiaolu Guo
Year: 2009
She, A Chinese tells the story of, a young Chinese woman, MEI, who leaves her monotonous village life behind for the excitement of the nearest big city, Chongqing. However, life there doesn't quite turn out as she expected it; fired from her factory job, she falls in love with SPIKEY, a hit man whose own past soon catches up with him. A spur of the moment decision takes Mei to London, where she marries an elderly man, MR HUNT. A new life begins for Mei, trapped in the silence of Mr Hunt's house, alienated and bored. Her frustration at life with Mr Hunt leads Mei into an affair with RACHID, an Indian immigrant who runs a local take away restaurant, and she moves into the backroom of the restaurant to live with him. Rachid decides to return to his own country, leaving Mei pregnant and alone, facing an uncertain future.
How Is Your Fish Today?
Director: Xiaolu Guo
Year: 2007
A young man in southern China has killed his lover. He starts a lonely escape across the whole country towards his land of wonder, a snowy village at the northern border. <br /> <br /> Sitting at his desk in Beijing, a scriptwriter is writing that man's story. It is through his characters that his life gains its weight, meaning and freedom. His imagination blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction.<br /> <br /> The snowy village lies on the quiet border between China and Russia. Old villagers fish under the ice, school children study English text about America. They endure the long winter nights waiting for the sun to come back.<br /> <br /> When the scriptwriter arrives in that mysterious village, he meets his own fictional character, lying on the frozen river at the border, covered in snow. <br /> <br /> Two men contemplate the icy landscape. One wants to cross the border to see the other side of the world. The other longs to head back to his hometown, which he left so many years ago.