Lost

百合

China, 2010, colour, 1.85:1, 94 mins.

Director: Zhou Xiaowen 周晓文.

Rating: 6/10.

Modest but solid migrant-worker drama, with a striking performance by newcomer Wang Zitong.

STORY

Shenzhen, China, the present day. Nineteen-year-old Wang Baihe (Wang Zitong) is a migrant worker from a village in Shaanxi province. She has a baby son from a one-night stand with a man from Hong Kong and a small income from making Chinese decorative knots at home. Her dream is to open a noodle restaurant and “make lots of money and become a city person” but she finds it difficult to find regular employment because of her baby boy. Her story emerges through interviews with journalist Liu Nan (Lv Liping), who is writing a book about her. When Wang Baihe discovers her son has congenital heart disease, she tries desperate ways to raise the RMB80,000 for the operation, helped by her friend and fellow migrant worker Hu Jinling (Zhao Yaqi).

REVIEW

The first feature film by writer-director Zhou Xiaowen 周晓文 (Ermo 二嫫, 1994; The Emperor’s Shadow 秦颂, 1996) in 12 years, Lost 百合 gains much from a striking central performance in the title role by newcomer Wang Zitong 王梓桐, a student at Beijing’s Central Academy of Drama. Wang takes a role that could have been cliched – an ever-optimistic rural innocent in the big city – and breathes life into it, putting on a convincing Shaanxi village accent in the bargain. With an ingenuous front that masks an inner stubbornness, Wang’s Wang Baihe is utterly believable in all her moods – including a teeth-rattling scene of labour pains in a dormitory – and the young actress handles moments of both light comedy (a seduction by a rich gangster type) and street drama (an attempted abduction of her baby) with equal skill.

Where the film is weaker is in building an overall dramatic arc: the script’s episodic construction (the result of three years of research by Zhou into real-life stories) and interview format (with a below-par performance by veteran actress Lv Liping 吕丽萍 as the writer) work against the viewer’s emotional involvement. A clever ending does, however, give some shape to the movie, as well as making succinct social points.

Aside from Wang and Lv, and an especially good performance by Zhao Yaqi 赵雅淇 as Wang Baihe’s best friend, the other roles are basically extended cameos. HD camerawork by Zhao Defeng 赵德峰 is smooth and well-composed in exteriors, and the understated music by Liu Cong 刘聪 adds occasional texture. Though it’s way more modest than Zhou’s earlier movies that established his name in the 1990s, Lost is a solidly professional return that could also announce a star of the future.

Prior to commercial release the film was known in English as Baihe.

CREDITS

Presented by Xi’an Xiaowen Films (CN). Produced by Xi’an Xiaowen Films (CN), Qingdao Capland Property (CN), Beijing Galaxy Starlight (CN).

Script: Zhou Xiaowen. Photography: Zhao Defeng. Editing: Zhao Dongyuan. Music: Liu Cong. Production design: Shi Wei, Li Yilong. Costume design: Lin Luxi. Sound: Zhu Hongfan, Zhao Suchen. Visual effects: Zhao Kaijin.

Cast: Wang Zitong (Wang Baihe), Lv Liping (Liu Nan), Zhao Yaqi (Hu Jinling), Yeye (baby), Dong Lide (Tian Zhanping), Wang Ziheng (Daqiu), Li Liang (swindler), Lin Zemin (swindler doctor), Chen Wei (abductor), Jin Yinyan (clinic doctor), Zhou Gang (hospital doctor), Zheng Yulong (manager), Qian Yundi (creche owner), Hei Zi (teacher), Li Baixuan (teacher’s wife), Da Xing (landlord), Cai Guolong (workshop manager), Tao Zui (Porsche driver), Li Runqiu (Qiang).

Release: China, 8 Mar 2011.

(Review originally published on Film Business Asia, 5 Oct 2010.)