When I started watching this movie, my first thought was, "oh, documentary film maker moving into feature film and being kind of artsy and pretentious"...because the film is very gritty and realistic and you almost feel uncomfortably present in the intimate lives of people you don't know. That in itself shows how good the acting is in this film because you really, really think these people are locals and that is really and truly what they do, they are amateur theater performers. it's hard to see at the beginning just how you're going to spend 2 plus hours with folks who seem so opaque and indifferent to the spectator.But then almost imperceptibly, the movie starts to draw you in. Each frame of the movie, each scene is a clue, a thread that connects to other scenes or begins its own story and you realize this guy is a master of movie narrative. He gets it. And then it really takes off. This is one of the best movies I think I've ever seen, one I could probably watch several times because there's a lot going on in every single scene but none of it is overstated. And if you're not watching closely, some tragic moments go by and you miss them.Hats off to the director and actors on this...

It is kind of sad to read these sad comments about being "bored" with this wonderful film, or "not understanding the characters".This film is so full of atmosphere, and yes, emotion... but it is not shoved down your throat with typical Hollywood dramatic tricks... it is something you have to have the time and will to discover. That makes is so much closer and valuable.Film IS about seeing, and the fact that there are hardly any close-ups in this film gives our eyes the freedom to discover things in the frame. It is also, I believe a much more respectful way to film actors generally.This is a great film, I hope we see many more from this young director!

This movie is truly boring. It was banned in Chinese cinema and i can see why. It's not because it's critical of the communist regime but simply because the movie is of such low quality. I would never want to pay money to watch this. I love movies from Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou and i am disappointed such a poor movie could come out of China. It totally seems to ignore the audience and the director seems to have made the movie for himself. The shots of a person standing there doing nothing for up to a minute are hilarious and there's plenty of them. The cinematography and video quality are unbelievably bad. I looked this film up on the Net and it seems like people actually like this film. The only explanation i have for this is that some film buffs think that if a film is not in English it is automatically good. I can't see any reason why people would like this. this is not an art film it's of waste of celluloid.(That's if they actually shot it on film , which they didn't)

I am from Argentina, so is difficult to me to express, but the film is a beautiful master piece about the history of China. The view of a group of a cultural actors is perfect, because they first work as actors that like Mao, but then they make breakdance...