There is a characteristic of Chinese films, good films are always quietly released.
The film is called a parody of Kikujiro's Summer! Some people think it's a lot like the color version of August!
However, this story of a water town that took place 20 years ago during the World Cup can still be fascinating.
A family of natives of a water village near the West Creek.
10-year-old Gu Xiaoyang is a little teenager who loves football, his father is the director of primary school teaching, and his mother is a well-known Yue opera actor.
It all started in 1998, the summer when China first broadcast the World Cup.
The contradiction between Gu Xiaoyang and his father, the forgetting of the strange grandfather next door, and the midlife crisis and spiritual derailment of Gu Dad, the three lines are intertwined into a good-looking story.
If "Kikujiro's Summer" is a journey to find their mothers with each other, then "Summer of Nishi kokawa" is a helpless way to grow.
Troubled children need to grow, struggling middle-aged men, strange old men with personalities, and three generations of grandchildren are growing.
Gu Dad is facing a mid-life crisis, a beer belly that can't be stopped, a wife who can't catch up, and a bear child who can't be controlled. Unwillingness, inferiority, anxiety, nostalgia and many other emotions are mixed in.
In Gu Dad's eyes, the promotion to vice principal is a chip to break this emptiness, and the arrival of Shen Xiujuan, an English intern teacher, has also begun to let him relive his youth.
The refusal of the female teacher made him recognize his situation, and the failure of the vice principal also made him fall into contemplation.
When wishful thinking failed, he finally returned to the normal track of life.
Gu Dad's problem is that he can't afford it, and Grandpa Zheng's problem is that he can't put it down.
Because he couldn't let go of the past, he didn't want to leave this place.
The appearance of Xiaoyang lit up Grandpa Zheng's lonely life, the two had pity for each other, and the communication process was lively and happy.
While achieving his football dream for Gu Xiaoyang, Grandpa Zheng's heart knot was gradually unraveled.
He began to face his past, and finally came out of the shadow of his grandson's early death and was reborn.
Gu Xiaoyang's growth is very realistic.
What is valuable about this film is that it has created the independent personality of the child and truly achieved an equal dialogue between adults and children, which is very rare in the same type of film.
In the film, Xiaoyang's dedication to the dream of football, the patience and resourceful response to the family crisis, and the acceptance of the fact that Grandpa Zheng left. These all show the complexity and entanglement of the child's heart.
The three generations of grandchildren are not mature people, and they have begun to think in a different position in the relationship between people, and this transformation reflects the Chinese-style family relationship that resonates with people.
The background board that often appears in movies is also very intimate.
28 bicycles, vintage radios, dance halls with Teresa Teresa, balloons or sugar paintings at night markets...
Accurately capture the collective memories of that generation.
The gentle and melodious Yue opera, the humid and hot weather, the deep and simple old Taimen, and the "bluestone street, the night of the old house" sung by Teacher Shen.
Everyone has stumbled and grown, and this experience is like the water vapor in Jiangnan Water Town, which is sad and confusing.
If you happen to have memories of the nineties, this film will definitely take you back to the past! Relive the road to growth in the elegant and simple cinematic texture!
(Rotten Tomatoes Movie Editorial Department: Mao Mao)