And Here Comes the Spring (立春) dir. Gu Changwei (顾长卫). 2007.
Lichun—the welcoming of spring, the first of the solar terms, the rejuvenated breath of beginnings. “The soft spring breeze awakes, blowing gently day and night...she is giving life everywhere...giving life everywhere...” sings the main character of this mirroring film of disillusion, a talented vocal teacher named Wang Tsai-ling who dreams of leaving her poverty-stricken hometown and singing Italian opera on the global stage, beginning at the Beijing Opera House.
Wang meets an eager but fumbling pupil, Zhou Yu, who reveals that he had fallen in love with her voice from the first time he heard her sing on public radio. Zhou in turn introduces her to Huang Sibao, his good-for-nothing friend who believes his undervalued artistic genius will turn him into the Vincent Van Gogh of China. Wang and Huang embark on a fleeting, turbulent one-sided relationship, as Wang experiences immense attraction to him for his braveness and perseverance. After leaving Huang, Wang meets gay ballerina Hu Jinquan, a talented dancer whose openness about sexuality turned him into the city’s laughingstock.
All the characters in And Here Comes the Spring are knocking at the windows of opportunity, feeling for cracks in the tantalizing panes and begging for a door. Learning that social competition and materialism reward luck, not hard work or talent, they struggle to come to terms with their own identities and interpersonal relationships, and to be accepted and respected for who they are.
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