#spring subway

开往春天的地铁 Spring Subway (2002)  directed by Zhang Yibai

Spring Subway ( 開往春天的地鐵). dir. Zhang Yibai ( 張一白). 2002.

“After seven years, is there still love?” 

Spring Subway is a mellow Chinese romance film directed by Zhang Yibai. Jianbin (Geng Le) and Xiaohui (Xu Jinglei), are a young married couple of 7 years living in Beijing. Their relationship is at a halt, plagued by the boredom of their existence and their silent suffering in the urban city. The supporting cast includes Zhang Yang, Gao Yuan Yuan, Tu Qiang and Fan Wei. Jianbin is laid off from work but hides this from his wife by spending most of his time riding the Beijing metro and hiding his briefcase in the public washroom. As he spends most of his time sitting on the subway, Jianbin becomes aware of the various romances that blossom in the environment around him. Jianbin’s life continues to spiral downwards as he becomes aware of his wife’s affair with another man and his increasing shortage of money. 

Spring Subway is Zhang Yibai’s first feature film as a director after primarily working with music videos in the past. This independent, stylistic film represents a new style in Chinese cinema, experimenting with chronological conventions and breaking the fourth wall to directly address the audience. Despite being an independent film in its genre, Spring Subway garnered positive attention and was well received in China.

Spring Subway (2002) Yuanyuan Gao in Spring Subway (2002)

Spring Subway (2002) Le Geng and Jinglei Xu in Spring Subway (2002)

Lan Ke and Wei Fan in Spring Subway (2002)

Geng Le and Xu Jinglei

Jinglei Xu in Spring Subway (2002)