Chen Mo, a young man fresh from the countryside who’s scrambling to make a living selling flowers on the streets of Beijing, meets Mei Ting, a masseuse-hairdresser who, having repulsed the aggressive advances of her boss, has no place to live. She moves into his tiny apartment, and they forge a unique relationship, which grows increasingly tender and intimate. First-time director Liu Hao designed this ultra-low-budget independent feature (shot on 16-millimeter and blown up to 35-millimeter) as a chamber piece, focusing almost exclusively on his two leads and the various ways his largely hand-held camera can animate the small space they call home. Neither character has a family - both are victims of the Cultural Revolution’s policy of sending urbanites to the countryside - so they decide to simulate something like a family. On even days, he agrees to play daddy to her, and on odd days, she plays mommy to him. Avoiding cuteness, Liu opts for an offbeat, penetrating analysis of creative relationship crafting that’s quietly rueful and jauntily confident. This engrossing film stumbles only near the end, when it turns toward melodrama.
Shelly Kraicer