The subject of nostalgia for our school years is something that all cultures have in common, but in China it became all the rage following the major critical and commercial success of the film So Young directed by Zhao Wei in 2013. In the past two years, directors of note have jumped on this bandwagon; another recurring theme in Chinese cinema is one that plays on the political slogan “China Dream”, launched by Xi Jinping. My Old Classmate falls into both categories, with the additional element of “selective memory”.
The film opens with a scenic shot of New York, then zooming in on the silhouette of a man – as if to suggest that the dreams of the protagonist of exploring the world have failed. Lin Yi – that is the main character’s name – emigrated to New York ten years ago, where he works for an IT firm; he receives an invitation to the wedding of his ex-girlfriend Zhou Xiaozhi, his first love. Lin Yi sets off immediately for Beijing, having decided that his gift to Xiaozhi will be the souvenirs of their relationship which began twenty years earlier in middle school, and which finished for no apparent reason when he left for the USA. From the very first day of school, the young Xiaozhi had declared her dream of one day studying at Stanford university. Way back in 1993, not even their teacher knew where Stanford was, but Xiaozhi was somewhat ahead of the rest. And Lin Yi fell in love with her on the spot, emulated her, followed her, was always there for her, finally managing to win her heart. Lin Yi’s dream was simpler than hers: all he ever wanted to do was go somewhere where only the two of them existed. The romantic drive at the heart of teenagers goes beyond real circumstances and the prosaic situation the kids lived in, so despite the fact that the very first film they go and see at the cinema was a war film, he remembers it as a musical. Even when the enthusiasms of the post-80s generation become tinged with political hues, and he, to show off his heroic vein, decides to take part in a demonstration against the attacks on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, the overriding memory of that day is the fact that he held Xiaozhi’s hand for the very first time; out of love for him, she had decided to disobey school orders and join him there.
The film is told from a subjective viewpoint, via an off-screen narration by the main character, a technique that is often redundant, but not in this case as it constantly reminds us of the issue of selective memory, only unveiled in the film’s epilogue which reveals Lin Yi’s more prosaic recollections. The story of the group of school friends is weaved into history, in their memories of crucial moments of the past twenty years – such as the war in the Balkans, 9-11, the outbreak of SARS – as if to underline the difference between historical memory and individual’s reminiscences. The encounter with the West exposes a somewhat xenophobia vision, with rude and overbearing characters, the “Yankee” at his worse, as Xiaozhi calls them, comparing them unfavourably with the innocent Chinese of his memories. But the conclusion of the film, expressed by Xiaozhi who once again shows his forward thinking by understanding that disillusionment inevitably accompanies maturity, is clear: “we have failed in the face of reality”. The title of the film is a reference to the famous 1994 song by Gao Xiaosong, who also co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film.