European Festival Premiere | In Competition
China, 2024, 105’, Mandarin
Directed by: Yin Lichuan
Screenplay: A Mei, Yin Lichuan
Cinematography (color):Jin Chenyu
Editing: Yan Tingting
Art Direction: Yan Tingting
Costumes: Lui Funshan
Music: Raymond Wong, Russell C J Wong
Sound: Li Danfeng, Feng Yueyang
Visual Effects: Cao Ping
Producer: Yi Sha
Executive Producer: Wan Juan
Production Company: Shanghai Huace Film Co., Ltd
Cast: Yong Mei (Li Hong), Jiang Wu (Sun Dayong), Wu Qian (Sun Xiaoxue), Zhang Benyu (Xu Xiaoyang), Ma Su (Ma Jie), Ailiya (Li Hong’s mother), Li Yixiang (Li Hong’s father)
Date of First Release in Territory: September 15th, 2024
2024 was a stellar year in China for cinema revolving around women. Some of the most successful films, both critically and at the box office, dealt with the country’s prevalent patriarchal culture, still in existence despite the enormous changes in contemporary Chinese society, with themes such as domestic violence, women’s liberation, and social and family prejudices at their core. These films were written and directed by women, as well as having women in the starring roles. Like a Rolling Stone is based on the true story of Su Min, an “accidental” feminist icon on social media since leaving her husband in 2020 and, at the age of 56, setting off on a solo road trip to explore China, primarily to finally get a taste of independence and freedom.
Like many women of her generation, Su Min (renamed Li Hong in the film) constantly makes sacrifices for the wellbeing of others, whilst being relentlessly mistreated by all the male figures around her. First her authoritarian father, who forced her to abandon her studies and go out to work, then her petty brother who employs her for years without paying her dues, but above all her abusive, cheapskate husband who, after an initial peaceful partnership, begins to treat her as if she was the home help. Even Li Hong’s daughter fails to realise that she’s taking advantage of her mother’s goodwill, she doesn’t notice how she’s always putting aside her own needs to indulge others. Li Hong’s unhappiness, as is often the case, is mistaken for depression and treated with medication instead of respect. Much as in Paola Cortellesi’s Italian film, There’s Still Tomorrow, Li Hong keeps trying to convince herself that a new day will come. But in the end, exasperated by yet another episode of physical and mental violence, she decides to leave, despite the fact that the Covid pandemic has just broken out.
The real-life Su Min has been on the road since 2020, she has visited 400 cities in more than twenty Chinese provinces and has five million followers, thanks to the videos she posts during her travels, in which she talks not only about the places she visits, but also about her state of mind and the situation of women in China. Among her followers is the famous actress Yong Mei, who got the idea of adapting Su Min’s story into a film and pitched it to the screenwriter A Mei and the director Yin Lichuan, a poet and filmmaker who had already made a name for herself with her previous films The Park and Knitting, both focused on female characters.
The film tells Li Hong’s story by alternating episodes from the present with flashbacks that help us understand how a young woman’s enthusiasm for life can be gradually eroded by the daily barrage of small-minded acts which the male characters are not even aware they are subjecting her to: all the male characters believe they are in the right. Another fascinating aspect of the film is the comparison between Chinese women of three different generations: while Li Hong’s mother justifies and endures male abuse with resignation, Li Hong would like to conform but cannot, and her daughter demands equality between the sexes.
The film hits the mark from all points of view, with impeccable direction facilitated by excellent performances, first and foremost Yong Mei’s, who imbues her character with infectious humanity. The soundtrack is particularly evocative and echoes poignant Argentinian tango rhythms.
The film has garnered unanimous acclaim and generated a major media debate that has transcended the borders of China: Su Min, affectionately called “the road-tripping auntie” by her followers, was included by the BBC in its 2024 annual list of the 100 Most Influential Women in the World.
Yin Lichuan
Yin Lichuan (b. 1973) is a poet, screenwriter and director. She studied French Language and Literature at Peking University and then cinema at the Ecole Superieure d’Etudes Cinematographiques in Paris. She initially found fame as a writer and poet, a member of the group called Lower Body Poets, before moving on to directing films centred on female characters, such as The Park and Knitting, which have won numerous awards. She wrote the screenplay for Zhang Yimou’s film Under the Hawthorn Tree, directed the women’s theatrical monologue Reshape and the 30-episode web series My Way.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
2007 – The Park
2008 – Knitting
2021 – Sleepless Fashion
2024 – Like a Rolling Stone
Maria Barbieri