The Old Town Girls
兔子暴力
Director: SHEN, Yu | Writer: SHEN, Yu; QIU, Yujie; FANG, Li | Executive Producers: LI, Yu; FANG, Li | Starring WAN, Qian; LI, Gengxi
Inspired by a true incident, Shen Yu's debut OLD TOWN GIRLS tells a tale about how an unsustained economic boom desolates working-class communities and familial relations. Tempted by living a new life as a professional dancer in big cities, Qu Ting bid farewell to her marriage in a decaying rust belt town, leaving behind her infant daughter Shui Qing, who’s been alienated by her dad’s new family since. Never felt equally loveable as her peers, Shui Qing instantly gets carried away by Qu Ting's worldly charisma and maternal attention when the two meet seventeen years later. But the high schooler is soon forced to face the reality behind her mom’s sudden reappearance and years of unglamorous survival. As dangers loom, she decides to sacrifice everything for the slim chance of reunification.
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
Official Selection, Moscow International Film Festival
Film Recommendation of the Year, Weibo Film Night
Official Selection, Tokyo International Film Festival
Official Selection, New York Asian Film Festival
“...wraps a melancholy coming-of-age story in intriguing noir packaging…Its two central performances are crucial, with Wan Qian playing capricious, often childish yet nonetheless magnetic with pivotal, almost teasing depth, and Li Gengxi conveying the type of inner fortitude that only constant disappointment can forge.”
“(The girls) find themselves unanchored longing for the security of parental affection and dependability but left largely alone quasi-orphaned by the demands and contradictions of the modern China. Shen’s melancholy neo-noir is a stark coming-of-age tale which finds little place for innocence in the contemporary society relegating it only to the space of memory a casualty of parental disconnection and adolescent futility.”
NOW ON VOD
“...a brutally stark representation of life for the working class left behind by the rapid economic development of modern China. ”
“...a stylish neo-noir with a hint of newspaper yellow…feature some great acting performances, especially from the three young actresses.”
“There’s something stark and murky about the way the director portrays the country’s rust belt, with the pitiful characters looking as downtrodden as some of the neglected buildings around them. This world feels more grounded in reality than that of the typically outlandish neo-noir effort…a mightily impressive debut.”