''Nuan'' () is a

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Chinese film The cinema of China is one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. Cinema was introduced in China in 1896 and the first Chinese film, '' Dingjun Mountain'' ...

directed by

Huo Jianqi Huo Jianqi (; born January 20, 1958) is a Chinese film director. Like the cinematographer turned director Gu Changwei, Huo Jianqi began his cinematic career in the art department. Nearly all of Huo's films have been written by his wife and collabo ...

. The film won the Grand Prix at the 16th

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

. The film is an adaptation of author

Mo Yan Guan Moye (; born 17 February 1955), better known by the pen name Mo Yan (, ), is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine ''TIME'' referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirate ...

's short story, ''The White Dog and the Swing.'' The film is set in Maoyuan, a small and ancient village in

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

. ''Nuan's'' production was delayed by the outbreak of

SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...

in 2002–2003, making it miss a planned debut at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

that September.

Plot

Like Huo's ''

Postmen in the Mountains ''Postmen in the Mountains'' () is a 1999 Chinese film directed by Huo Jianqi. It is based on the short story of the same name by Peng Jianming (). ''Postmen in the Mountains'' tells the story of an old man ( Teng Rujun) who for years served as ...

'', ''Nuan'' is a rural drama. The film follows Lin Jinghe, a young man who, for the last ten years, has been living in the big city. When he returns home, he runs into his childhood love, Nuan. Years earlier, Nuan and Jinghe had been schoolmates. Nuan, the most popular girl in school, had fallen in love with an acrobat from a traveling troupe. When the acrobat eventually abandons her, Nuan finds herself drawn to Jinghe. One day, while playing with Jinghe, Nuan is permanently injured when she falls off a swing. Jinghe, seeing an opportunity to escape the small village heads to the city, but promises that he will be back for Nuan. Like the acrobat, however, he soon forgets about his childhood love. Now, ten years later, he has finally returned. Nuan, however, has married a local mute.

Cast

* Actor Guo Xiaodong plays Lin Jinghe, the country boy who has spent the last ten years in the city. His return to his childhood village drives ''Nuan's'' narrative. * Li Jia plays the title character of Nuan, Jinghe's childhood love. Like Guo Xiaodong, Li Jia was a newcomer to the movie industry. *

Teruyuki Kagawa is a Japanese actor, kabuki actor and boxing commentator. Biography Born in 1965, his parents are the kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III and the cinema actress Yuko Hama. His grandmother is the film actress Sanae Takasugi. In the Kabuki world ...

as Yawa. The veteran Japanese actor would go on to win the Best Actor award at the Tokyo International Film Festival for his role in ''Nuan.'' *

Guan Xiaotong Guan Xiaotong (; born 17 September 1997) is a Chinese actress and singer of Manchu descent. She is known for her roles in films '' The Left Ear'' and ''Shadow''; and the television series ''To Be a Better Man''. From an early age, her family en ...

as ''Ya'', Li Jia's daughter.

References

External links

* 2003 films Chinese drama films 2000s Mandarin-language films Golden Rooster Best Film recipients Films set in Jiangxi Films directed by Huo Jianqi Films based on short fiction 2000s romance films Films with screenplays by Si Wu {{2000s-romance-film-stub