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Sunflower (2005)

Director: Zhang Yang

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From Time Out New York

A Chinese family saga in three acts, Sunflower first introduces us to nine-year-old Xiangyang in 1976, when his father (Sun) returns from six years in a reeducation camp, determined to orchestrate the boy’s life. (His mother is played by the dependable Joan Chen.) The contentious father-son relationship is picked up again in 1987 and in 1999, as the two clash over school, girlfriends, career, grandchildren—you name it. Ultimately, Sunflower is more interesting for its time-lapse snapshots of Beijing in transition than for its schematic soap-opera plot.

Author: Tom Beer 2007-08-15 18:59:33

Time Out New York Issue 620: August 16–22, 2007

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Cast & crew

Director: Zhang Yang

Cast: Joan Chen, Sun Haiying, Gao Ge, Haidi Wang

Rated: NR

Duration: 129 mins


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