Xiaoshuai Wang	...	(Director)
Xiaoshuai Wang	...	(Writer)
Yuanyuan Gao	...	Wu Qinghong
Bin Li	...	Xiao Gen Er
Hao Qin	...	Lu Jun
Yang Tang	...	Zhou Meifen
Xueyang Wang	...	Xiao Zhen
Anlian Yao	...	Wu Zemin
Wu Zhang	...	Composer
Di Wu	...	Cinematographer

Comments: This is one of those Chinese films about things Chinese. In this case the underlying subject matter is the Third Front, where families were sent from the cities to live and work in the countryside in case the Soviet Union invaded China and clobbered its cities. The main interest here, for me, is this historical angle. China has pulled off a number of wacky full-on country-wide social experiments and I found it interesting to become acquainted with this particular one. Imagine for yourself if you are a big city dweller that you are persuaded (or coerced) by your government to move your family to the sticks. You'd probably dream every day of moving back to the city but the reality is that the dream becomes more and more remote as time goes by. You'd try to think about what's best for your children, but they might have different aspirations. All of this is explored in Shanghai Dreams.

The film takes place in the early eighties which means certain seventies western fashion trends were just filtering in and the director captures some of these with a sad hilarity. The "dance party" scene is priceless. Consider the film more educational than emotional. Big complaint: Gao Yuanyuan, so good in Season of Good Rain, is too old for her character and, honestly, doesn't seem to have honed her acting chops just yet.

Summary: In the 1960's, encouraged by the government, a large number of families leave Chinese cities to settle in the poorer regions of the country, in order to develop local industry. The film's main character is a 19 years old girl who lives in the Guizhou province, where her parents have settled. That's where she has grown up, where her friends are and where she first experiences love. But her father believes that their future lies in Shanghai. How can they all keep on living together when they don't share the same dreams ?