one of my absolute favorites!

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Setting in a northern county of China in late 80s and early 90s of last century, this movie is about a few ordinary people who dreamed to become artists, who are stubborn enough to fight for their dreams, but eventually give in to the mundane life. This is a somehow identical theme appeared in the director's previous award-winning film "Peacock". Nevertheless, this is a totally different story.Well written and directed, this is one of the best movies of China of the year. What makes this movie magnificent is that although it's a sad story, the director was able to add in some delicate and somehow absurd humor, pushing you to the edge of breaking your heart.One thing worth to mention is that the leading actress, Wenli Jiang, is in fact the director's wife, who is very beautiful in reality but appeared to be ugly in the movie.