From Old Man to Child

From Old Man to Child

XIAO Hu • 2022

Duration: 00:29:05
Language: Mandarin, Hani, Yao
Subtitles: Chinese, English
Country/Region: Mainland China

In Pujiao Village, Jinping County, on the Sino-Vietnamese border in Yunnan Province, there is a Yao village called Lengpo. The village used to be full of drugs, and there was an old man who was half mad and half awake. He watched greed, hatred, ignorance, slow suspicion, sometimes unrestrained, sometimes calm. He laughed and was sleepy too. The wheel of the times drags people of every age group forward, young people, old people, children... Hometown, homeland and memories, melancholy and joy, all interweave the village evolution concerto together, but it is composed by a crazy old man.

AWARDS & FESTIVALS

2022 China Film Golden Rooster Awards, China

CAST & CREW

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

XIAO Hu

XIAO Hu

Director

Lengpo Yaozhai still has the memory of slash-and-burn farming due to the intertwining of historical disadvantages and practical reasons. The production and lifestyle are relatively traditional, and the overall level of education is low. Even if the old man Pan Xiaogui is insane, the traditional production and lifestyle are still in his hands. The imprint on his body is heavy, but the trend of the village being influenced by modern times is also in his mind when he travels. Buildings replace thatched cottages, new appliances replace old appliances, cement roads replace yellow mud roads… the scene of the alternation of old and new coexists in Pan Xiaogui. From the first perspective, when others are busy, he is also busy. When others laugh at him, he smiles.How to balance modernity and tradition in rural revitalization? How to realize the convenience of instrumentation without stripping the common memory of the ethnic group? How can border villages connect the psychological bridge between the elderly and children after young people go out? It seems to be the absurdity of the old man Pan Xiaogui, but it is also worth thinking about how the young people of today and the children of the future step into modernization in a serious manner.