I've been living in China for more than 5 years and I've visited Dongbei region. The movie represents in a quite realistic way many common social problems of the region. I appreciate the lack of empty dialogues and propaganda ( common elements in nowadays Chinese cinema) and how the director avoid censorship in a smart way, even questioning the social control system that we have here.
I read a comment here saying that "it's a Chinese version of another Western movie". I do believe that the habit of always trying to refer to a movie from a foreign culture by a famous element of your own culture is a mistake and empty the real message of the artistic piece. The movie is more inserted in the line of Asian aesthetics than any Western line.
The movie could be better, specially in details. There is a closure of one of the characters a bit forced and the excessive use of music sometimes destroys beautiful moments of silence.
Overall, is a good movie, and if you want to watch it, keep in mind that the actions of the plot is based on things that are actually happening in Manchuria.
