I’ve long heard good things about this small Chinese film directed by Jianqi Huo, and they’re all right. With their talk of the special zones, it seems set in the early 1980s, although American pop on the radio seems incongruous for that moment. The father is a rural postman who walks a difficult three-day route to deliver the mails. He is a state cadre party member. He’s grown old and unwell in his work and unlike most state workers, has never tried to move on. These villagers need (and admire) him. Instead, he is turning his work over to his son, who he hardly knows given his frequent time away from home. He accompanies his son on his first trip to show him the ropes and the route, a journey through a land still relying on 17th century waterwheels and of people linked to their mountains. It is a sentimental journey but is never mawkish. It’s a road movie and a story of intergenerational love, understanding, and respect. It seems like a simple story, but it’s not. Beautiful photography. See this one.