A Withered Tree Meets Spring (1961)
Overview
A critical hit during one of China’s most politically charged periods, Zheng’s follow-up to his 1959 anniversary epics merged Soviet-style socialist realism with his own breakthroughs in film technique, specifically his use of continuous camera movement in the spirit of traditional Chinese scrolls. Tractor-kino at its finest, the film revolves around two rural lovers—one struck with a deadly disease—and their eventual survival thanks to socialist medical advances.
Cast
You Jia
Shangguan Yunzhu
Qianli Qian
Hongsheng Liu
Jiang Tianliu
Shiming Zhi
Wu Yunfang
Zhong Xinghuo
Gao Bo
Mao Lu
Han Tao
Ming Xu
Recommendations
One Second
Blood Brothers
The Safety of Objects
Bennett's War
Hungry Hearts
The Boys from Fengkuei
Skin
Buddha Mountain
Caught by the Tides
Bastard Out of Carolina
So Long, My Son
The Nest
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
Three Christs
Nothing Personal
The Color of Friendship
Hands of Stone
Holy Lands
The River
F.I.S.T.