A mere second at its shortest, a whole lifetime at its longest.
A movie fan escapes from a labour camp during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and strikes up a relationship with a homeless female vagabond.
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Character
Grave, prestige, nostalgic and earnest.
- gravecomic
- unpretentiousprestige
- contemporarynostalgic
- earnestironic
- warmbleak
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“Is this Zhang Yimou's best work?”
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Is Zhang Yi the best thing in One Second?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20257/10
“Zhang” (Yi Zhang) manages to escape from a forced labour camp just as the Chinese cultural revolution is in full swing. His plan is to make it back to his remote home where he hopes to see a screening of a short propaganda newsreel extolling the merits of socialism that features his young daughter. The thing about these multi-reel movies, though, is that they are constantly being circulated, damaged, stolen and even covered in sand, so actually finding one in a working condition near somewhere capable of exhibiting it is no mean feat for this increasingly malnourished and frustrated gent. Then he encounters the wandering “Liu” (Haocun Liu) who also requires the film - but for an entirely different, and probably more practical purpose, so whilst trying to obtain it from her and stay one step ahead of the pursuing authorities, his work is cut out for him. As his quest proceeds, we are introduced by way of flashbacks, to just who he is, who she is, and why we are all chasing this moment encapsulated in nitrate and both actors deliver well. This reminded me, in many ways, of “Cinema Paradiso” (1988) insofar as it also really emphasises just how important cinema was to a small town com
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20257/10
“Zhang” (Yi Zhang) manages to escape from a forced labour camp just as the Chinese cultural revolution is in full swing. His plan is to make it back to his remote home where he hopes to see a screening of a short propaganda newsreel extolling the merits of socialism that features his young daughter. The thing about these multi-reel movies, though, is that they are constantly being circulated, damaged, stopped and stolen - so actually finding it in a working condition near somewhere capable of exhibiting it is no mean feat for this increasingly malnourished and frustrated gent. Then he encounters the wandering “Liu” (Haocun Liu) who also requires the film - but for an entirely different, and probably more practical purpose, so whilst trying to obtain it from her and stay one step ahead of the pursuing authorities, his work is cut out for him. As his quest proceeds, we are introduced by way of flashbacks, to just who he is, who she is, and why we are all chasing this moment encapsulated in nitrate. This reminded me, in many ways, of “Cinema Paradiso” (1988) insofar as it really emphasises just how important cinema was to a small town community. At how revered, almost, the projectioni
Read the whole review on TMDB
Cast
- Zhang YiFugitive
- Liu HaocunOrphan Liu
- Fan WeiMr. Movie
- Li YanYang He
- Yang TiechengWorker
- Li XiaochuanCook
- Yu YangTruck Driver
- Wang BingRestaurant Waiter
- Cao RuiMr. Movie's Son
- Zhang ShaoboLittle Boy Liu
Crew
- Zhang YimouDirector
- Zhang YimouScreenplay
- Zou JingzhiScreenplay
- Yan GelingNovel
- Zhao XiaodingDirector of Photography
- LoudboyOriginal Music Composer
- Dong PingProducer
- Pang LiweiProducer
- Bill KongProducer
Where to watch
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They Shot the Piano Player 202380% alikeBoth grave, prestige, earnest.
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Often watched with
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