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In Search of Lost Time (film)

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In Search of Lost Time
Traditional Chinese海的盡頭是草原
Simplified Chinese海的尽头是草原
Hanyu PinyinHǎi Dě Jìntóu Shì Cǎoyuán
Directed byDerek Yee
Written by
  • Shang Yang
  • Shi Ling
  • Derek Yee
  • Li Miao
Produced byBai Jie
Jiang Defu
Starring
Production
companies
  • Inner Mongolia Film Group Co., Ltd.
  • Bona Film Group Limited
  • Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd.
  • Alibaba Pictures
Distributed by
  • Inner Mongolia Film Group Co., Ltd.
  • Shanghai Bona Culture Media Co., Ltd.
  • Beijing Bona International Cinema Investment Management Co., Ltd.
Release date
  • 9 September 2022 (2022-09-09) (China)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryChina
LanguagesMandarin
Mongolian

In Search of Lost Time (Chinese: 海的尽头是草原) is a 2022 Chinese historical drama film co-written and directed by Derek Yee and starring Chen Baoguo, Ma Su, Ayanga, and Wang Qiang.[1][2][3] Based on real events of "Three Thousand Orphans Entering Inner Mongolia", the film is about a group of nearly 3,000 junior orphans who were sent to the Mongolian grasslands to be adopted by nomadic families.[1][2] The film premiered in China on 9 September 2022.[4][5]

Cast

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Production

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Shooting began on 15 April 2021 at Hengdian World Studios and took place in various locations including Hohhot, Xilingol League, and Wulagai Ranch, and wrapped on August 9.[6]

Release

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In Search of Lost Timewas theatrically released on 9 September 2022 in China.

Reception

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Douban, a major Chinese media rating site, gave the film a rating of 7.2 out of 10.

The website sino-cinema.com gave the film a rating of 4/10. Commenting on the use of flashbacks, the reviewer argues that "the film as a whole would have worked so much better, and developed some emotional power, if it had been set entirely in the past." The review continues: "The heavily desaturated colour used for the flashbacks hardly impinges on the film’s clean, handsome look. However, the portrayal of 1960s Inner Mongolia is standard generic, with a well-laundered look, happy grasslands life and lots of local ethnic colour (nomad games etc.). The score by Hong Kong’s prolific Jin Peida 金培达 [Peter Kam] is gentle and respectful, with an ethnic flavour, and supports rather than invigorates the leisurely pacing."[7]

The review on the website howardforfilm.com reads in part: "The director makes use of colour to evoke the hardships of the past. Shanghai is grey and rainy, while Inner Mongolia has a washed out palette of greys and beiges. Unfortunately, that makes it a bit tough to read the subtitles, which are in white. Yee also throws in a lot of expository dialogue in the story’s first act to bring the audience up to speed on the conditions that may have led to the government sending these children to the middle of nowhere. On the plus side, the performances are all good, especially those by the Mongolian actors. The casting is excellent, too, with the actors playing Siheng and Sihan looking like they could be brother and sister." The review concludes: "While IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME runs a bit long for what it is (it’s just over two hours), it’s not bad as long as you don’t mind the revisionist history lesson. At least you’ll get to see how beautiful the Mongolian grassland is."[8]

Accolades

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Chen Baoguo won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Actor at the 14th Macau International Movie Festival in 2022.[9]

The film won Best Asian Chinese Language Film at the 2023 Hong Kong Film Awards.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Zhang, Rui (7 September 2022). "New film depicts true orphan adoption events in Inner Mongolia". china.org.cn. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b Xu, Fan (5 September 2022). "Delving back to a touching chapter in 1960's Inner Mongolia". Chinadaily.com. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  3. ^ Li, Aiping (2022-09-26). 电影《海的尽头是草原》热播 “国家的孩子”袒露真情. rednet.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  4. ^ 《海的尽头是草原》民俗特辑 尔冬升还原草原细节. 1905 (in Chinese). 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  5. ^ Sun, Jiayin (2022-09-25). 《海的尽头是草原》来沪路演，新时代再续沪蒙两地情. xinmin.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  6. ^ Xu, Meilin (2022-04-15). 尔冬升新片《海的尽头是草原》开机，陈宝国马苏阿云嘎等主演. bjnews.com.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  7. ^ "Review: In Search of Lost Time (2022) | Sino-Cinema 《神州电影》". December 13, 2022.
  8. ^ "Movie Review: In Search of Lost Time (海的盡頭是草原)". November 18, 2022.
  9. ^ Lim, Ruey Yan (December 22, 2022). "China's Zhang Ziyi wins Best Director and Best Actress at Macau movie festival" – via The Straits Times.
  10. ^ "See All The Winners At The 2023 Hong Kong Film Awards". Vogue Hong Kong.
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