憑藉處女作《檳榔》獲得釜山電影節新潮流獎,導演楊恆第四部長片同樣發生在他出身的湘西山水之間,一個剛剛出獄的中年男人,希望回鄉從失落的過去中尋回自己,與他兒時的玩伴、多年不見的兄弟和前度女友見面,但傷痛無從言說,自己更無法看到未來,原來自己是如此脆弱、如此不堪一擊。楊恆用他擅長的慢運鏡與長鏡頭隱藏生命歷程哲思,以大自然聲音和山水畫意象呈現出靜謐而樸素的變化,讓觀眾凝視著生命,像夢一樣虛幻、茫然,往往不由自主。

For the past several decades, economic reforms in China have sent millions of people from rural areas to large cities in pursuit of opportunities. Many rural towns are now ghost towns occupied only by those left behind. Yang Heng shines a light on those forgotten lands in his new film. After spending years away, Liu returns to his Hunan hometown and learns that most of his friends are gone, his old flame is getting married off in Shenzhen, and his old teacher is now a monk because there are no children left to teach. Yang captures the ennui of the small town life in long, meticulously framed shots that move across the landscape like eyes on a scroll painting. The result is a dreamy and hypnotic experience best appreciated on the big screen.