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Great Happiness

Director: Wang Yi’ao

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facing an era when everything new is copied- and-pasted, what can the one-child generation do?

 

Great Happiness is an ensemble movie centering on three good friends, who have grown up together in Xining, the capital of Qingdao province in the western part of China, and developed their own visions of a bright future in this developing and expanding city. Belonging to the generation born at the time of the One Child Policy, the three young men are con- fronted with triple challenges: the frustrations of fulfilling personal goals, the burden of supporting a large family and the overpowering

Wang Yi’ao, the debutant screenwriter and director, creates an indelible picture of Chinese young people grappling with

the fundamental question of existence. Using the ubiquitous and homogenous high-rise buildings

as the backdrop, Great Happiness offers a visual critique of blind duplication and lifeless materialism that prevail in Chinese cities. The question posted isurgent: facing an era when everything new is copied- and-pasted, what can the one-child generation do?

An insightful, ironic look at the challenges and contradictions that young generations are facing in China. Set in Xining, the capital of Qinghai province on the border with Tibet, this ensemble film follows the ups and downs in the lives of three friends from the generation born at the time of China’s one-child policy

Trailer

Movie review by Sven Hollebeke

Kuleshov - Urgent FM

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About the director

Born in Xining, Guangxi Province and graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 2013, Wang Yi’ao is an emerging filmmaker. Great Happiness is his directorial debut.

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