THE ORPHAN OF ANYANG

An understated, direct tale told with overwhelming power, THE ORPHAN OF ANYANG starts with a sudden reversal of fortune for Dagong, an unemployed laborer late of a failing factory in Anyang, a city in province of Henan. Reduced to trying to trade his near-worthless company food coupons for cash, he happens to be idling at a noodle-vendor's stall when he finds a recently abandoned baby, another hopeless soul in the city even more poignant than he. But this child comes with a note promising a lavish bequest (the US equivalent of about $35) to whomever takes care of the child. With no prior experience, Dadong appoints himself instant guardian, and sure enough, has a meeting with a beautiful mystery woman, Yanli, who sets out the terms of his monthly stipend. What Dadong doesn't realize is that the baby is the illegitimate son of a gangster, Yanli an underworld prostitute-mistress. As the relationship between Dadong and Yanli deepens, a twist of fate brings the `orphan' to his father's attention, in an ironic meditation on the nature of love, heritage and family, in modern, industrialized China. (In Mandarin with English subtitles)