Spring Subway

Seven years after moving to Beijing, a couple, Jianbin and Xiaohui, drift apart under the weight of what they cannot say to each other. Jianbin loses his job and hides it from his wife, spending his days on the subway, where he meets a blind girl named Lichuan. Xiaohui, meanwhile, has to reckon with her own feelings in the face of attention from the owner of the coffee shop where she works. Zhang Yibai’s ninety three minute Chinese film plays with time, builds flashbacks and often has its characters speak straight to the audience. Liu Fendou wrote the screenplay and Zhao Xiaoding is among the cinematographers. It opened on 22 May 2002, and Xu Jinglei was named best actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards for the role.