"Brief History of a Family," a metaphorical tale at the heart of China's new middle class

THE OPINION OF THE “WORLD” – TO SEE

After the discovery of the big Chinese "feminist" success of the year – Her Story by Yihui Shao , released on April 9 – the summer period is an opportunity for French distributors to launch a few soundings at the new shoots of independent cinema. We have mentioned here the pleasant surprise that My Father's Son by Qiu Sheng (released on July 23) constituted in this regard. Brief History of a Family , the first feature film by Lin Jianjie, in theaters Wednesday August 13, also deserves attention.

Surprisingly, like his compatriot Qiu Sheng, Lin Jianjie had started out on the path of bioengineering before suddenly changing his mind. Unlike him, he trained as a film director in New York and already seems well-established in international film support structures.

His film is nonetheless deeply connected to contemporary China and its sociology, in a stylization that resists rather than consents to the expected realistic approach. At the center of the story is the new Chinese middle class and, as a reward for its effort, the exorbitant expectations placed on the shoulders of the heirs on the road to excellence. It all begins with a minor clash between two teenagers attending the same high school. Wei, the son of a wealthy family, nevertheless quickly becomes friends with Shuo. The two boys become inseparable, to the point that Shuo becomes a regular at his friend's home.

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