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Spring in a Small Town Movie Review

Spring in a Small Town is a 1948 Chinese drama film directed by Fei Mu and starring Wei Wei. It is a film that has its issues, but the pure lyricism at display here is impressive.

Dai Liyan, the crippled patriarch of the once prosperous Dai family, lives in his ruined family compound with his wife, Liyan. Liyan’s childhood friend, Dr. Zhang Zhichen, visits and she is torn between loyalty to her family and her love for Zhang. First things first, I honestly did not care for the love triangle storyline, which is at the center of this piece. It was standard genre fare and not much new was done here that is worthy of praise with the exception perhaps of the lack of explosive emotions at stake.

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What works best in this movie is its poetic nature. This is such a lyrical film due to its emphasis on storytelling through imagery, monologues and voice-over narration. The film came out after the Sino-Japanese war, a time when China suffered great losses and that depression and grief can be felt throughout this pensively sad film.

There is this wall that the characters visit that is now dilapidated ruins. The ruins represent both the physical state of the post-war period of the country as well as the emotional state of the Chinese people as they feel great depression, nostalgia and melancholy for the lost buildings of yesteryear. The fact that the Japanese are never mentioned, but the focus is squarely put on the inner emotions of the people is admirable in this very sophisticated film.

Spring in a Small Town is also quite well developed in its central figures, though again I did not care for the romantic elements whatsoever. But their dynamic could be charming at times and some conversations are lovely. Wei Wei herself delivered the best acting work while the directing from Fei Mu is incredibly artistic as is the black-and-white cinematography. This film is all about the atmosphere and the emotions, both aspects managing to compensate for the lack of a stronger storyline and romance.

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Spring in a Small Town is a classic post-war Chinese drama that is definitely inferior in its tiresome love triangle storyline, but the acting and directing are both excellent and the movie’s imagery of the town’s dilapidated ruins neatly represented the nostalgic and depressed feelings of the Chinese people after the Sino-Japanese war. This is a highly lyrical film that is all about the atmosphere and the emotions as it’s both very nostalgic and melancholic.

My Rating – 4