RETURN TO DUST

US Premiere


HEART | WORLD

China 2022, 131 min, Director: Ruijun Li

A film that created a stir at this year’s Berlinale competition, Ruijun Li’s Return to Dust is an unusually tender love story of middle-aged strangers pushed into marriage by their respective families. Ma Youtie (Renlin Wu) is a quiet, hardworking man and the least loved of five brothers, while Cao Guiying (Hai-Qing) is a disabled, infertile woman long mistreated and isolated. Eager to be rid of these perceived burdens, their families arrange for the couple’s union. Despite injustice, poverty, and the odds stacked against them, Ma and Guiying discover their luck in sharing a life together. With a serenity expressed by few words and an exquisite visual palette, Li brings a peaceful contemplative atmosphere to the heart of the drama. Set in rural China and infused with the beauty of the four seasons, Return to Dust is a delicate portrait of outcasts who find in each other the hope, love, and companionship they never knew was possible. —João Federici

In Mandarin with English subtitles

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Showtimes

Director

Ruijun Li made his directing debut with THE SUMMER SOLSTICE (2007), followed by THE OLD DONKEY (2010); FLY WITH THE CRANE (2012), winner of Best Young Director at the China Film Director’s Guild Awards; RIVER ROAD (2014), winner of Best Director at the Chinese Young Generation Film Forum; and WALKING PAST THE FUTURE (2017).

Film Info

countries:

China

Year:

2022

Running Time:

131

Languages:

Mandarin

Director:

Ruijun Li

Producers:

Yan Li, Min Zhang, Qiong Feng, Yang Sun

Cinematographers:

Weihua Wang

Editors:

Ruijun Li

Writers:

Ruijun Li

Cast:

Renlin Wu, Hai-Qing, Shengfu Li

sections:

WORLD CINEMA

Subtitles:

English

venues:

Rafael 3
|
Sequoia 1
|
Virtual