Reviews

Reviews

  • GRAND JURY AWARD, LA ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL 2014
  • BEST EDITING AWARD, LA ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL 2014
  • "...a novel perspective on the first generation born under the one-child policy..."
    -The Hollywood Reporter
  • "...an intimate and empathetic portrait of China’s post-80s generation."
    -The Atlantic
  • "Hao Wu's film sensitively observes a changed China."
    -The Guardian
  • "Empathetic pic could click with assorted TV auds, including China watchers, musical-theater aficionados and connoisseurs of cross-cultural phenomena."
    -Variety
  • "...an extraordinary film...a faithful representation of the moment we inhabit in China"
    -Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
  • "...the passion and star quality of the students shone through in any language. "
    -The Daily Mail
  • "...this clever film also provides a revealing portrait of modern China,..."
    -The New Review
  • "Hao Wu’s sensitive documentary was a snapshot of a nation at a key point in its cultural history."
    -Metro
  • "'Jia Zhangke meets Glee' could be the tagline for this fascinating and engaging film...a nicely rendered snapshot of modern China, conveyed with a brisk pace and skillful storytelling."
    -Twitch
  • "...an excellent documentary that took a new angle on an old story."
    -The Stage
  • "This endearing documentary is about contemporary theatrical dreams, and it reveals that young Chinese students – like their country – are complex, ambitious and determined to succeed. It also reveals that such desires remain somewhat constrained by a society that cannot yet deliver, even if, as these self-assured teenagers show, a new generation has the freedom to dream."
    -Times Higher Education
  • "...an intriguing generational study that captures some very personal drama."
    -Libertas Film Magazine
  • "What could have easily been played as a cheerful Glee-like romp instead becomes an extraordinary portrait of Chinese youth, and the enormous pressures placed on its members as the first generation to come of age under both unheralded material prosperity and the one-child policy..."
    -Spiked Online
  • " ...a great documentary that shows the struggles of modern Chinese youth, and the different cultures and attitudes that have come to influence their dreams."
    -Schema Magazine