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Based on one specific real life incident, Chinese drama Dearest concerns the aftermath of a child abduction in Shenzhen, China. Starting in 2009, Peter Chan’s film follows Tian Wen-jun (Huang Bo) and his ex-wife Lu Xiao-juan (Hao Lei) as they both search for their missing toddler and come to terms with their respective guilt, forming bonds with a support group for bereft parents, as the narrative moves forward over several years.

Dearest’s premise promises despair, and it certainly delivers this in spades. Earlier on this is channeled through conventional, frills-free filmmaking, but roughly halfway through comes one riveting and horrifying sequence that suddenly upends the entire structure. The exact nature of the film’s shift in focus is best left unspoiled, but it proves vital for the film’s wider-reaching exploration of many social problems plaguing modern China beyond its terrifying kidnapping statistics – an estimated 70,000 children are abducted each year.

A flabby drama at times, Dearest’s raw emotional power and fascinating social commentary make its occasional heavy-handed bloat forgivable.

The Skinny at Glasgow Film Festival 2015:

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